Department for Transport

Rail Minister announces £44m to transport freight by rail
_______________________________________________________________

date 5 Jun 2007 09:30
source Department for Transport
type Press release

note DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT News Release (058) issued by The Government News Network on 5 June 2007

Rail Minister Tom Harris today announced the award of £44m in new rail freight grants at the Rail Freight 2007 conference.

The grants, for carrying freight by rail which would otherwise be carried on the roads, mean the equivalent of more than 2.1m lorry journeys and 631m lorry kilometres will be removed from Britain's roads over the next three years.

Speaking at Rail Freight 2007, Transport Minister Tom Harris said:

"I am pleased to announce today that we have awarded £44 million in funding over the next three years for the movement of freight on rail through the Rail Environmental Benefit Procurement Scheme (REPS).

"Our aim is to secure a major shift of goods from road onto rail. This will make a significant contribution towards reducing road congestion, accidents and carbon emissions.

"We will continue to provide financial support to rail freight where it is affordable and where it offers the greatest benefits when assessed alongside support for other modes. There is funding available and I would like to encourage the industry to get involved and make best use of it."

The next bid round for REPS closes on the 15th June. The details of these REPS contracts for the 2007/08 to 2009/10 period are:
Grant Recipient Scheme Traffic Details Contract Value
(£)
Direct Rail Services REPS (B) WH Malcolm 136,339
EWS REPS (B) Cemex / British 214,840
Sugar
EWS REPS (B) Cemex 266,625
EWS REPS (B) Cemex 199,584
EWS REPS (B) J Clubb 84,807
EWS REPS (B) Mendip Rail 165,240
EWS REPS (B) Mendip Rail 192,510
EWS REPS (B) Yeoman 13,996.80
Direct Rail Services REPS (I) Various 1,633,500
Eddie Stobart REPS (I) Tesco 707,620
EWS REPS (I) Various 2,914,480
Fastline REPS (I) Various 386,748
Freightliner REPS (I) Various 28,651,344
GB Railfreight REPS (I) Various 5,656,581
John G Russell REPS (I) Various 1,439,266
(Transport)
Kuehne + Nagel REPS (I) Felixstowe to 1,422,883
Hams Hall






NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The Department for Transport runs three schemes that facilitate the purchase of the environmental and social benefits that result from using rail or water transport instead of road. These are:

- Freight Facilities Grant (FFG): helps offset the capital cost of providing rail and water freight handling facilities.

- Rail Environmental Benefit Procurement (REPS (B) & REPS (I)): assists companies with the operating costs associated with running rail freight transport instead of road (where rail is more expensive than road).

- Waterborne Freight Grant scheme (WFG): assists companies with the operating costs, for up to three years, associated with running water freight transport instead of road (where water is more expensive than road).

2. The three freight grant schemes are open to new applications. Applications are prioritised in a bid round process and further details are available on the Department's website.

Public Enquiries: 020 7944 8300
Department for Transport Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk

Railhub Archive ::: 2007-06-05 DfT-001