As Government starts the competition for the new West Coast
Partnership, Rail Freight Group (RFG) has today set out the key
requirements for rail freight in a new position paper for
stakeholders and bidders.
The West Coast Main Line is a vital route for freight, with
around 90,000 freight trains running each year between the major
conurbations, ports, quarries and production facilities. Although
freight will not run on HS2, the future West Coast timetable will
need to accommodate freight services, alongside HS2 trains and
residual passenger services. This will require a fair allocation
of released capacity south of Crewe, and infrastructure and
operational solutions north of Crewe, to meet the needs of all
users.
Maggie Simpson, RFG Executive Director, said: “The West Coast
Partnership will have an influential role on the future of this
important route, and we need to ensure that freight is part of
these developments. Our position paper published today will help
to provide key information for bidders and stakeholders to enable
the right collaboration and cooperation between freight and
passenger in the new partnership.”
[ENDS]
Notes to editors:
- RFG’s policy paper can be found here: http://www.rfg.org.uk/rfg-sets-freight-needs-west-coast-partnership/
- DfT announcement https://www.gov.uk/government/news/grayling-west-coast-partnership-to-lay-foundation-for-high-speed-future?utm_source=11aa1889-d912-465d-af94-c9cc72a2ef96&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate
