£14M Rail Freight Boost for Peak District Site

135 May 2019 NEWS www.rfg.org.uk Helping ensure a sustainable future for UK rail freight £14m rail freight boost for Peak District site Disused council tip transformed into 430m of P.3 railway siding to benefit local quarries Teesport Express A new £14m railway extension has been really pleased that this upgrade will give gets underway to unveiled in Buxton that will provide a both a boost to the UK economy through service growing significant boost to the local aggregate greater productivity, as well as improving Scottish demand and wider construction sector. the local environment by reducing the reli- ance on lorries which cause congestion and Network Rail has transformed the disused produce harmful CO2 emissions.” council tip into 430 metres of new railway sidings to allow longer freight trains to bet- Andrew Sumner, head of industrial sales ter serve local quarries. from DB Cargo UK, said: “This is a significant development for rail freight in the Peak The Great North Rail Project investment District and will go a long way to relieve means DB Cargo and Freightliner can now some of the constraints we face in the area. increase the number of wagons on each This is another example of a successful train from 18 to 26. This allows up to 2,500 partnership approach between operators, P.3 tonnes of stone to be transported during industry bodies and stakeholders working RFG each load. together to develop and innovate the indus- Annual Handbook try - we are stronger together.” now available! Each freight train takes around 76 lorries off the local road network and every tonne of Adam Cunliffe, chief commercial officer at freight carried by rail cuts carbon emissions Freightliner, added: “The extended sidings by a huge 76%. at Buxton mean that we can run longer trains Martin Frobisher, MD of Network Rail’s Lon- don Northern Western route, said: “We’re Continued on page 2.

RFG members tackle the future P.9 of rail freight at Spring Group Meeting DC Rail signs new Article on page 6. Total Aggregates deal

RFG AWARDS 2019: GET YOUR ENTRIES P.23 30% rise in IN NOW! P5. Dublin-Mayo rail traffic

RFG News May 2019

Executive Director’s Update: Maggie Simpson email your comments to [email protected]

complexity, because it will only work if all parts of the in- Spring meeting dustry collaborate.

highlights Nigel Jones, speaking on behalf of the Freight Techni- cal Group which he chairs, described the roll out as a importance whole system change for the railways, affecting not just the equipment but the rules and procedures, legal frame- of working works, staff responsibilities and skills and training needs. Nigel also highlighted some of the complex areas which together are yet to be fully understood, including braking curves for By Maggie Simpson, Director General, freight trains, and the human factors issues during the roll Rail Freight Group (RFG) out of ERTMS across Network Rail’s routes.

Yet despite this, the group has been making good pro- Collaboration was the name of the game at our Spring gress through collaborating together, being open about Group Meeting, kindly hosted by Siemens at their each business’ challenges and working together to give Chippenham facility. Siemens are the lead contractor a collective voice to Government and key stakeholders. for the freight fleet fitment programme for ERTMS and Digital Railway and are well underway with the devel- Across the railways right now there is much talk of opment project for ‘first in class’ fitment of equipment increasing collaboration, simplifying accountabilities and to freight locomotives. ‘putting the customer (or indeed passenger!) first. These Digital technology, such as ERTMS, is critical to the are key areas for the Williams Rail Review, who’s recent future success of UK rail, both for the specific benefits it is Call for Evidence set out their assessment of the chal- expected to deliver in cost saving and network efficiency, lenges for the industry (you can read our response be- but also as an enabler for a wider uptake of innovation low). Many describe how collaboration cannot happen and technology, much needed in train operations and net- within the current structure of the industry, and make the work management. case for more integration and alliancing. Yet the experience of the freight fitment programme is showing that it is The freight sector has not been shy of investing in tech- possible to collaborate in developments even within the nology in recent years, with upgraded systems, new tools current structures, and in the part of the industry which is such as the mobile consisting application recently rolled most openly competitive. out, and better data management and download from locomotives. New wagons are increasingly enabled with As the woes of the franchising sector are written large sensors, enabling better fleet management and mainte- across the headlines, it is indeed reassuring to know that nance, and some FOCs have also introduced enhanced rail freight is working together to make sure our systems customer information systems. These measures are vital and equipment are fit for the future.• for each business, but ERTMS brings a new dimension of

Continued from front page.

with more wagons, helping deliver an increase in the movement of freight by rail in the area and all the associated economic and environmental benefits that brings.”

Chris Swan, head of rail at Tarmac, said: “With capacity challenges across the rail network, these new sidings at Buxton will enable Tarmac to transport higher volumes of material on bigger trains, supporting the efficient and sustainable delivery of a growing number of major infrastructure and development projects across the country.”

Dai Larner, executive director at High Peak Borough Council, said: “We’re delighted with this major investment project in our local rail infrastructure. It brings this land back into pro- ductive use and delivers real – and very welcome - benefits for residents, the quarrying industry and everyone using our road network by reducing the amount of freight being transported by lorry.” and increasingly viable mode of transport.” Paul McMahon, MD of Freight and National Passenger Op- erators at Network Rail, said: “At Network Rail we want to A car and household waste had to be safely disposed of dur- work with our current and potential customers to grow the ing regeneration of the former council tip. The area has now amount of freight we’re transporting by rail. It’s through inno- been landscaped to sympathetically blend into the surround- vative schemes like this that we’re making rail an attractive ing countryside. Labour MP for High Peak Ruth George officially opened the new railway on Monday 29 April. • 2 RFG News May 2019

News in brief • GB Railfreight (GBRf) has agreed a contract extension with British Gypsum, which will see the partnership continue through to December 2021. The extension will mean not only the contin- uation of GBRf’s existing service from Southampton to British Gypsum’s plas- terboard plant in Roberts- bridge but the provision of further terminal services at Robertsbridge and additional rail haulage flow from AV Dawson in Teeside to British Gyp- sum’s plant at East Leake, PD Ports celebrates second Scotland Loughborough. connection with ‘Teesport Express’ • Paul Plummer, Rail De- livery Group CEO, has PD Ports has celebrated cost-saving benefits. We’d like as well.” confirmed his intention the success of its second to thank our partners who have to retire this autumn. The daily rail freight connection worked with us to make this Mike Hogg, RFG’s north of search for his successor to Scotland, with an official service possible, and we look England representative, at- has already begun and loco-naming ceremony at forward to a strong, ongoing tended the ceremony and later he will stay in his role until Teesport. relationship. These partner- paid tribute to the professional- this person is identified. ships have laid the foundation ism and evident enthusiasm of The event, on 25 April, was for us to integrate our services, those concerned in establish- • Stagecoach Group attended by senior represent- allowing us to offer faster and ing this second daily Scottish is understood to have atives from the service’s key more frequent transit between service. launched legal action partners including DB Cargo, Scotland and the continent to against the DfT after it was ECS Containers and P&O Fer- benefit our customers.” He said: “There is clearly pent disqualified from three rail ries and saw the unveiling of up demand for further rail franchise bids including the new co-branded PD Ports Hans-Georg Werner, CEO routes. The gauge clearance East Midlands. and DB Cargo loco, which was from DB Cargo UK said: “We project for the mainline from officially named the ‘Teesport are delighted to celebrate such Teesside to the south is a real • Dame Judith Hackitt and Express’. a significant milestone along- priority to this end. It has been Stephen Hughes have side our partners PD Ports. We good to see the Tees Valley been appointed to the Frans Calje, CEO at PD Ports, originally started out running Combined Authority partnering board of HS2 as non-ex- said: “Continuing to expand just one service for PD Ports with funds from the Strategic ecutive directors. and strengthen our rail freight to our terminals at Mossend Freight Network initiative to offering is important to us as and Grangemouth in Scotland, find the means of clearing this • VolkerRail has achieved rail provides vital UK connec- however demand was such future intermodal route.” • two RoSPA awards: Ro- tions for our customers and that in October last year we SPA Gold Medal and a delivers environmental and agreed to run a second service RoSPA Gold Medal: Fleet Safety.

