RAIL FREIGHT GROUP (RFG)

East-West Rail Position Paper

18 July 2017 RAIL FREIGHT GROUP (RFG)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The reopening of link will play a vital role in supporting economic development of the - corridor, including new housing and infrastructure. Rail freight has a significant role to play in supporting and servicing that development, in supply of construction materials and in facilitating efficient logistics for consumer goods.

Estimates suggest that some 85,000+ homes are planned in the corridor over the next twenty years. As each freight train can move the equivalent of 30 houses worth of building materials, and keep up to 75 lorries off the roads, it is clear that encouraging rail freight must be a key imperative.

To demonstrate the potential of the route, we have produced a position paper outlining where rail freight is already successfully operating, and where the reopened route offers opportunities for growth.

Yet this cannot happen unless rail freight is planned from the outset, particularly given that new and different approaches to funding, construction and operation are being considered. We therefore urge Government to ensure that rail freight is a key part of the development of this route. EAST - WEST RAIL: FREIGHT POTENTIAL

1. Route and Infrastructure capability This study has assumed the route of East- West Rail (E-WR) phase one to be Oxford North Junc. – Gavray Junc. - Claydon LNE junc. – Flyover Junc. – St. Johns – Bedford Midland.

The route of Phase Two is, at present, unclear but will link the Phase One route at Bedford to Cambridge, with a link on to the ECML in the St. Neots/Sandy/Hitchin area, depending on the route selected.

On the existing E-WR Phase One route the state of the infrastructure is as follows:

Oxford North Junc. – Bicester Gavray Junc. The route is fully upgraded as stage one of the E-WR to enable Chiltern Railway’s Marylebone to Oxford passenger service to operate.

Bicester Gavray Junc. – Claydon LNE Junc. This single track section is still open officially for traffic but has no booked services operating over it, only diverted freights when the route from Claydon to is blocked for overnight engineering work. Infrastructure has not been significantly upgraded.

Claydon LNE Junc. The run round loop and signal box are still operational and used by waste/spoil services to Calvert for trains to reverse and locos to run round their trains.

Claydon LNE Junc. – . Line mothballed since 1993, with track missing in places. Unusable.

Swanbourne – Bletchley Cambridge Junc. (includes ) Line in usable condition but no regular traffic uses it. Bletchley Cambridge Junc. – Bedford Midland. Line used for both passenger and freight services. This section of route had a partial upgrade in the early 2000s and is now controlled from Marston Vale Signalling Centre. In assessing rail freight potential it has been assumed that the entire route (including the infrastructure presently used by ) will be built/upgraded to the following standards:

Route Availability 10 – 25.5 tonne axle loads with no restricted line speeds. Gauge W12 - 9ft 6in container on 1000mm deck height flat wagon. Speed 75 mph maximum for freight (Class 4) except where curvature/Permanent Speed Restrictions mean a lower speed limit.

2. Existing Freight Flows using E-WR Phase One

a) Whatley Quarry to Oxford Banbury Road aggregate terminal, between Oxford North Junc. And Oxford Banbury Road. b) Various waste/spoil flows to Calvert, use Claydon LNE Junc. Loop to reverse and run round. (see also later section on HS2 traffic). c) Bletchley Cemex aggregate terminal to Peak Forest quarry between Bletchley and Bedford Midland. d) MoD services from Didcot Yard, Marchwood, Kineton and Donnington to Bicester Central Ordnance Depot between Oxford North Junc. and Bicester. e) Litchurch Lane to Bletchley Depot (new rolling stock deliveries) Bedford Midland to Bletchley.

Of the above the use of the line is as follows: Whatley – Banbury Road both outbound and return. Didcot Yard, Marchwood, Kineton and Donnington – Bicester both outbound and return. Bletchley – Peak Forest northbound service only. Derby to Bletchley southbound service only. 3. Present Active Rail Freight Terminals on E-WR a) Oxford Banbury Road – Hanson Aggregates Terminal. Recently rebuilt just north of Oxford Parkway Station. Served by a daily train of aggregates from Whatley Quarry.

b) Bicester COD –MOD central stores location. The depot is located on an extremely large site that has its own internal rail network, although much of it is now unused. The depot has its own on site intermodal terminal. Has a daily booked train from Didcot Yard, Marchwood, Kineton or Donnington.

c) Bletchley - Cemex Aggregates Terminal. The terminal is adjacent to Bletchley station just below the Bletchley Flyover. Receives 3 or 4 trains per week from Cemex’s Dove Holes Quarry, Peak Forest.

4. Present Freight Flows that could divert to E-WR when it opens

There is some potential for re-routing freight via the route. However no assessment has been made of the network wide capacity implications of these diversions. Indeed some may depend on the available capacity on the post the opening of HS2. Equally no assessment has been made of any changes in journey time or costs for operators, and some options may not be advantageous for all.

