Port traders fear our roads are not good enough
ONE of the first businessmen to import goods through the DP World superport says he had to use the new rail line because the roads are not good enough.
David Mawer, director of Hillebrand Group, which imported the first container of wine through the superport, said it was a good job London Gateway has added a second rail line to take cargo to London.
DP World, which owns the superport in Stanford-le-Hope, has funded a new roundabout at the A13 and widened the slip roads on junction 30 of the M25.
However, traders are still concerned the roads are not reliable enough to transport their freight. In decades to come when the superport is open to full capacity, up to 8,000 lorries are expected to travel in and out of the site every day.
Mr Mawer said: “I go on the M25 daily to get to work so I knowhow congested it is. Without rail, anything coming out of Thurrock is generally going to hit the M25.
“Where we are trying to achieve delivery on time we can’t afford to be disrupted by road congestion. That’s another reason why the port has invested in state-of-the-art rail facilities, so we can get more through rail.”
The Hillebrand Group has made the decision to distribute more than 50 per cent of its cargo by train instead of relying on the road network. It has bought its own trains which leave five times a week for Daventry and Bristol and it is also buying space on other rail services.
Simon Moore, chief executive of London Gateway, said: “Most traffic movements will be people getting here to work. There’s always going to be a lot of people coming to work because we are creating so many jobs. A lot of containers are going by train or no further than the logistics park.
“We have invested heavily on the M25 and A13 which is great for the local community as well.
“We are increasing the capacity of the infrastructure more than the amount of traffic on it.”
Don't understand the problem, the roads are full and always will be . More freight should move by rail around the country anyway.
- Score: 6
7:10am Wed 13 Nov 13
Ian P says...
At last someone with a bit of sense. Unfortunately too late, as the damage has been done.
- Score: 3
10:33am Wed 13 Nov 13
Howard Cháse says...
whateverhappened wrote:Exactly my thoughts on the matter. More freight moved by rail should be a priority
Don't understand the problem, the roads are full and always will be . More freight should move by rail around the country anyway.
- Score: 2
11:26am Wed 13 Nov 13
Nebs says...
Time for another circular motorway outside the M25.
- Score: 0
12:23pm Wed 13 Nov 13
Nowthatsworthknowing says...
Although the A13 has been refurbished at the junctions feeding this superport, the real concerns lie with the small roads between port and the A13, the inevitable vibrations caused by 40 plus container lorries, a day driving at the max speed to deliver their goods.
- Score: 2
1:31pm Wed 13 Nov 13
pembury53 says...
Obviously the capacity of the road and rail infastructure would have been fully taken into account before building an '8000 lorries a day' super port ? An easy oversight i guess though.....
- Score: 0
6:21pm Wed 13 Nov 13
Steve H says...
It's really nice that ONE junction has been made a bit bigger, the roads leading to that junction are still the same though.
The opening of London Gateway in early November marked a step up in Unite’s campaign for recognition by the port’s owner, Dubai Ports World (DPW).
The first vessel to dock at the new container port, the MOL Caledon has been getting a special welcome at subsequent ports thanks to dockers’ unions around Europe. The campaign also picketed the London office of Maersk, one of the partners in the SAECS consortium, which owns the ship.
“In Rotterdam, the vessel’s next port-of-call, the MOL Caledon has been the target of solidarity action by the Dutch dockers’ union, joined by a Unite delegation,” said Unite regional officer Jane Jeffery. “We have been also talking to other dockworkers’ unions in Bremerhaven, Germany and Algeciras, Spain to coordinate action.
“Dockworkers around the world are campaigning against ports like London Gateway which the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has called ‘a port of convenience’,” said Jane Jeffery. The ITF is concerned that London Gateway and other ports of convenience drive down labour and safety standards, powering a race to the bottom as ports try to cut costs to win business.
Unite hosted a meeting of 30 representatives from European dockers’ unions this month. They resolved to coordinate international support for the campaign for recognition at London Gateway and for dockworkers worldwide.
Dockers in Southampton and other ports around the world from Australia to Peru mounted demonstrations against the anti-union practices of London Gateway operator, DPW, in October.
Unite continues its campaign - now in its 23rd week - with demonstrations at the Essex port and businesses in London which associate themselves with DPW and its directors.
Comments
Post a Comment