The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge The Highland Timber Transport Group Chairman: Frank MacCulloch CEng MICE February 2009 The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge: HTTG Contents THE ROLE OF THE HIGHLAND TIMBER TRANSPORT GROUP ............................................................................................ 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................... 2 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2 DO WE REALLY WANT TO TRANSPORT TIMBER BY RAIL? .................................................................................................. 3 WHERE CAN IT WORK? ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FLOW COUNTRY ......................................................................................................................... 4 OBSTACLES TO PROGRESS ................................................................................................................................................... 5 OBSTACLE 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 OBSTACLE 2 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 OBSTACLE 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 THE WAY FORWARD .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................................................... 6 The role of the Highland Timber Transport Group The Highland Timber Transport Group (HTTG) is a voluntary partnership of public and private sector organisations with a common interest in resolving timber transport issues in the Highlands of Scotland. The group acts to promote solutions to timber transport problems and it is with this aim that it has undertaken this briefing paper. Acknowledgements The HTTG wishes to acknowledge funding assistance for strategy development from the Scottish Strategic Timber Transport Scheme, HITRANS, Forestry Commission Scotland, The Highland Council, Fountains, UPM Tillhill, Scottish Woodlands and Balcas. Special thanks also to Frank Roach, Partnership Manager with HITRANS for his assistance. Author: Colin JT Mackenzie BSc BSc(Eng) CEng MICE FIHT Project Consultant to the Highland Timber Transport Group Braeside, Helmsdale, KW8 6JS. T: +44(0)1431821207 E: [email protected] Front Cover Photos, clockwise from top left: Borrobol Forest windblow; Far North railway line; Killearnan Forest with railway in foreground; Unloading timber from Kinbrace at Inverness. Page 1 Colin JT Mackenzie February 2009 The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge: HTTG Introduction The volume of timber to be harvested from forests in the Scottish Highlands is expected to double in the next decade. This will bring welcome benefits for rural employment, the economy and the environment. However the majority of this increase will take place in peripheral areas, often served by narrow and weak public roads, and this will, in turn, create a significant transport strategy problem. There is wide agreement amongst public agencies and the general public that timber traffic should be transferred from road to rail, wherever practicable and cost effective. Unfortunately, for a range of reasons, this has been very difficult to achieve in the past. The problems encountered in trying to encourage this transfer to rail have been experienced in many areas of Scotland and are not therefore unique to the Highlands. These issues were discussed with the Cabinet Secretary for Rural and Environmental Affairs during a visit made to the Flow Country on 9th February 2009. The purpose of this briefing paper is to provide further background information and context with a view to stimulating wider debate and action on the subject. Figure 1: Typical single track road in Sutherland, damaged by timber traffic Background In 2002 a major railside loading bank was constructed at Kinbrace in Sutherland using multi partner funding. The objective was to facilitate the transfer of 15,000 tonnes of timber, per annum, to market at Dalcross, near Inverness, some 150km away. The development was viewed as an exemplar of railside loading but unfortunately the logistics proved complex and ultimately uneconomic. Rail transport had to be abandoned after three years, in favour of more limited road extraction, which continues to the present day. Page 2 Colin JT Mackenzie February 2009 The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge: HTTG Fig 2: 2000t of timber awaiting uplift at Kinbrace Railside Loading Bank in 2003 Efforts to transport timber by rail elsewhere in Scotland have also faced problems. For example: • Rannoch: Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) awarded in 2008 for railside loading facilities for 15,000 tonnes of timber per annum destined for Irvine. The project has been under consideration since 2004/5 and negotiations with Network Rail are ongoing. • Barrhill; £5.2M FFG awarded in 2006 but subsequently withdrawn at the applicant’s request. Negotiations with Network Rail and potential operators are ongoing. • Crianlarich Upper/Arrochar: Normally active terminals for timber destined for Chirk in North Wales, 450km away. There is currently no service because of market conditions. • Crianlarich Lower: Work to improve facilities as an alternative to Crianlarich Upper has been under consideration since 2004/5 but is understood to be stalled at present. Do we really want to transport timber by rail? Freight Strategies from the Government down make worthy statements about transfer of goods to rail but can these aspirations really be delivered? Based on experience with timber over the last decade the answer must be in some doubt. What has become clear is that there are a number of obstacles currently impeding the delivery of these strategies. The ultimate question for Government and society is whether the cost of removing these obstacles is considered to be a worthwhile investment in a greener future. In a perfect world these strategies would be delivered by market forces, assisted by the levers of FFG and Track Access Grants. However it is very much a chicken and egg situation and major developers are not going to invest in rail facilities unless they are assured of a competitive and sustainable alternative to road. In addition, in a free market situation, a fundamental issue is the avoidance of the need for ongoing revenue support. The logical conclusion with regard to timber must surely be to invest capital, heavily and wisely, in transhipment facilities, with the key aim of minimising long term costs. Where can it work? Rail transport is most cost effective for long hauls and large volumes. It works best where timber can be loaded directly into rail wagons in, or adjacent to, the forest and offloaded directly at the mill. Once timber has been loaded on to a roadgoing truck, it will incur an additional cost of £3 per tonne to unload it directly on to a train standing in a siding. Where the timber has to be first unloaded to a railside stockpile this cost can be doubled to take into account the later loading on to the train. However, if the truck had simply kept going on the public road, it could have carried the timber a further 30 to 60km for the same price. Page 3 Colin JT Mackenzie February 2009 The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge: HTTG Unless the destination has a rail connection, and few do, similar transhipment costs may be incurred at the end of the rail journey. These reloading costs were a major issue at Kinbrace; the fact that the Norbord plant at Dalcross did not have a rail connection meant that the timber had to be loaded on a truck again at Inverness Station for the last 10km of the journey, adding significantly to the overall haulage cost. This re-emphasises the importance of cost effective transfer facilities, with the best locations being where trains can be accessed directly by specialist forest vehicles, running on rebated fuel. Permanent sidings are the most attractive option but, unless they already exist, may well be prohibitively costly. Elsewhere, and on lightly trafficked rail lines, lineside loading still appears to offer the most realistic answer. Opportunities in the Flow Country The Highland Timber Transport Group is currently in discussion with the public and private sectors about the best strategy for removing up to 200,000 tonnes per annum from the Flow Country, starting as early as 2013. Rail seems to offer a highly attractive option for extracting these large volumes, with the Far North Line running through