• The 11th Annual UK RFG Handbook Ports Conference takes place on 14 - 15 May 2019 2019-20 out now at the Holiday Inn Blooms- bury, London. The event Have you picked up your free copy of the is an essential update RFG’s annual handbook yet? for the UK ports industry, bringing together sen- Alongside an extensive directory section, ior representatives from the handbook contains articles from expert across the ports, shipping voices from across the rail freight sector in- and maritime sectors to cluding Rail Minister Andrew Jones MP and explore the opportunities Paul McMahon of Network Rail. and challenges facing the port sector. Click here for View a digital copy on the RFG website or more details. pick up your copy at our events.

3 termodal and cement trains experienced the greatest percentage Freight impacts of WCML reductions. closure in Scotland 2016 • For those trains which ran, journey schedules were 24% longer than normal: domestic intermodal services were worst affected, By Allan Woodburn, University of Westminster. despite mostly carrying time-sensitive goods for retailers.

The University of Westminster has published a research pa- • 77% of trains arrived at their destination no more than 15 min- per which presents an analysis of the impacts on rail freight utes later than the arrival time in their revised schedule. of the closure of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) in south- ern Scotland for around seven weeks in early-2016 as a re- There was a noticeable improvement in both the proportion of sult of damage to Lamington Viaduct (pictured). trains operated and their punctuality at destination as the closure period progressed. Overall, the bulk flows were typically less im- The analysis reveals widespread consequences of the disrup- pacted by the closure than were intermodal and mail services. tion, with fewer freight trains operated than normal, and longer and less punctual journeys for those which ran. In comparison The research sets out a number of recommendations to help to with the service provision expected had the line not been closed: reduce the impacts of similar events. The full paper is available until 17 June here. • 82% of the expected number of freight trains ran: mail, port in-

4 RFG News May 2019

Join the winners club at this year’s RFG Awards 2019

With a tight deadline of 31 May, it’s time to get your entries in!

The prestigious RFG Awards, which recognise excellence in all aspects of rail freight, are shortly closing for entries. We would encourage all our members to use this opportunity to take the chance to acknowledge the outstanding work done by your teams up and down the country, each and every day.

Winners will be presented with their trophies at an informal ceremony and dinner on Thursday 12 September 2019 at the De Vere Latimer Estate, Chesham, Bucks, HP5 1UG.

Awards categories • Customer Care (incorporating Support Services) • Community and Environmental Responsibility • Innovation & Technical Development • Rail Freight Project of the Year • Outstanding Individual Contribution • Young Rail Freight Professional • Business of the Year Award (nominated and chosen by the judges from entries received)

Entry process Submissions must be made by RFG corporate members and must refer to activities taking place between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019. Members may compete in as many entry categories as they wish and can enter the same project/innovation etc in different categories if appropriate. Each entry submitted must not exceed 2,000 words, although judges welcome supporting statements from third parties that do not exceed 500 words. No pre-published advertising or marketing materials will be accepted for consideration. All entries, including an entry form, should be sent to [email protected] and must be received no later than noon on 31 May 2019. Entries will be judged by an independent judging panel and the decisions of the judges are final.

Click here to download an Awards 2019 Entry Form

Booking a room If you are planning on attending the Awards Dinner and staying overnight we advise that you book your room as soon as possible, as we have a limited allocation of rooms and once our allocation is taken up we cannot guarantee that there will be any rooms available as this is very popular venue.

Please see the booking details below and make sure you quote our reference: RAIL110919.

Guests are to call the in-house reservations team from 0800-1600 on Tel: 01494 545504 to book one of the contracted bedrooms. Card details will be taken at the time of booking to confirm the bedrooms.

The 2019 RFG awards are kindly sponsored by Burges Salmon LLP and GB Railfreight.

5 RFG News May 2019

buy into the system. The Class 67 and 66 locomotives are none- Tackling the future of rail theless advancing well through the programmes. freight in the UK The development of the digital railway relies on greater lev- els of collaboration, agreed Nigel Jones, Chair of the Freight Digital railway, ETCS, electrification and the Williams Re- Stakeholder Group, which includes Network Rail and the FOCs view were the topics under discussion at the RFG Spring (Freight Operating Companies), and said he has been very im- Group Meeting on 1 May. pressed with the level of information sharing in this group.

We were privileged to be hosted at Siemens in Chippenham, with But he does not underestimate the task ahead. “The introduction many of the delegates also taking the opportunity to tour the fa- of the digital railway means that most if not all railway operational cility where 900 people are employed in everything from design procedures will have to be changed. And for at least two decades and manufacture to testing and installation. the railway will have a mix of conventional and digital signal systems with the transition between the two needing to be carefully Pieter Rypma and Ewan Spencer from Siemens gave a pres- managed to avoid importing risk into the network.” entation on ETCS (European Train Control System), the in-cab signalling system which is beginning to be rolled out in the UK. It David Clarke, Technical Director, Railway Industry Association is already in use on Thameslink and has enabled the numbers of (RIA) spoke about the need to restore government confidence in trains to be increased from 16 to 24 per hour. electrification and he showed that the industry has already delivered schemes on time and on budget. But funding needs to be Siemens are leading the work to fit ETCS equipment to the continuous to stop the boom and bust scenario which resulted in freight fleet, and the ‘first in class’ programme is now underway. the loss of skills and resources in the years when the programme They said the work was helped by a very good collaboration with is virtually halted, as it was for 20 years. colleagues in the FOCs and Network Rail but there was still a long way to go and there are a lot of stakeholders who need to Bill Free, Rail Director, Civil Engineering Contractors Associ- ation, spoke about his organisation’s input to the Williams Rail Review, and the need for both collaboration and communication, especially in terms of agreeing possessions. “We need our members to be involved early so we can plan the work properly and ensure better communication about the disruption – and about the long-term benefits.”

Thanks very much to Pieter Rypma, Senior Key Account Man- ager – Digital Rail, and the rest of the team at Siemens for their hospitality and ensuring the meeting and site tour all went so smoothly.

