Network Rail Freight Route Utilisation Strategy
Encyclopedia
The Freight Route Utilisation Strategy is a Route Utilisation Strategy, published by Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

 in March 2007. It is one of only two (the future Network RUS is the other) which have the perspective of the network as whole. It was included in a map published by the Office of Rail Regulation
Office of Rail Regulation
The Office of Rail Regulation is a statutory board which is the combined economic and safety regulatory authority for Great Britain's railway network. It was established on 5 July 2004 by the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, replacing the Rail Regulator...

 (ORR) as established in May 2007 . As with other RUSs, the Freight RUS took into account a number of responses to a Draft for Consultation, including the ORR .

To quote the Foreword:
"Rail freight...has grown rapidly in the last 10 years...this strategy forecasts further growth of up to 30 percent - the equivalent of an extra 240 freight trains per day – over the next ten years [to 2014/5 from 2004/5]. For this additional demand to be met by road freight...would lead to around an extra 1.5 million lorry journeys on the roads each year."

The study recommends a number of approaches and enhancements to the network; the chief recommendation is probably the enhancement of the loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

 from Southampton and the East Anglia coast ports to West Coast Main Line (WCML).

Most growth is expected in the carriage of deep-sea containers and coal for the electricity-generating industry, mainly in the Aire and Trent valley. Much coal is imported via the east coast ports.

Like other strategies in this series, recommendations are divided into short-term (Control Period 3, CP3, to March 2009), medium-term (CP4, to March 2014), and long-term (CP5, thereafter).

A key issue is the loading gauge of routes and potential routes for freight in particular for the carriage of sea-going (9' 6" in height, 2500 mm in width) containers. Such loads are accommodated on routes cleared to W10 on standard wagons. W12 is only slightly wider than W10, and the Freight RUS recommends that where structures are renewed the starting assumption should be that they are cleared to W12.

Some issues are addressed in other (prior or subsequent) RUSs.

Unlike passenger services, which over the course of a day tended to have comparable flows in both directions, freight movements have more unidirectional aspects and issues. Even though rolling stock does need in most cases to return to the original departure point this may be via a different route; moreover, problems arising from fully loaded trains and/or steep gradients may disappear from returning empty trains.

West Coast Main Line (WCML)

Short term Freight operators' requirements to be included in the December 2008 recasting of the WCML timetable; some services to be rerouted away from Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...

, via Macclesfield
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...

; new loop at Hartford, Cheshire
Hartford, Cheshire
Hartford is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies at the intersection of the A559 road and the West Coast Mainline and is less than south west of the town of Northwich...

.

Medium term Electric haulage of some new freight traffic between Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...

/Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...

 and Carlisle
Carlisle railway station
Carlisle railway station, also known as Carlisle Citadel station, is a railway station whichserves the Cumbrian City of Carlisle, England, and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line, lying south of Glasgow Central, and north of London Euston...

/Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

; diversion of some services via the Settle and Carlisle route; W10 and extra capacity between Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...

 and Nuneaton
Nuneaton
Nuneaton is the largest town in the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth and in the English county of Warwickshire.Nuneaton is most famous for its associations with the 19th century author George Eliot, who was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for...

 to provide 5 additional paths from Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...

 to Nuneaton avoiding the southern part of WCML.

Long term Infrastructure to allow the lengthening of container trains serving the Haven ports (see below) from 24 to 30 waggons; major enhancements in the Stafford area and to the Felixstowe to Nuneaton route (the latter to allow more capacity, to avoid the southern WCML).

Anglo-Scottish coal route

This is from the Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

 coast and open-cast mines to the Aire and Trent valley power stations. Recommendations are mainly short term, involving redoubling of the Annan-Gretna route and speeding up the junction with the WCML, and signalling enhancements to the Settle and Carlisle route.

Haven ports to the WCML

The Haven ports are Felistowe, Ipswich and Harwich.

Short term Capacity upgrades paid for by Hutchison Ports UK for planning permission for port expansion, including W10 clearance between Ipswich and Doncaster via Peterbrough; growth in demand to be accommodated on the route via the North London Line
North London Line
The North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...

 (NLL).

Medium term W10 clearance west of the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...

 (ECML) to Leicester and Nuneaton, together with other capacity enhancements to avoid the southern part of WCML; also W10 clearance of the Barking to Gospel Oak line
Gospel Oak to Barking line
The Gospel Oak – Barking Line is a railway line in north and east London which connects Gospel Oak in North London and Barking in East London as part of the London Overground network. It is sometimes known as the Goblin , although this is a nickname rather than an official title...

 to allow trains from North Thameside to avoid the NLL, leaving more paths for Haven ports trains.

Long term Infrastructure to allow the lengthening of container trains from 24 to 30 waggons.

