In their policy document for 2020, Railfuture has urged Britain’s local authorities to give freight terminal development high priority. Local authorities, also known as councils, handle almost all planning applications and enforce planning regulations. Railfuture want them to recognise the importance of rail terminals in the planning framework, as part of the economic well being of their communities.

Centre of cities

Speaking to RailFreight.com, Peter Wakefield, the head of the freight group at Railfuture, endorsed the policy. “A network of freight terminals is needed to meet customer needs”, reads the document. “This should include rail-linked warehousing, improved rail facilities at ports, and construction materials sites in central parts of cities”.

Historically, rail did play a vital part of city commercial life. Most goods were delivered to city centre rail facilities, but the demise of the mixed goods train coincided with the removal and subsequent redevelopment of the traditional goods yards all over Britain.

Sustainable development

Railfuture makes a case for a modern network, and their policy document tackles the issues from the environmental angle, which is also playing an increasing part in the planning process, particularly in British urban centres. “There is also a need to promote patterns of goods distribution that are compatible with wider goals of sustainable development”, says the document, citing rail-served consolidation centres in urban areas as an example of what can be done to a greater extent in future.

Yet that call comes hot on the heels of concerns over the Coatbridge terminal in central Scotland, which was a flagship for the devolved Scottish government and their own development support package. More freight by rail would be the answer, argues Railfuture, but that may take some time to materialise, and will that be soon enough for Coatbridge (more details here).

Coatbridge is among the new generation of terminals, that answer the checklist put forward by Railfuture. “Changes to the town planning process are needed so that new industrial and warehousing developments are located where rail access can be provided”, argues Railfuture, suggesting that existing barriers to the development of new rail freight interchanges are removed. “There needs to be a coherent approach to protecting industrial land, rail sites and existing terminals”.

Urban bottlenecks

Going on to address specific urban bottlenecks which need to be addressed, Railfuture points to areas such as London and Greater Manchester as priorities for better access, particularly for intermodal and construction traffic. “Re-signalling schemes, the provision of loops and extra running lines to accommodate freight should also be progressed where appropriate across the network”, they say.

However, recommendations for a return to the era of the dedicated goods lines, alongside passenger tracks, may be difficult to achieve. Many large conurbations, like Manchester and London, have utilised former corridors to relieve road congestion or for building. To achieve the aims of Peter Wakefield’s freight group at Railfuture, and put terminals back in the heart of British cities may well take a futuristic planning solution in itself.

Beginning this month, the German federal transport minister Andreas Scheuer announced that a detailed cost-benefit analysis had been made, studying the current Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. The selected projects should increase the number of freight and passenger trains on the German rail network. A budget of 6.35 billion Euros has been set aside for the realisation.

740-metre trains

A budget of 680 million Euros has been reserved for upgrades allowing for more 740-metre trains on the network. 21 stations have been identified for extension projects, requiring an investment of 470 million Euros. The stations are distributed equally throughout the network, including important hubs as Duisburg, Hamburg and Mannheim.

Currently only eleven per cent of trains in Germany can operate with the standard European 740-metre length, and this is often due to minor network limitations. An upgraded network that allows unrestricted access to 740-metre trains is expected to eliminate bottlenecks and boost the efficiency of the railway network.

Bottlenecks

However, the extension works are not the only approach towards eliminating bottlenecks.The hubs in the rail network must be better connected, explained Enak Ferlemann, representative of the German federal government for rail transport. “Politicians have never focused on the hubs,” said Enak Ferlemann, the representative of the German federal government for rail transport. “The government now wants to thoroughly address these focal points.”

Thus, 22 lines will be extended or rebuilt. For example, around 1.8 billion Euros will be invested in and around the network of Hamburg. At the Cologne junction, a second track will be laid on a section of the route between Münster and Dortmund. The rail link between North Rhine-Westphalia and the North Sea ports will also being improved. The completion of these projects is expected to take several years.

Track access charges

On 5 September, the German Federal Ministry for Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), DB Netze and the Eisenbahn-Bundesamt (EBA) presented the German incentive scheme for freight operators. The track access charges will be reduced by more than 45 per cent in Germany from 1 July 2018, retroactively.

The scheme is called TraFöG, translated ‘price support for freight traffic’. The ministry supports the sector with a budget of 375 million Euros per calendar year, a fund available until 30 June 2023 and evaluated in 2021. The regulation is now in the final phase for notification to the European Commission and is expected to be published and in force this year.