6 RFG News May 2019

Services says that, due to the backing from Drax, there are now New opportunities opportunities to extend the maintenance work at Ferrybridge, from award-winning power creating more jobs. “I’m immensely proud of the team here and at Drax for what we station rail project have achieved working together,” said John Hall, MD of Davis. “The success of the project has given huge confidence to our A project which built specially-designed freight wagons to people and the business. We can now look at fully utilising the carry millions of tonnes of biomass a year to the UK’s big- yard and taking on heavier maintenance, which could reduce the gest power station and breathed new life into a disused rail need to outsource work. yard has won another prestigious industry award and is ex- ploring opportunities for growth. “That would bring immediate benefits both in reducing our carbon footprint, as we could do the work on-site, so we wouldn’t have The partnership between Drax Power Station, near Selby, in to send wagons elsewhere, and also in securing the employment North Yorkshire and Davis Wagon Services saw a new fleet of we currently have and creating more roles in the future.” freight wagons designed and built by WH Davis Ltd to deliver the biomass needed to produce renewable electricity for millions of Drax Power CEO Andy Koss said: “I’m delighted this project is homes. receiving the industry recognition it deserves. Not only has it supported a local business and revitalised a disused facility within It also enabled Davis Wagon Services, a North Lincolnshire-based the Northern Powerhouse region, but these rail wagons also play rail firm, to invest £850,000 in revamping a mothballed Ferry- a vital role in helping to ensure Drax receives the biomass we bridge rail yard as a dedicated site to re-brand and maintain the need to produce renewable electricity for millions of homes and power station’s fleet of 225 unique freight wagons, securing local businesses.” jobs in the process. The Rail Business Award is the second accolade the project has The project has now won the Asset Management and Excellence won, having been named Project of the Year by industry body the category in the Rail Business Awards – its second accolade in Rail Freight Group last September. • the last six months – and the Managing Director of Davis Wagon

and that Government and the industry as well as bringing a renewed focus to A new status must work together to create a ‘new freight within Government. status for freight’, raising awareness for freight of the freight sector within Govern- Maggie Simpson, RFG Director Gen- ment departments. eral, said: “We are pleased that the welcomed Commission has set out a pathway The report concludes that it will be for Government support in decarbon- Government needs to help freight possible to de-carbonise rail freight isation of rail freight. With battery sector toward complete ‘decarbon- by 2050, but that the industry cannot and hydrogen technologies in their isation’ by 2050 be expected to deliver this without in- infancy on the rail network, and the tervention from Government. It rec- extent of electrification still limited, the Rail Freight Group (RFG) has wel- ommends that a full strategy should industry cannot be expected to deliv- comed the National Infrastructure be published showing how rail freight er the necessary investment without Commission’s Freight Study final re- can reach zero emissions by 2050, the backing of Government. This rec- port, which has made important rec- detailing the investments and/or sub- ommendation gives a way forward ommendations on the future of freight. sidies that Government will provide. to provide the certainty that the rail freight sector needs, and a framework The Commission’s report has three A new ‘Freight Leadership Council’ is to oversee delivery.” • main conclusions, namely that sur- also recommended, to bring together face freight can and must be decar- Government departments and indus- bonised by 2050, that there must be try representatives to oversee the de- better land use planning for freight, livery of the report recommendations

7 RFG News May 2019

Class 66 locomotives liveried in Maritime Hans-Georg Werner, CEO at DB Cargo Maritime’s two colours and given the names “Maritime In- UK, added: “This new agreement is a re- termodal One and Two”. ally excellent fit for both DB Cargo UK and new locomotives Maritime, and both Maritime Intermod- “Rail is now firmly part of our future, and al One and Two provide a much greater unveiled although it’s a challenging venture for us, scope and scale to offer complete supply it’s one we are very much looking forward chain coverage. Following the recent long-term agree- to,” said John Williams, Group Executive ment between DB Cargo UK and Mar- Chairman of Maritime Transport. “We look forward to working with Maritime itime Transport Ltd to increase rail in a deal that shows road and rail need freight capacity, “Maritime Intermodal” He added: “To have these two locomotives not be in competition but can deliver more was launched at a celebration event in in the Maritime colours is a great honour, through collaboration.” West Yorkshire. and with DB Cargo UK, we are ideally placed to offer increased resource to our Representatives from major UK ports, Over 120 rail, logistics and retail profes- customers whilst focusing on how we can global shipping lines, retailers and freight sionals and the Mayor of Wakefield, Stuart offer a greener, and more efficient way of forwarders along with trusted suppliers, Heptinstall gathered at Wakefield Europort transporting goods.” Network Rail, and industry media attend- in Castleford on Friday 29 March 2019 to ed the event. • see the unveiling of two DB Cargo

a particular favourite champagne house called Vilmart, located VTG Rail MD sets out on between Reims and Epernay. The cycling group, including her husband Scott, have decided to undertake the mammoth cycle 350km charity bike ride ride to celebrate Margaret’s memory, while also raising funds to support the work of MNDA. VTG Rail MD Rob Brook is setting out on a memorial cycle challenge, taking on the 350km between Welford-on Avon, The ride will be called ‘Velden House to Vilmart’ and will start Warwickshire, to Vilmart in Rilly-la-Montagne, just outside at Margaret & Scott’s house in Welford-on-Avon (called Velden Reims. House) on Tuesday 4 June and will finish at the Vilmart champagne house on Monday 10 June. The group will cycle from Wel- He is teaming up with a group of family and friends to take on the ford (near Stratford-on-Avon) to St. Pancras station in London, huge task, cycling in aid of the memory of friend Margaret Hazell, then catch the Eurostar to Paris, from where they will cycle to the who sadly passed away three years after being diagnosed with home of Vilmart champagne in Rilly-la-Montagne. In total they Motor Neurone Disease. will complete around a 350km ride.

The challenge will raise money in aid of the Motor Neurone Dis- Rob Brook, MD of VTG Rail, said: “Cycling had been one of Mar- ease Association (MNDA), the only national charity in England, garet’s great loves, together we cycled across the Yucatan in Wales and Northern Ireland focused on improving access to Mexico, from London to Paris, and from Coast to Coast of both care, research and campaigning for those people living with or the north and south coasts of England, and although she won’t affected by the condition. be with us in body this time, I know her spirit will be beside us all the way.” Margaret was a keen cyclist, whose achievements included an amazing 450km ride across the Yucatan Peninsula in Mex- Everyone can donate via a JustGiving page by clicking here. ico. She loved visiting the Champagne area in France and had 8 RFG News May 2019 GBRf invests in cutting edge training with new simulators GB Railfreight (GBRf) has confirmed that it is investing in two new state-of -the-art simulators, which will form part of their new training school at Peter- borough.

