Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey is stepping up the pressure for the Felixstowe-Ipswich rail line to be upgraded to enable more cargo to go by train and cut the number of lorries on the A14.
Richard Cornwell richard.cornwell@archant.co.uk
She wants the 12-mile line to join up with the new Ipswich Chord to give a faster and more efficient route for rail traffic to the Midlands.
The Port of Felixstowe is due to carry out a £50million dualling project by 2018 as part of its planning consent for its current and long-term expansion project.
It has been working for some time on the background to the project, negotiating with more than 80 landowners over compulsory purchase orders to acquire the land needed for the extra track.
The scheme will see four-and-a-half miles of the Ipswich-Felixstowe line – from Trimley station to Nacton – dualled by creating in effect a large passing loop to allow two of the longest trains to pass side by side.
Dr Coffey said: “Felixstowe to Nuneaton is an important freight rail line and I know the government has already recognised that.
“The new Ipswich Chord will in the future allow considerably more freight trains to be able to run smoothly through to Nuneaton and up to the Midlands.
“It is the Felixstowe to Ipswich line itself though that continues to
generate significantly more problems.”
She was concerned at creating what would be a huge loop and felt proper dualling of the whole line from Felixstowe to Ipswich would be the best option.
She said: “I recognise that dualling is quite an expensive investment but I still think we should have the line dualled which will make a significant improvement to resilience of freight coming out of the port and improve the service for passengers.
“The dualling of the line would be the gold standard while a set of
passing loops would be silver or bronze solution. With the continuing growth of Felixstowe we need that dualling of the line.”
Port officials said the dualling proposed was needed to generate extra capacity but ithe Ipswich Chord and the introduction of 30-wagon trains, plus extra services and its new third rail terminal, have already increased capacity considerably.
Clemence Cheng, Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited’s chief executive officer, revealed this week that rail volumes at the Port of Felixstowe reached record levels last year when 830,000 standard-sized containers were handled at the port’s rail terminals.
He said: “Our new terminal, and the Ipswich Chord, will allow a greater number of 30-wagon trains to operate from the port providing greater choice and lower carbon emissions for our
customers.”
customers.”
Road & Rail
The MMO consulted Network Rail and Highways as part of the consultation for the scoping stage and marine licence application. The s106 agreement and planning conditions agreed in 2003 included key transport provisions for improvement of terminal rail works and remote, offsite rail works. There was also the implementation of a travel plan, freight traffic management plan and freight quality partnership (FQP) plus improvements to sections of the A14. This agreement was reviewed and agreed by SCDC that the remote rail works could be postponed until the development of phase 2.
The construction impacts were assessed by AECOM at the request of SCDC in a technical note dated 21 January 2013. Impacts on road and rail are addressed in a Transport Assessment (TA), and assessed by AECOM at the request of SCDC in a technical note dated 21 January 2013. The note concluded that the construction of the proposed quay extension would not lead to an exceedence of the forecast FSR transport demand agreed under the previous consents and demonstrates that the additional freight movements could be accommodated within the existing transport network capacity.
The technical note states that the ability to utilise rail bases transport is limited by the current rail capacity specifically the availability of the train path, the capacity of the trains and the utilisation of the train capacity. There is common agreement between HPUK, Network Rail and DfT that up to 32 freight movements per day will be possible without implementing the s106 enhancements on the branch line. The remote rail works need to be delivered before commencement of Phase 2 and in any case not later than 31 December 2018.
There is an agreed cap on the number of HGV trips that can be generated by FSR, which is 2,659 trips per day. It has been calculated that in 2015 on completion of the Berth 9 extension that HGV trips will be 1,893.
http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/licensing/public_register/cases/documents/felixstowe/felixstowe_eia_report.pdf
The MMO consulted Network Rail and Highways as part of the consultation for the scoping stage and marine licence application. The s106 agreement and planning conditions agreed in 2003 included key transport provisions for improvement of terminal rail works and remote, offsite rail works. There was also the implementation of a travel plan, freight traffic management plan and freight quality partnership (FQP) plus improvements to sections of the A14. This agreement was reviewed and agreed by SCDC that the remote rail works could be postponed until the development of phase 2.
The construction impacts were assessed by AECOM at the request of SCDC in a technical note dated 21 January 2013. Impacts on road and rail are addressed in a Transport Assessment (TA), and assessed by AECOM at the request of SCDC in a technical note dated 21 January 2013. The note concluded that the construction of the proposed quay extension would not lead to an exceedence of the forecast FSR transport demand agreed under the previous consents and demonstrates that the additional freight movements could be accommodated within the existing transport network capacity.
The technical note states that the ability to utilise rail bases transport is limited by the current rail capacity specifically the availability of the train path, the capacity of the trains and the utilisation of the train capacity. There is common agreement between HPUK, Network Rail and DfT that up to 32 freight movements per day will be possible without implementing the s106 enhancements on the branch line. The remote rail works need to be delivered before commencement of Phase 2 and in any case not later than 31 December 2018.
There is an agreed cap on the number of HGV trips that can be generated by FSR, which is 2,659 trips per day. It has been calculated that in 2015 on completion of the Berth 9 extension that HGV trips will be 1,893.
http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/licensing/public_register/cases/documents/felixstowe/felixstowe_eia_report.pdf
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