Big cash boost to switch British freight to rail

<p>Britain’s Strategic Rail Authority has authorised grants totalling 5.5m (A$15.45m) to switch domestic freight from road to rail.</p> <p>The eight Freight Facilities Grants will together replace more than 1.6m truck journeys, equivalent to almost 56m km, with rail movements. </p> <p>All the grants are matched by private sector investment totalling 5.9m.</p> <p>Julia Clarke, SRA executive director for freight, said: "This latest round of grants demonstrates the significant progress that the rail freight industry is making in partnership with the SRA towards our target of keeping heavy lorries off unsuitable roads and reducing carbon dioxide emissions."</p> <p>Danish-owned transport group DFDS has been awarded 382,480, which it will match with 300,520 of its own funding for facilities at its Nordic Terminal in the port of Immingham. </p> <p>These facilities will keep 25,500 truck journeys, equivalent to more than 3m km, from the roads.</p> <p>Roadways Container Logistics has been awarded 328,350 to replace the rail gantry crane at Manchester Terminal. The new crane will enable replacement of more than 250,000 truck journeys, equivalent to more than 800,000 km.</p> <p>Tipes has been awarded 100,000 to provide for 30 swap bodies for the conveyance of marble from Italy through the Channel tunnel, to a number of railheads in the United Kingdom.</p> <p>This project will keep more than 8,000 truck journeys from the roads.</p> <br />