At a total cost of £850,000, they will be the UK’s first and only full cab freight Eu- ropean Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) capable simulators. They will be used by new and existing drivers for basic training, advanced training as part of the Driver rules exam, Mentor and Instructor training and post incident reconstruction. They will initially cover the journey from Kings Cross to Peterborough, and are designed with a route building tool which will enable the addition of all other GBRf The simulators are due for completion in a state-of-the-art learning environment for routes going forward. June 2019. all trainees, including 3 high tech class- rooms and the new simulators. The new simulators are being built with the John Smith, Managing Director of GB recycled remains of locomotive no. 66734, Railfreight, said: “GB Railfreight has al- When finished, these simulators will en- which was involved in a landslip derail- ways been committed to training, both able us to provide cutting edge training ment at Loch Treig back in 2012. Now in internally and externally- We are training not only to GBRf staff, but the wider rail the final months of construction, the sim- the railway employees of the future. The industry. We are hugely exited for their ulators are being fitted out in France at GBRf training team is currently oversee- completion.” • Corys, having been subject to a fantastic ing the establishment of anew training refurbishment by EMD Longport in 2018. school at Peterborough, which will provide

railhead in 2018 to supply aggregates to customers across Lin- DC Rail signs new deal with colnshire. This is the first occasion that Total Aggregates has procured its own rail services and the initial campaign will see Total Aggregates 10,000 tonnes moved to the railhead, removing over 350 lorry journeys from the roads of rural Lincolnshire. DCRail part of the Cappagh Group of companies has commenced a new contract with Total Aggregates, moving recy- At Boston the recycled rail ballast is blended with local aggregate cled rail ballast from Carlisle to Boston. for use in a variety of construction projects and further campaigns are already being planned. • East Midlands based Total Aggregates opened the Boston 9 GUEST ARTICLE

managing out such risks as far as possible (and only occa- 2019 is a good year for sionally through use of expletives). We’ve also been pleased to work with some very capable project management, de- railheads sign and construction resources within Network Rail - the much overlooked Local Delivery Units - alongside smaller By Nick Gallop, Intermodality. contractors such as KGJ Price and Pearsons Engineering, who have similarly done wonders to strip out unnecessary Those familiar with Intermodality’s work over the last 20 bureaucracy along the way. years will probably associate us with a brace of large Strategic Rail Freight Interchanges (SRFI). The latest op- Typically, the process starts with what we now lovingly erational site at iPort Doncaster now has over half the call “beermat sketches”, hand-drawn outlines from the cli- warehousing already built and occupied, and the sec- ents with what they anticipate seeing delivered on site. We ond daily rail service now in operation after being open then obtain the digital base mapping for the site, overlay a for just over a year. As with each and every one of the 6 high-level track layout on CAD to the appropriate design SRFI that preceded it, build it and the trains will come. standards, and (critically) assess how the rest of the site will then be laid out to meet the rest of the end user require- Whilst we continue to plug away helping get 6 more next-gen- ments. This draws on the same process as for the larger eration SRFI through the planning process, we’ve also been SRFI projects, including a large library of digital CAD blocks working on a raft of smaller RFI schemes in the last few for handling equipment (including large span gantry cranes), years for Network Rail, FOCs and end users. We helped road and rail vehicles and intermodal units. The aim is to en- oversee the construction and subsequent activation of M&S’ sure the site meets the overall requirement as far as possible EDC intermodal terminal at Castle Donington, supported at the earliest point in the design stage, whether for rail ac- Sainsbury’s in securing a gantry-driven intermodal terminal cess, highway access, or on-site facilities. Consideration is on their DIRFT II site, and helped SUEZ with the design of also given to site security, and proximity to residential devel- three new intermodal terminals at Severnside, Knowsley (an opment (existing or planned) and other potentially sensitive innovative conversion of a rail-linked warehouse) and Wilton. receptors, to provide as rounded a picture as possible for Other sites at Bristol East, Chelmsford and most recently at the client, rail industry and, if necessary, planning authorities Lowestoft have also featured our design input, with 30 more and other local stakeholders. We also look for synergies be- sites in the pipeline for NR, the FOCs and their customers. tween different traffic types, to squeeze as much use and opportunity as possible out of sites, particularly in urban areas The eye-watering design and construction costs that can where railheads are in short supply. As many as 30 separate be generated by small and large railheads alike have led iterations of each layout may be required from conception to projects stalling or being abandoned. We’ve therefore through to completion, but without the 6-figure budgets seen sought to make our own modest contribution to keeping ear- on other projects. ly-stage costs under control, through pragmatic engagement between end users, Network Rail and the train operators. Network Rail also deserves considerable credit through Guy Bates and colleagues in the FNPO team and at Route level, for spotting early signs of mission/scope/cost creep and Continued over the page.

Newhaven before and after.

10 GUEST ARTICLE

Continued from over the page.

Keeping a lid on design costs and providing a more rounded design is a relatively small part of the overall objective, and again it’s here that NR and/or the external contractors are increasingly adding value by stripping out unnecessary costs.

In the recent batch of new railheads delivered during the first quarter of 2019 for Cemex and Network Rail at Luton, for Ashville Aggregates and Link Park Heathrow at Thorney Mill, and the first phase of works by Network Rail on reinstating the long-disused quayside sidings at Newhaven Marine for Brett Aggregates, this lean approach is increasingly appar- ent. Schemes that otherwise would have generated box- loads of lever-arch files with multiple multi-disciplinary logos on them (and the attendant costs thereof), are nowhere to be seen. Instead the Local Delivery Units and contractors are able to safely deliver small railhead schemes, using basic outline design drawings, and the core competencies of the contractors themselves. It has been very refreshing indeed in latter years had become something of a desert for rail- to see how little time, fuss and cost is needed to deliver an freight, freight trains will be back on the quayside after an operational railhead. No-one is suggesting for a moment that absence of almost 30 years. Because track doesn’t have to major projects such as SRFI can be delivered using rudi- be taxing… • mentary sketches. However, it’s increasingly my view that the overall “GRIP” process used by NR and others for the execution of rail freight facilities (in some cases, literally) should be scalable, such that smaller schemes can be delivered using a lighter touch than for major ones, to avoid the design and construction costs then becoming a dispropor- tionate part of the overall scheme budget.

As a result of these combined efforts, a new aggregates Contact: railhead for Cemex has been squeezed into an existing site Nick Gallop without the need for new main line connections; Ashville Ag- Intermodality gregates can now provide rail facilities for bulk materials in [email protected] proximity to HS2, Heathrow Airport and the M25/M4 intersec- tion; and in my former home county of East Sussex, which

Thorney Mill before and after.

11 RFG News May 2019

Chris Swan, Head of Rail at Tarmac, said that construction Scottish Conference traffic was growing on the railways and it is important that we show the positive stories. “But we need sites for terminals meeting report and network access capacity at realistic costs to continue this growth.” The annual RFG Scottish Conference, held in March in North Berwick, examined rail freight developments in Andrew Malcolm of Malcolm Logistics explained how shared Scotland, including challenges and opportunities. user terminals for intermodal traffic helped new rail customers, by sharing risk and offering room for growth. John Our Scotland representative, David Spaven, gave an update McGuigan outlined the potential for rail freight growth at Ab- on RFG’s activities in Scotland and emphasised the impor- erdeen Harbour, while Geoff Lippitt of PD Ports highlighted tance of land as a resource for new terminals. He explained how the Land Strategy sub-group has reviewed about 150 sites and identified those that have potential for rail freight development in the future. He said there is huge potential for development with commodities such as bottled water and whiskey and that additional services, such between Mos- send and Teesport, are very encouraging.

Bill Reeves, Commercial Director, Transport Scotland, said: “Everyone seems to be in favour of rail freight, like we are all in favour of world peace. The point is what are we going to do about it?” He outlined the actions that Scottish Government is now taking on rail freight, including setting a growth target for the Network Rail route, and making direct investment for rail freight on the Scottish network. He says he has been delighted by the response of Network Rail colleagues in the last few years in helping facilitate growth, for instance, in the timber market.

how the growth in rail container traffic between Scotland and Teesport in the last five years has been driven by growth the shortsea market, and a greater understanding of the need for effective rail links.

