NIC explores rail to road freight switch

FREIGHT

The National Infrastructure Commission is asking consultants to assess the benefits of shifting freight from road to rail, and from rail to road.  

The study forms part of the Commission’s Future of Freight project ordered by Chancellor Philip Hammond last autumn (LTT 24 Nov 17). An interim report will be published this autumn and a final report next spring.

The managing congestion study, with a budget of £80,000, will examine issues including:

• how freight can reduce its impact on congestion and minimise its exposure to congestion

• the relative effectiveness of different ways to manage the impacts of congestion on the freight system (such as  smart motorways, lorry platooning, digital railway signalling,  longer heavier vehicles and longer freight trains) 

• the potential for modal shift of freight from road to rail or water, as well as the potential benefits and impacts of moving freight off rail 

• the barriers to introducing or the scaling existing and emerging technologies to manage the impacts of congestion on freight or maximise transport network capacity

• the characteristics of congested areas and a desktop review of pinch points to understand the underlying causes of congestion

• the role that better data gathering, sharing and interrogation/use could deliver in reducing the impact of congestion on freight 

Shifting freight from road to rail has traditionally been seen as having environmental benefits. However, former NIC chairman Lord Adonis angered the rail freight sector by calling for freight to be shifted off rail and onto road, saying that this would free up more capacity for passenger trains and reduce delays to passenger trains (LTT 08 Dec 17). He suggested that lorry platoons could be a better way of moving long-distance freight. 

The consultancy study will report at end of October.