(a) Some Southampton to North West (Manchester/Liverpool/Widnes) intermodal trains. These services would be diverted to ease congestion on other parts of the network around (Coventry corridor/Water Orton corridor). The Southampton to NW (and vice versa) services would divert onto E- WR at Oxford North Junc. and run through to Bletchley, joining the WCML at Denbigh South Junc. (), where the E-WR has a spur connecting onto the slow lines of the WCML. (b) Southampton to Daventry intermodal trains. These would divert to E-WR to provide a routing that avoids London. Presently they are routed via Basingstoke, Virginia Water, Kew, Willesden and the WCML. Diversion onto E-WR would take these trains away from the increasingly busy SW main line from Basingstoke to Weybridge and permit full W10 gauge traffic to be carried. Instead they would join E-WR at Oxford North Junc. Then via Bletchley and the WCML.

(c) Port Talbot to Corby steel coil traffic. This traffic is presently routed via the Lickey Incline, Birmingham , Water Orton corridor, Nuneaton, Leicester Manton Junc. And Corby. Traffic levels are for one train per day, but there is a pathway for an additional train. Re-routing this train to E-WR would provide both a shorter journey and remove it from the congested Water Orton corridor (also dispensing with the need for a banking loco on the Lickey Incline). These trains would be re-routed via Severn Tunnel Junc., Swindon, Didcot Foxhall Junc., Oxford North Junc., E-WR, Bedford Midland and Kettering.

(d) Whatley Quarry to aggregates. These aggregates trains are presently routed via Westbury, Newbury, Reading, Acton, Acton Wells Junc., Willesden, WCML and Northampton. They would be re-routed via E-WR from Reading West Junc. via Didcot, Oxford North Junc., E-WR, Bletchley Flyover, Denbigh Hall Junc., Milton Keynes and Northampton. The advantages of the re- routing are that they are diverted off the congested GWML between Reading and Acton (especially post opening) and the WCML between Willesden and Denbigh Hall Junc. The route via E-WR is some 17 miles shorter.

(e) Felixstowe to Bristol/Wentloog intermodal services. After the opening of E-WR stage 2 from Bedford to Cambridge it would be sensible to divert the Felixstowe to Bristol/Wentloog intermodal services onto E-WR. This would free up pathways on the congested section of the GEML (Colchester to Stratford0, the NLL (Stratford to Willesden Junc.) and the GWML (Acton to Reading). This congestion is likely to increase post Crossrail on both the GEML and GWML. These intermodal services would be re-routed from via the Bacon Factory Curve, Stowmarket, Bury St. Edmunds, Newmarket, Cambridge, E-WR, Didcot Foxhall Junc. And Swindon. 5. Potential Sites for Rail Freight Terminal Development along E-WR

In addition to the existing terminals outlined in section 3 (above), there are a number of locations along E-WR (especially phase one) that have significant development potential as rail freight terminals. These are:

(a) Bicester MOD land. The MOD maintain their main storage depot at Bicester, which has a private siding connection just south of station (formerly Bicester Town station). This private siding gives connects to the substantial MOD internal railway which accesses a site of well over 100 acres. Much of this is now surplus to the MOD’s requirements, with the remaining MOD activity concentrated on warehouses and an intermodal terminal relatively close to the private siding connection. In 2007 the MOD sounded out the rail freight industry over the site’s potential and there was considerable interest. However the MOD have not pursued any of the options outlined during their “open day” for the rail industry. Despite this (and some of the land being used for housing development) there is a substantial area of land that could be developed for rail connected use. The site features in the Cherwell Valley Local Authority local plan and has the local authority’s support for a rail terminal development.

The site comes with the following facilities: (i) On site intermodal terminal for container traffic. (ii) Internal rail network. (iii) Internal road network. (iv) Secure gated road access direct onto the A41 (Bicester Ring Road) and only 3 miles from Junction 9 of the M40 (Wendlebury Intersection with the A34).

(b) Ridgmont (Junction 13, M1). A potential site for a railfreight terminal (warehousing plus intermodal) exists at Ridgmont, adjacent to Junction 13 on the M1. The most acceptable site would be on farmland between E-WR and the A421 just west of Junction 13 (OS Grid Reference SP 955 374 – Charity Farm).Land in this area is already developed to the east by Prologis’ “Junction 13” warehouse/ distribution park. Road links from this site are excellent with direct access on to the M1 and A421. In the easterly direction the A421 is a grade separated dual carriageway to Bedford and the on the A1. The A421 continues on to Cambridge and the A14. Westbound the A421 is being upgraded so that it will form a continuous dual carriageway from Junction 13 to the western edge of Milton Keynes, thence onward to , Brackely, Bicester and Oxford. Southbound on the M1 Luton is approximately 12 miles and the M25 junction 25 miles. Altogether a strategically well connected site.