Andy Saunders, Delivery Director, FNPO, Network Rail, admitted that while Network Rail generally understood the freight business, “in some places we probably don’t” and called on all parts of the rail freight industry to work with Network Rail. He also said road and rail need to work more closely together to reap the benefits and develop opportunities.”

Our thanks to Tarmac for supporting the conference and hosting a visit to the nearby Dunbar Cement Plant, which was enjoyed by all those able to participate. •

12 RFG News May 2019

More rail freight equals fewer road closures and fatal collisions

By Philippa Edmunds, Freight on Rail Manager, Campaign for Better Transport

Earlier in the year we sent a Freedom of Information request to Highways England to find out how many critical incidents resulting in road closures of more than five hours on the strategic road network involved Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs). The answer was star- tling.

HGVs were involved in 43 per cent of critical incidents lasting more than five hours, and 56 per cent of critical incidents lasting more than ten hours on motorways and trunk roads last year. This despite the fact that HGVs account for just one in ten vehicles on our motorways. than cars to be involved in fatal collisions on A roads.

Our research backs up those figures and shows that HGVs Yet, we still move most of our freight by road. Moving freight are far more likely to be involved in fatal collisions than cars. off the roads and onto the railways would not only have en- In fact, on average, over the past 11 years HGVs were al- vironmental and congestion benefits, it would also be safer most five times more likely than cars to be involved in fatal and reduce the number of hours lost to road closures every crashes on minor roads; three and a half times more likely to year. • be involved on motorways; and over three times more likely

lis Ltd (W&B) Franchises. stand member companies’ key issues and RFM appoints new opportunities and I am looking forward to Elaine has been General Manager of Rail meeting as many of them as possible over leadership team Forum Midlands for the past two and a half the coming months.” years and she will continue to be responsi- Rail Forum Midlands (RFM) has ble for the delivery of RFM’s key strategic Elaine Clark, CEO added: “We have appointed Paul Robinson as its new objectives together with implementation of achieved a lot over the last couple of Chair and Elaine Clark to the new po- the Rail Sector Deal Midlands initiatives. years, but there is much more to do to en- sition of CEO. sure our industry and supply chain benefit Paul said:“RFM punches way above its from the support they need to allow them Paul is MD of Keolis Nottingham Trams weight on the regional and national stage; to deliver better services for the customer, and is also a Board Director for Keolis with a clear focus on doing what’s best improve their productivity and grow their Amey Metrolink and Seilwaith Amey Keo- and right for members. I’m keen to under- businesses”. •

13 Planning Update a more coherent network operating system which can ca- ter for the needs of all users. Clearly, the detail of how By Elizabeth Dunn, Partner and this is delivered will need to be worked up properly with Stephen Humphreys, Solicitor, Burges Salmon. stakeholders to ensure it is fit for purpose.

In this month’s edition we consider the ‘half-time’ po- MetroWest: Portishead Railway Line sition of the Williams Review and the new proposed Portishead has received a major boost with the news Development Consent Order (DCO) for the railway be- that the rail line connecting the town to Bristol is to be tween Bristol and Portishead. re-opened, subject to receiving a DCO from the Govern- ment. The line will form a key part of the MetroWest pro- Williams Review ject which will link and upgrade the railway system in the The Review, launched in September 2018 and chaired by Bristol area. In recognition of the importance of the line to Keith Williams, is now at half time, with the white paper the South West the Secretary of State for the Department due to be published in Autumn this year. On 19 March of Transport, Chris Grayling, approved £31.9 million of 2019 the Review outlined what it has found and heard to funding towards the project so that the re-opening of the date and how it will use this information to formulate the line becomes a reality. blueprint for the future of the railways. The rail line for passenger use was originally decommis- In terms of the information gathered by the Review so far, sioned as part of Beeching and was initially shut for rail its main focus has been on passengers and the need for freight 1981, although this was reopened in 2002. The a more cohesive transport network, operating as an inte- re-emergence of passengers using the line is a positive grated system and taking account of local needs. There for Portishead but its impact on the current freight use is is an acknowledged lack of an overall management ‘sys- unclear. From an infrastructure perspective the line will tem’ for the railways on a national basis and this lacuna bring welcome relief to the overly congested A369 and is responsible for the failure of the industry to deliver sys- M5, which regularly sees road users gridlocked in traffic. tem-wide responses to strategic issues, like CO2 reduc- A definitive timeframe for the re-opening still has tobe tion and digital connectivity. agreed and a substantial amount of work will be required so that the infrastructure put in place results in a line that The Review has published a call for evidence paper (on is “fit for the future.” Among the biggest jobs will be replac- 29 April) looking at user experience on the network. For ing the vast sections of the existing 10 mile long line that freight, this provides that: has been ripped up and replaced with a modern track. (a) the current system needs to respond better to This considerable outlay will be in addition to the creation changing market demand to allow the freight sector to of new rail stations at Pill and Portishead, as well as the be more flexible and adapt; provision of modern three carriage diesel trains with up to (b) there needs to be closer alignment between pas- 270 seats. senger and freight services over the whole rail network; (c) speed (from an average of 25 mph) needs to in- The modern track will also have to co-exist with a timeta- crease to ensure better competition with road; ble that suits rail passengers and rail freight customers. (d) the Review needs to ensure that freight’s concerns This is an important consideration as if the line is imple- are not side-lined or considered secondary; and mented correctly it estimated that the local economy will (e) consideration should be given to how planning pol- benefit by up to £264 million. icies can be utilised to protect existing rail freight sites from being developed, particularly those in strong stra- The DCO application is due to be submitted in July this tegic locations such as in or on the edge of cities, which Summer and we will provide an update on the how this could compromise the delivery of goods to these areas. application progresses. It will be interesting to see how the Examining Authority considers the proposed use of Also on 19 March, the Review launched a further round the new line and the representations it receives from fu- of consultation and a call for evidence, due to close at ture users. the end of May (although comments on the summary assessment criteria – used to drive the next phases of A final point is that if there are any specific developments the Review’s work - closed on 30 April). In terms of the that you are interested in hearing more about or other top- summary assessment criteria (if you missed them), there ics that you would like to hear more on then please do let are eleven listed and the eleventh provides “Rail Freight. us know. • Freight operators must be able to provide timely, reliable and cost-effective services that contribute to our economy”. Contact: While the government aims to grow rail freight, overall the main focus is on passenger travel and satisfaction (as seen in the focus of Mr. Williams’s speech on 19 March and the detail of the summary assessment criteria). The Elizabeth Dunn, Partner focus on ensuring more local and integrated systems may [email protected] exacerbate capacity on the network making it more diffi- cult to secure a path, particularly over long distances, for Stephen Humphreys, Associate freight. However, on a positive note the acknowledgement stephen.humphreys@burges-salmon. that a more centric and integrating rail system is needed, com together with the inclusion of the rail freight in the summary assessment criteria - could have the potential to deliver www.burges-salmon.com 14 RFG News May 2019 Rail, shipping and logistics law firm unveils new appointments

Amy Jackson and Jessica Mackenzie have joined Myton Law, the Hull-based specialist rail, shipping and logistics law firm and RFG Member.

