Perry: rail freight could serve city centre stations
Rail Minister Claire Perry believes rail freight could serve city centre stations during the off-peak.
She made the suggestion when discussing a sustainable railway, and suggested it is an effective way to beat the road market.
Speaking on May 18 at an Industry Day held at the Queen Elizabeth conference centre in London, Perry said: “I believe there’s a real opportunity for rail freight to contribute to sustainability, too. One of the greatest challenges of our age is the emission of particulate matter from vehicles. This is not just a problem for future generations or far-away places. Particulates are here now, on our streets, already shortening lives. And one of the key contributors is road freight and the need to bring goods from outof-town distribution centres into city centres.
“Yet our rail lines already reach into stations located in the heart of the city. Imagine if we could run electric freight trains into stations outside peak hours. Or run passenger trains that can be partly converted to carry freight. Goods could be offloaded onto electric vehicles, for distribution across the city.”
Perry believes the Government’s job to revitalise the railways is not complete until it is sustainable as well as having a high capacity and being well connected.
She said that speaking to her collegues around the world, they spoke of railways being used to improve air quality and tackle congestion, but that in the UK that view was less common. That was a real missed opportunity, she said.
“We are one of the greenest transport modes, and we are getting greener. Right now we are on target to reduce per-passenger kilometre carbon emissions by 37% between 2014 and 2019.” She said these successes needed highlighting more.
She also said of electrification: “I don’t agree with those who say that because some stretches of our rail network are not currently being electrified, we will never have a rail network without diesel trains.”
Perry highlighted that the trials of a battery-powered Class 379 on the Harwich branch last year. While the range needs to improve she said: “Longer-lasting batteries are the holy grail of industry the world over, so the technology will mature sooner than we expect.”
She confirmed she is working with the Department of Energy & Climate Change on how government investment in battery storage solutions for renewable energy can be applied to rail.