Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 23
23
Paragraph: 78
We welcome the steps the Government have taken to get more freight off our roads...
Conclusion
We welcome the steps the Government have taken to get more freight off our roads and on to our railways. We hope this is a process the establishment of Great British Railways will accelerate. The current model which sees freight moved from one end of the country to the other by road is illogical. Moving to a multi-modal model, in which long distances are served by rail and water and shorter journeys by road, will help the country decarbonise and improve the efficiency and resilience of the freight and logistics sector. It will also improve the lives of HGV drivers who would spend fewer nights away from home.
Paragraph Reference:
78
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government agrees that more freight should be taken from the road and on to rail and water. The Government is supportive of modal shift of freight from road to rail wherever possible and is exploring the potential to increase rail freight capacity on the rail network to help reduce carbon emissions from the freight sector. The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail (WSPfR), included strong commitments to support growth in rail freight, recognising the role it plays in supporting our economic and environmental agenda. The WSPfR included: a commitment to a rail freight growth target (also in the TDP), which Government will consult on shortly; a recommendation for GB Railways to include a Strategic Freight Unit dedicated to improving efficiency across the network for Freight users; and the creation of a duty on GB railways to promote rail freight. To support rail freight growth in the near term, in particular to boost resilience throughout the pandemic, Network Rail have worked to increase the number of paths out of major container ports (in particular Felixstowe, Liverpool and Immingham), deliver new services (such as from Doncaster to Mossend) and deliver Freight Train Lengthening Schemes (Southampton).