Welcoming the two to Myton Law, director Chris Thornes said, “We are very pleased to have Amy and Jessica on board. Their appointments support our expanding busi- Myton Law new recruits Amy Jackson (centre left) and Jessica Mackenzie (centre right) with ness practice and, in particular, our com- two of Myton’s directors Chris Thornes (left) and John Habergham (right). mercial and property work for rail sector clients.” impressed me, as did their modern, pro- “The fact that Myton Law is a niche prac- Solicitor Amy Jackson has extensive gressive way of working.” tice makes them stand out from other Hull property experience and enhances Myton firms,” Jessica said. “I was very pleased Law’s real estate capabilities. She worked Paralegal Jessica Mackenzie is support- to be offered the opportunity to be involved in the commercial property team of anoth- ing the Myton Law team in general, but in such interesting and specialist work.” er Hull firm for nearly ten years. Prior to with a focus on commercial and property qualifying as a lawyer in 2006, Amy stud- work for rail and logistics clients. Prior to Myton Law provides legal services from ied at the University of Hull and York Col- studying for a law degree at the University its Hull offices overlooking the Humber. lege of Law. of Hull and for her LPC qualification and a In addition to rail, shipping and logistics, Masters in Law at Nottingham Trent Uni- Myton Law’s expertise includes insurance, Amy said, “Myton Law’s rail, shipping and versity, Jessica ran her own business and renewables and international trade. • logistics specialisms, for which they have had worked for the East Riding of York- strong national and even international shire Council’s property team. reputations, and the quality of their clients

end result is a transformed service for passengers. We’re very GBRf helps launch new proud of our involvement in helping to secure this service be- Caledonian Mark 5 Sleeper tween Scotland and England for years to come.” Ryan Flahery, Serco’s MD of Caledonian Sleeper, added: “GBRf coaches is one of our trusted Caledonian Sleeper partners. We have worked closely to ensure that our guests will be able to expe- GB Railfreight (GBRF) has been working with Caledonian rience the best possible service and are very pleased with the Sleeper in launching its new Mark 5 Sleeper coaches, with expertise and skills GBRf has brought to the table to help deliver an initial run on 10 April for invited guests. these trains. We look forward to continuing our successful working relationship long into the future.” • The overnight service is being transformed with the new passenger carriages and will begin full Mark 5 operations from the end of May. Over the past 18 months, GBRf in partnership with Wabtec have modified 12 Class 92 and six Class 73 locomotives Williams Rail Review to haul the carriages on both the Lowlander Caledonian Sleeper route, between Euston and Edinburgh and Glasgow, and in due Evidence Papers course the Highlander Caledonian Sleeper routes to Fort William, RFG was pleased to respond to the second call for evidence Aberdeen and Inverness. for the Williams Rail Review. The Group was pleased with the engagement from the Williams Review team with the rail The locos have been fitted with new Dellner couplings and elec- freight sector and the focus given to date on ensuring that tronics, which include additional safety features, improved on- any proposals work for freight traffic. In particular it was train communication and power upgrades to supply the train’s pleased to see rail freight included as a ‘fundamental’ in the air-conditioning, on-board showers and catering facilities. GBRf assessment criteria. also supply the drivers for each service as part of the long-term contract with Serco, which operates Caledonian Sleeper. This RFG has previously set out the key areas the review should cov- has meant bespoke training for 90 members of GBRf staff. er for rail freight in its response to the earlier call for evidence. This includes governance and incentives, retaining a national John Smith, MD of GBRf, said: “The successful delivery of these network and clarity on the role of Government for freight. • locomotives and the drivers for the Caledonian Sleeper service demonstrates the value and skills in our rail service business. It Click here to read the response in full. has been an exciting partnership with Serco and CAF, and the 15 RFG Events Calendar 2019

The Rail Freight Group (RFG) continues to offer a number of key events throughout the year that help inform and bring together the rail freight sector. We welcome the support of all our members and hope everyone will join us.

5 February - RFG Members’ Party Truckles, Central London On 5 February RFG hosted its popular Members’ Party at Truckles, Central London. Annual Scottish Conference 6 March | North Berwick On 6 March, RFG held its Annual Scottish Conference at the Macdonald Marine Hotel & Spa in North Berwick. Spring Group Meeting 1 May | Siemens, Langley Park On 1 May RFG held its Spring Group Meeting at Siemens in Chippenham, which included a site tour.

27th Annual Rail Freight Group Conference 4 June | Dentons, Central London

The 27th Annual Rail Freight Group conference will provide the latest, leading insight on the challenges, opportunities and disruptors facing the rail freight industry. Attend to hear essential insights on the support and plans for freight development and review the growth opportunities for the sector.

Event Code: 375RFG (Special RFG member price available)

Multimodal Group Meeting 18 June | Multimodal Birmingham NEC RFG is delighted to again be hosting its regular Group Meeting at the Multimodal 2019 exhibition. Now in its 13th year, Multimodal is the UK and Ireland’s premier freight transport, logistics and supply chain management event. Awards Dinner 2019 12 September | De Vere Latimer Estate, Chesham, Bucks. The RFG Awards Dinner will be held on Thursday 12 September 2019. The RFG awards are kindly sponsored by Burges Salmon LLP and GB Railfreight (GBRf).

AGM and Autumn Group Meeting 6 November | TBA Venue and full details will be announced in due course. Please contact Phillippa O’Shea at [email protected] to book your place. Christmas Lunch 11 December | The Royal Lancaster London, Central London The RFG Xmas Lunch will be held on 11 December 2019 at the Royal Lancaster London Hotel.

To book your place at any of the RFG’s excellent events throughout the year, please email Phillippa O’Shea at [email protected] or visit our website www.rfg.org.uk/events for more details and to book.

16 RFG SPONSOR PARTNERS 2019

The RFG’s Sponsor Partners provide additional support for our activities and events throughout the year. The companies involved in the scheme represent a wide range of key stakeholders and we would like to thank each of them for their commitment and ongoing support. OPINION

Fair competition between rail freight and road haulage? By David Spaven, Scottish Representative, RFG

