Railways: Freight

(asked on 10th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in the last six months to use trains to transport freight (1) to compensate for the shortage of HGV drivers, and (2) to reduce the emissions caused by HGVs.


Answered by
Baroness Vere of Norbiton Portrait
Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 17th November 2021

Pursuant to the answer of 16/11/2021 to question HL3612 “To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken in the last six months to make it easier for railways to replace trips made by Heavy Goods Vehicles”: Government continues to work closely with Network Rail (NR) and Freight Operating Companies (FOCs) to maximise rail freight’s role in supporting resilient supply chains. The Government has recently added £0.5 million more to the existing £20 million Mode Shift Revenue Support (MSRS) grant scheme for 2021/22. This will reduce the total number of HGV journeys by an additional 29,000.

The Government recently published the Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP) – the first such plan in the world – which sets out our plans to deliver a Net Zero transport system by 2050. The TDP has clearly outlined the Government’s support for the growth of the rail freight sector as well as modal shift of freight from road to rail. In addition, we are committed to introducing a rail freight growth target, but this should not become a ceiling. Through the 2021 First of a Kind competition, we are funding an ongoing project which is focusing on providing better and more accurate location information to make the transition of freight between modes more efficient at terminals.

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