Rail freight debate targets getting traffic off local roads

Hazel Grove MP Lisa Smart has led a parliamentary debate aiming to pin ministers down on concrete plans to increase the use of rail freight in the UK, to take traffic off congested local roads, and improve the environment.

In the UK, just 7% of freight is moved by rail, compared to a European average of 19%. At a local Tarmac site in Bredbury, just one delivery by rail freight removed 60 HGVs off local roads, so getting closer to those averages would make a massive impact at congestion spots such as the Bredbury exit from the M60. 

Lib Dem MP Lisa Smart said: “Rail freight can deliver real benefits to real communities, and we are still not using it nearly enough. We’ve consistently prioritised passenger services in this country – not that that always shows; we need a dedicated plan to get more freight off roads and on to tracks. 

“Even diesel-hauled freight produces around 76% lower emissions than road freight, and when you have HGVs moving through local communities and near schools, exhaust emissions are causing real damage to our children’s health. 

The MP recently visited the Tarmac site to see in practice the impact that effective rail freight can have, getting aggregates direct from the Peak District, and moving them across the country. 

MP Lisa Smart added: “The introduction of Great British Rail threatens to cut rail freight, not improve it, by reserving capacity for passengers at the expense of freight. 

“Every time I sit in traffic queuing near the M60, I know that this could be dramatically improved by getting more of the freight wagons that sit there too – pumping out exhaust fumes into the local villages – replaced by freight trains. 

“If you live near me, you know how frustrating that traffic is. The Government could genuinely produce a plan which would reduce that, improve the local environment, and benefit local businesses. They must do that.”