Ten years ago the rail freight industry had good cause Largely hidden from the wider world - on Edinburgh’s South Suburban railway - this Fort William-Blyth train is returning to feel confident about the prospects for shifting freight wagons which the previous day had delivered bulk alumina to from trucks to trains along the Perth-Inverness corridor. Britain’s only aluminium smelter. In 2008 the Scottish Government’s ‘Strategic Transport Projects Review’ (STPR) identified upgrading the large- 40% more goods, yet this opportunity is blocked by Scottish ly single-track Highland Main Line (HML) as the third-top Government funding parsimony. In the meantime, A9 du- priority among 29 road and rail schemes across Scotland. alling is progressing steadily – part of a £3bn project – and Investment of between £200m and £450m was envisaged, there is a real danger that the absence of a level playing including ‘additional loops, dynamic loops or lengthening of field for investment will lead to a switch of freight from rail to double track sections‘ – designed to benefit both passenger road – the opposite of Government policy. In recent years, and freight traffic. a regular trainload of oil from Grangemouth to Lairg, north of Inverness, has been lost to road haulage. And a Scottish Targeted infrastructure enhancements for HML freight traffic national newspaper revealed in 2018 that an expert report were at the heart of the STPR document, including: commissioned by the Scottish Government – which Minis- • provision of bi-directional signalling to reduce the impact ters did not intend to publish – concluded that 80 more lorries of engineering works on the route (permitting the route to a day would travel the A9 in each direction by 2025, but rail remain open for freight throughout the day and week) freight’s share of the market would drop by one tenth. • increased length of freight loops (allowing longer freight trains) In contrast, a sensible investment policy for Highland Main • removal of speed limits (on various bridges) below the 75 Line capacity would lengthen key loops, construct new loops mph line speed. on the longest single-track sections and remove punitive speed restrictions on three bridges. Amongst the traffics The outcome would be that: ‘the freight improvements would which could then transfer from the A9 – improving road safe- make it considerably more attractive for freight hauliers to ty, cutting CO2 and reducing the road maintenance burden move containers and other goods by rail, by reducing jour- – are more supermarket supplies, timber and other forest ney times‘. products, and bulk spirit from Speyside to Central Scotland maturation plants. So where does rail freight stand, 10 years on from that encouraging prospectus? Work will soon be completed on a The line’s capability – its ability to handle the modern genera- drastically scaled-down infrastructure programme, with just tion of tall and wide containers – also needs to be addressed. £57m invested in track and signalling upgrades of the Av- A combination of upgrading work on tunnels and overbridges iemore and Pitlochry crossing loops. The benefit will go al- and provision of a dedicated fleet of low-platform container most entirely to passenger trains, since the capacity of these wagons would allow rail to compete for chilled and frozen enhanced loops will be taken up for most of the day by a produce (which needs wider refrigerated containers) moving new hourly frequency of train service between Perth and In- between the Central Belt and the north. verness. In its admirable 2017 High Level Ouput Specification for the Rail freight needs long, high-capacity trains to compete ef- 2019-24 period, Scottish Ministers ‘require all reasonable fectively with road haulage, but the current works on the steps to be taken to facilitate growth of 7.5% in rail freight HML will do little or nothing to help. The Class 66 locomo- traffic carried on the Scotland route, of which, at least 7.5% tives which haul the daily Stobart / Tesco container train from will represent a growth in new business (i.e. new traffic flows, Central Scotland to Inverness have enough power to pull a not previously moving by rail).‘ Achieving that growth on the train of 28 containers – the equivalent of 28 lorries – but the ground – and avoiding loss of existing freight traffic from rail lack of long crossing loops restricts the operation to just 20 to road – will be the real test of Government policy. Along containers. The crossing loop being extended at Aviemore the Highland Main Line in particular, the rail freight industry was already the longest on the line, and at Pitlochry – the needs serious infrastructure investment so that it can deliv- shortest loop on the line – there is to be no extension, so er the significant economic and environmental prizes which HML freight train lengths will remain significantly constrained. freight on rail offers. •

It is frustrating for rail hauliers that each train could carry up First appeared in Friends of the Scotsman, 17 April 2019. 18 RFG News May 2019

It was as simple as that.” He anticipated that GTR would Rail Minister confident follow the Williams review. “How the review will suggest we structure the industry going forward, we do not know in new investment yet.” The position on open access was also one to “see how the Williams review goes” in the context of a custom- process, despite limited er-oriented review. information At this point the Minister refused to tell the Committee Chair (Lilian Greenwood, Lab Nottingham South), how By Jonathan Roberts, MD, JR Consulting many franchises currently had a financial performance that is worse than was predicted at the start of the fran- The Rail Minister, Andrew Jones MP (Con, Harrogate chise? “Where are the ones that are causing you con- & Knaresborough), argued for the House of Com- cern? Andrew Jones replied: “There is a system for mon- mon’s Transport Committee to have some confidence itoring franchise performance, including financials, in the in how the Department for Transport was handling rail Department, but it is not something that is made public.” A investment during 2019, although he didn’t go as far longer discussion ensued, about what how the DfT moni- as offering extensive disclosure of the status or pro- tored TOC financial outputs in general. The DfT confirmed gress of projects. that the operator of last resort is always in a state of readiness. He was quizzed on Wednesday 8th May by committee members for an update on rail matters, along with the Robert Courts MP (Con, Witney) led on the infrastructure DfT’s DG Rail Group, Polly Payne. Link here: TSC 8 May and investment topic. He asked about the sequencing 2019. The range of topics embraced: (two in bold dis- of projects through the rail network enhancements pipe- cussed below) line (RNEP). This suggested that “no information will be provided until a decision to deliver is made, which is the • Rail franchising, and its relationship with the Wil- fourth stage of the pipeline”. He asked for clarification. liams Review. Andrew Jones said that Network Rail had published their • DfT monitoring and readiness for TOC financial prob- latest enhancements delivery plan on 7 May, which was lems. about half of the budget already covered. We have not • DfT and TOC readiness for compliance with 2020 rail yet published anything about the pipeline. I am not sure accessibility requirements, which linked through to having exactly what form that will take. Ministers have under- a second member of staff on trains (where DfT said “We taken to publish. We will make sure that people are kept have no plan to remove second people from trains”). informed about it, but I do not think I can give you an immediate date.” • The rail network enhancements pipeline, and its transparency (or lack of). Robert Courts said that he wasn’t asking for a date, but • Involvement of TOCs in the infrastructure proposals, and for the stage. The Rail Minister advised that the RNEP scoping of investment in station improvements. was the development stage, and that for that element “we • Decarbonising and the potentially stronger role of rail have not yet finalised exactly how the information will be electrification, where the Rail Minister agreed that a shared, but we have undertaken to share it.” To stop the steady delivery of infrastructure spending (including elec- sense of confusion now emerging, Polly Payne described trification) will enable the industry to achieve efficiencies, the sequences as: and those efficiencies can be passed on to taxpayers. • First, determining (where processes now were) “about “Electrification and electric running will be a part ofthe the outputs and outcomes that we would like to buy for the mix, but it will not deliver every single solution.” He also railway for passengers”. referenced other rolling stock power options, and moves • Then “the develop stage, where we start refining our towards ‘zero carbon’ stations. thinking about how much different things could cost, how • Latest status of digital signalling. you might achieve them and how they work with other • Timetabling issues following the 2018 problems, be- things that are happening. lieved now reduced to 10 local issues. • Then you go into the detailed design phase. • The current rail staff pensions topic. • Then a decision gets taken, and we have something that is costed and we know how we are going to deliver it. The Rail Minister argued that despite bidder concerns • That is when you get into the deliver stage and when it about the rail pensions issue, which was discussed sep- gets published in the Network Rail enhancement delivery arately, there was sufficient competitive tension between plan.” bidders to show that franchising was still working. It was the decision about how consumer interest was best met Roberts Counts then jumped to the [sifted] 10 ‘market-led’ which had decided which franchises could be taken for- proposals which were being looked at. Andrew Jones ward, compared to a number of direct awards (e.g. South- stressed these were a different origin and a top-up to DfT/ eastern), and those other categories such as CrossCoun- NR-led schemes, following a Government invitation to the try, where there were multiple parties operating in parallel private sector to bring more “into our network in addition and awaiting the Williams Review was a better choice. to Government plans, separate to Government plans”. These were an extra, an “and” not an “or”… “These are Polly Payne commented that: “Where there is a significant stand‑alone projects. Not all of them have been stand- amount of infrastructure and change it is more likely that alone projects, so they have perhaps not met the criteria a direct award will be the right solution.” In the case of the for the market‑led process, but if we can bring in more East Midlands award, Andrew Jones said: “It was simply so that we could get the passenger benefits out quicker. Continued over the page. 19 RFG News May 2019

From page 19. seen, and I hope we can get some schemes moving forward…. Departmental projects, the ones in delivery, are capital, more capacity, more creativity, and perhaps speed part of the standard publication of Network Rail. For the of delivery, that is great; I am up for that.” ones going through the development process, we have said that we will keep people posted. We are just not quite There was also what were described as ‘Department pro- sure exactly in what form or how we will do that yet.” • posals’ which overlapped with the well-known ‘Hendy tail’ of projects. Polly Payne said the Department had “10 to 15” projects “of very different orders of magnitude… one of those 10 of the Government ones is something that is £3 billion-worth.” [The trans‑Pennine rail upgrade was referenced as one of the DfT schemes.]