(c) Stewartby. The Stewartby site consists of approximately 30 hectares of former London Brick Company works to the west of E-WR adjacent to Stewartby station (OS Grid Reference TL 015 425). The site is mostly derelict at present, although there is a small methane powered electricity generating station located close to the former landfill site. The site is bounded to the east by the Bedford to Bletchley railway line, to the north and west by the now filled landfill site (which is approximately 30 metres high) and to the south by Station Road, Stewartby. There is existing rail access to the site which leads to a number of sidings that were formerly used for land fill traffic. These include two under a container gantry crane, although this is almost certainly unusable now. Network Rail used the site as a local distribution centre for the West Coast Main Line upgrade in the 2000s, and laid in a number of 500m plus length sidings. Although most have now been lifted, the ballast base remains. The connection from the Bedford to Bletchley line was renewed when the whole route was upgraded/resignalled in 2003. Therefore the connections are worked from Marston Vale Signalling Centre, with modern motor points and signals. (So no investment would be required to reinstate the private siding connection.) Given the size of the site it should be possible to provide 775m length sidings.

Road access to the site is off Station Road, Stewartby and this leads to the old . This little used road in turn connects with the junctions onto the new, grade separated, dual carriageway A421 at Marston Moretaine, one mile to the south, and Marsh Leys, one and a half miles to the north. The A421 forms a dual carriageway link to M1 Junction 13 and the A1 Black Cat Interchange and Cambridge.

The exact planning status of the site is not known. However as it sits beside a land fill containing household refuse – the methane from which powers the on site electricity generating station – it would not seem the most propitious location for housing. It has the added advantage that there is no housing overlooking the site – the nearest residential housing is in Stewartby village, over half a mile away. Similarly Station Road has few houses along its length and was the only road access to the former London Brick Company works and landfill site, so it has a long history of HGV use.

Potential uses for the site: - It is large enough for a rail connected warehouse and local intermodal terminal to be developed. - It would also have sufficient space for more “traditional” trainload activities, such as: Aggregates; Cement and Scrap Metal.

With reference to scrap metal, EMR have a large but non rail connected facility in the centre of Bedford (adjacent to Thameslink’s Cauldwell light maintenance depot) and Ampthill Metal Company operate a car dismantling, fragmentiser and baling facility in Ampthill. Neither of these sites have a usable option for moving scrap by rail and Stewartby would be a viable railhead for them. Additionally there could be a major planning gain for Bedford Council. The EMR scrap recycling site is in Bedford town centre next to the Cauldwell train maintenance and servicing depot. Not only is the land potentially valuable but all movements to and from it are on town centre roads. The Stewartby site would be eminently suited to a heavy industrial process, like scrap recycling, releasing a valuable plot of land for redevelopment or an expansion of the Cauldwell servicing depot.

(d) Sites east of Bedford. As the route of E-WR east of Bedford through to Cambridge has not yet been finalised, it is hard to determine where any potential rail freight terminal sites might be located. However the route will have to cross/ connect with the ECML at some point in the St. Neots to Hitchin area. In this case there may be a potential site where E-WR, the ECML and the A1 are all in close proximity e.g. St. Neots or Sandy. 6. Potential New Freight Flows Attracted to E-WR.

Aggregates In addition to the existing flows that use E-WR the aggregates companies may well develop new terminals, especially in the fast growing Milton Keynes-Bedford conurbation. The route enables quarry operators that do not have a presence in this area to establish one. E-WR is especially attractive since it provides a cost effective route for:

(a) Mendip operators to access the Milton Keynes – M1 – Bedford area on a direct route via Swindon – Oxford - Bicester rather than trains being routed via London. (b) Leicestershire operators it opens a direct route to the Bicester-Oxford-Didcot area where they have little terminal presence. (For example companies such as Tarmac, Breedon-Hope and Aggregate Industries.)

Cement Whilst there are relatively local cement production facilities within 50 to 100 miles of the core E-WR route (Cemex at Rugby and Castle at Ketton) there is a large ‘gap’ between the rail served cement terminals in the West Midlands and London. Rail freight sites along E-WR could prove attractive to both of the Peak District cement manufacturers, Tarmac and Hope Construction. Terminals sited on E-WR would not only serve the Oxford-Milton Keynes-Bedford market but also the M1 corridor south to the M25 and the northern Home Counties.

Intermodal Whilst none of the terminal sites on E-WR would rank as strategic railfreight interchanges, a number of them could become important regional container terminals.

Phase one of E-WR (Oxford to Bedford) would favour flows from Southampton to the South Midlands and . An intermodal terminal in the Ridgmont/Stewartby area could prove attractive for containers destined from Southampton to Milton Keynes/Bedford/Cambridge/East Anglia, a route which is not blessed with the best road connections in S.E England.