East Coast ports to the Aire and Trent Valley power stations

For this purpose the East Coast ports are Blyth
Blyth, Northumberland
Blyth is a town and civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately 21 kilometres  northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne...

, Tyneside
Tyneside
Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...

, Teesport
Teesport
Teesport is a large sea port located in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire in north east England...

 (Redcar), Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

 and Immingham
Immingham
Immingham is a town in North East Lincolnshire, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary...

.

Short term Timetable changes and train lengthening to/from Immingham (already implemented by the time of the RUS publication); Brigg line and Wrawby junction enhancements; Hull Docks branch partial doubling; restoring of Boldon East curve to provide access to Durham Coast line avoiding congested parts of ECML.

Medium term A loop on the Killingholme
Killingholme
Killingholme is an area of Lincolnshire, comprising the villages of North Killingholme and South Killingholme. It is the site of two oil refineries, the Humber Refinery and Lindsey Oil Refinery, and an liquid petroleum gas storage facility .It is also a fast expanding port, handling RORO ferries...

 branch line near Immingham; a chord from the Brigg line to Cottam power station
Cottam Power Station
The Cottam power stations are a pair of power stations, located on the River Trent at Cottam near Retford in Nottinghamshire. The largest of the two is a coal-fired power station, which was commissioned in 1969 by the Central Electricity Generating Board, and has a generating capacity of 1,970...

, providing direct access from Immingham; signalling enhancement at Selby
Selby
Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...

 and a loop at nearby Barlby
Barlby
Barlby is a linear village in North Yorkshire, England. It lies to the north-east of the market town of Selby, and is bordered to the west by the River Ouse and to the east by the A19 Barlby bypass...

, allowing lengthening of trains to/from Hull.

Long term Protection of the route of the mothballed Leamside line near Tyneside.

Southampton to WCML

Short term Signalling enhancements on the route from Leamington
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...

 to the WCML via Birmingham (this route provides an alternative to the most direct route via Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

 and Nuneaton).

Medium term W10 clearance of
  • the core route via Eastleigh, Reading West Jct, Leamington and Nuneaton
  • the alternative Leamington-WCML route via Birmingham (Sutton Park line)
  • possibly southern diversionary routes via Melksham
    Melksham
    Melksham is a medium-sized English town, lying on the River Avon. It lies in the county of Wiltshire.It is situated southeast of the city of Bath, south of Chippenham, west of Devizes and north of Warminster on the A350 national route. The 2001 UK census cited Melksham as having 20,000...

     and/or Laverstock/Andover
    Andover, Hampshire
    Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton some 18.5 miles west of the town of Basingstoke, 18.5 miles north-west of the city of Winchester and 25 miles north of the city of Southampton...

    .


Long term Possible grade separation at Reading West Jct.

Projects at various stages

Completed: Annan-Gretna redoubling ; Brigg line and Wrawby junction enhancements ; partial doubling of the Hull Docks branch .

Funded and authorised to completion : W10 clearance through Ipswich and Peterborough to Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

 and Yorkshire terminals (Doncaster Europort, Selby Potter Group, Wakefield Europort and Leeds Stourton) ; Settle and Carlisle enhancements, including extra intermediate block signalling; Gospel Oak to Barking W9 and W10 clearance; Hampstead Tunnel W10 clearance .

Authorised to GRIP stage 3, 4 or 5, for implementation in CP4 : Peterborough to Nuneaton gauge improvements; Southampton - West Coast Main Line gauge enhancements. Enhancements to North London Line (east of Camden Road
Camden Road railway station
Camden Road railway station is in the London Borough of Camden in North London. The station and all trains serving it are operated by London Overground. It is on the North London Line and in Travelcard Zone 2....

), including signalling enhancements, four-tracking and additional freight loops, are scheduled for implementation also in CP4, probably funded by Tfl.

Boldon East curve being pursued for CP4.

DfT's 2007 HLOS

The British Government's Department for Transport (DfT) published in July 2007 a White Paper 'Delivering a Sustainable Railway' , intended to provide strategic direction for the rail industry. This contained the High Level Output Specification and Statement (HLOS) of funds available, covering the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2014, in accordance with a statutory duty set by the Railways Act 2005 to state quinquennially the quantum of public expenditure to be devoted to rail. It specifies what the Government requires the railway to deliver, especially in relation to safety, reliability and capacity.

The White Paper also takes a 30-year view on future strategy within the national railway network, emphasising the partnership between the Government and the rail industry, and identifying three long-term themes:
  • increasing the capacity of the network
  • providing a quality and reliable service for passengers
  • enhancing rail's environmental potential.


It also endorses the Freight RUS, and in Chapter 9, which deals explicitly with freight, moots the development of a Strategic Freight Network going beyond the RUS, but without specific detail.
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