For all this positive commentary, the Minister refused to Contact: be forthcoming about progress. For market-led schemes, Jonathan Roberts, MD, Andrew Jones observed: “These are still ideas coming JR Consulting through. The scheme sponsors have asked for confiden- 07545 641 204 tiality, which I think is entirely reasonable because this is, [email protected] or could be, competitive, so we have given that undertak- www.jrc.org.uk ing. I hope we will be able to make some progress over the course of the next few months, but I cannot be more specific than that. I have been excited by what we have

Newsletter sign-up Rail Political Map reminder Members should have by now received a copy of the new rail political map, which RFG has help sponsor If you haven’t yet signed up to receive this newsletter alongside Porterbrook Leasing, Rail Delivery Group, to your inbox, and have been sent it instead by a work Railway Industry Association and Unipart Rail . colleague, please feel free to sign up directly at www.rfg. org.uk/subscribe We have a few copies left in the office, so if you did not receive one through the post, or need another copy, Please remember when signing up to click the link on the please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we gladly will confirmation email. You won’t start receiving the newsletter send one out straight away. Please email Yvonne Mulder, until you confirm your email address. • RFG Project Manager, at [email protected] •

Join us at Multimodal 2019

RFG has several places still available on our Rail Freight Pavilion at Multimodal. The event takes place on 18 June at the Birmingham NEC. Last year was a great success and everyone involved found it very useful to be under one roof. Please email [email protected] for more details.

RFG News May 2019

Are you interested in advertising your business in RFG News? Rail Freight Group (RFG) has made the decision to open up its newsletter to advertising for the first time in the Group’s history. This is following interest from a number of companies in further promoting their businesses, services and events in the form of traditional display advertising.

RFG News is a digital-only publication and is created as an A4 downloadable PDF that is housed on the RFG website in its own section.

Each year we produce six issues of RFGN that goes out to around 1,000 people comprised of our members and key stakeholders signed up through our website with a double-opt in process. Our readers are made up of senior decision makers in the rail freight sector and are mostly managing director, director or senior manager level.

RFG is offering currently offering full page and half page positions. Details of the current advertising packages are available on request and places are based on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please email [email protected] if you are interested. •

22 European News May 2019

News in brief:

• DB Cargo and SBB Car- go have renewed their ongoing cooperation on the Alpine transit contract for an additional three years. SBB Cargo operates 130 freight trains each week from Mannheim or the Swiss city of Basel across the Alps to Chiasso on Switzerland’s border with Italy.

• The CEO of Iarnrod Eireann, Jim Meade announced that they are to spend over €1m on renewals and repairs at the busy customers to store product close to production freight yard during his visit IWT increases facilities thereby reducing lead time and elimi- to Ballina in April, Works nating costly storage charges at Dublin Port. will take place in the 4th Dublin to Mayo quarter of this financial The increase in rail freight traffic is due to sev- year and include resurfac- freight by 30% eral reasons, mainly though due to the steadily ing the hardstanding area, increasing costs of road haulage making rail track and points renewals, International Warehousing and Transport more cost effective. The rising cost of fuel and lighting and other ancillary (IWT), a Dublin-based logistics company, HGV driver wages over the last 12 – 18 months facility works. The yard has announced that it is increasing rail ser- have resulted in more freight being transferred handles around 18 inter- vices between Dublin Port and Ballina (Co. to rail, the mode being less susceptible to the modal and two pulpwood Mayo) by 30% from mid-May. increases in fuel prices. An increase in shipping trains each week making it through Dublin Port due to Brexit concerns has the busiest in Ireland. The additional trains, operated in conjunction resulted in queues for terminals and increased with Iarnród Éireann (IÉ), will see the number congestion by HGVs. The transfer of more • ERFA hosted its annual run increase to nine per week in each direc- freight to rail has helped to alleviate traffic con- event on 3 April in War- tion. IWT commenced using rail for containers gestion around the port and reducing the termi- saw, drawing attention to between Dublin Port and Ballina just under 10 nal queueing times. the success stories and years ago in 2009 with just two services per remaining access barriers week each way. These ran mainly to serve the IWT intermodal rail services operating from to the rail freight market soft drinks factory located at Belleek near Ball- Dublin Port have experienced a 99% load factor in Eastern Europe. About ina. The supply of concentrate to the factory is whilst those from Ballina also loaded very well. 70 people attended the still the mainstay of the operation, however ad- Rail traffic carried by IWT has been increasing event, coming from 15 ditional customers from the medical, retail and by 5% year on year. The lower carbon footprint different countries and in brewing industries in the area now also use the of intermodal rail is also encouraging some particular from Poland, service. movement from the roads. Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Czech Republic. The The Ballina rail freight terminal is now used as a IWT was founded in 1981 and is a wholly Irish seminar was focused on railhead for the West and North West of Ireland owned company with offices in Dublin and Rot- the actions needed to im- and the adjacent IWT storage yard, purchased terdam. In 2003 the then directors successfully prove the profitability of by them in 2012, is used to make regular deliv- launched a management buyout and have oper- the rail freight business, eries to Westport, Letterkennny, Tuam and Cas- ated successfully since then. • how to attract more new tlebar. This yard is used to ‘buffer stock’ allowing entrants and to develop more competition in the market. Contact the RFG Team: • DB Cargo Belgium has Maggie Simpson, Director General, 07737 007 957 begun operations in Ant- Phillippa O’Shea, Administration Manager, 07931 763 081 werp, offering sales ser- Yvonne Mulder, Project Manager, 07887 767 666 vices across various sec- James Falkner, Media Officer, 07753 271 110 tors while providing block Robin Smith, Welsh Representative, 07968 488 905 train and single freight car , Scottish Representative, 07917 877 399 David Spaven transport between Bel- Mike Hogg, North of England Representative, 07833 402 804 gium and neighbouring RFG News is published by the Rail Freight Group, 7 Bury Place, London, WC1A. Tel: 020 3116 0007 countries. [email protected]. www.rfg.org.uk. RFG welcomes comments, letters and short articles. Opinions expressed in these articles are of the author only. RFG News is published primarily for online distribution but we will continue to send hard copies to those readers who request them. RFG does not endorse the services of its advertisers.