The opening of phase two of E-WR (Bedford to Cambridge) would open up the market from Southampton to East Anglia as well as Felixstowe to Bicester/Oxford for container traffic to the Thames Valley.

Waste One potential development at Stewartby is Veolia’s planned energy from waste plant at Rookery Pit, approximately half a mile from the Stewartby rail terminal. Veolia have planning permission but no start date for construction. The plant has a planned consumption rate of 400k tonnes of household waste per annum. This capacity far exceeds the local generation of non - recyclable waste from Milton Keynes, Bedford, Luton or Northampton (some of which already have their own local energy from waste plants) indicating waste would have to be transported from remote locations to supply it. Again a potential source of rail traffic.

7. E-WR and HS2 Construction. The construction of High Speed Line 2 (HS2) Phase 1 from Euston to Birmingham could dramatically affect the freight usage of E-WR. This is because E-WR bisects the HS2 route at Claydon LNE Junction and is the only feasible point where the classic rail network crosses and connects with HS2 between Ruislip, on the outskirts of London, and Kenilworth, in the West Midlands. HS2 are planning to have a construction depot in the Claydon/Calvert area and a repository for spoil/tunnel boring tailings near Grendon Underwood.

HS2 will require substantial amounts of: -track ballast -sleepers -long welded rail -constructional steel (for overhead catenary supports) -cement and aggregate (for structures, retaining walls and tunnels). In addition the tunnelling works may require spoil to be disposed of away from the line or used to form embankments on other sections of the line some distance away. All of the above indicates trainload quantities of materials to be shipped into the main construction base (as was the case for HS1 at Beechbrook Farm).

The implications of this are quite serious. Firstly the existing rail routes to the Claydon/ Calvert area are singularly unsuited for increased volumes of heavy freight. The present routing of freight trains to Calvert is via Princes Risborough and Aylesbury, using the between Greenford and Princes Risborough. This involves using a long single line from Aylesbury to Calvert, another single line section of route with an hourly passenger service between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough and a route into London that involves the GWML between West Ealing and Acton Yard with the pathing constraints that the new Crossrail service imposes. Not exactly an easy task for train planners.

The only alternative is to route traffic to the construction base at Claydon/Calvert from the Oxford direction. This involves use of a single line from Bicester to Claydon until E-WR upgrade is completed and a reversal at Claydon LNE Junction to get to the HS2 construction site. Again this is not a high capacity route and has the added disadvantage of having a south facing junction at Oxford. Since much of the construction material required comes from the north the trains will have to pass through Oxford station to reverse at Hinksey Yard and then pass through Oxford station once again before accessing the E-WR route at Oxford North Junction. The best route for construction traffic coming from the north is to use E-WR from Bletchley to Claydon LNE Junction to access the HS2 construction base. This would require early restoration of the Bletchley to Claydon section of E-WR for HS2 freight traffic but with a lower signalling specification than would be needed for the eventual passenger service. The restoration of the route and routing of traffic over E-WR would give the following benefits:

Ballast would be very likely to be sourced from the main Leicestershire quarries and could be run via the MML, Bedford and E-WR, without the need to go via London.

Concrete sleepers would most likely be sourced from Washwood Heath, Bescot or Doncaster and could be routed either via the MML and Bedford or the WCML and Bletchley Flyover. Long welded rail is likely to be sourced from either Scunthorpe or via the Channel Tunnel. If the rail comes from Scunthorpe then it would be routed via the MML and Bedford. If it comes via the Channel Tunnel then it would run via Acton, Greenford and Aylesbury.

Aggregates and cement are also likely to be sourced from north of Claydon and would be best suited to arrive via E-WR.

8. Planning background. To give some idea of the planning background to the area served by E-WR phase one (Oxford to Bedford) the local plans of the major local authorities along the route have been examined to determine the level of house building that is envisaged. The Oxford to Cambridge “arc” has been identified by the government as an area zoned for significant new housing construction over the next 20 years. This in turn will drive growth in the consumption of aggregates and building materials for the initial building phase and a general growth in consumption in these areas as the population increases.

Over the period 2011to 2031 the major local authorities along the route forecast the following numbers of new homes to be built;

Bicester 10129 (plus a new “eco town” NW of Bicester from 2031 with 2707 homes). Milton Keynes 26500 33000 Bedford Borough 18993 This totals to 88622 new homes to be built between 2011 and 2031 along or adjacent to E- WR phase one.

[ENDS] CONTACTS

Maggie Simpson, Executive Director, Rail Freight Group 020 3116 0007 07737 007 957 [email protected] www.rfg.org.uk

Rail Freight (users & suppliers) Group 7 Bury Place, London, WC1A 2LA Registered on England No 3324439