1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152 
Piggybacking chilled goods is 'a huge opportunity' in the UK
Page 9
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
By Roger Brown A LEADING multimodal operator says transporting chilled goods by train is a "huge opportunity" that the transport industry must embrace.
Ken Russell, commercial and business development director at Glasgow-based John G Russell, says putting more HGV trailers on to freight trains so-called -piggybacking" is one option to ensure this happens.
"There could be benefits from the point of view of cost as well as convenience," he says. "At the moment, it is not a big area in the UK, but we think the idea needs to be debated and looked at again."
He adds: "If we could get an appropriate body height and width agreed by the government to accommodate pallet size, and make sure the insulation is correct for chilled [products], it could unlock a huge opportunity. Consistency and predictability of service, as well as the equipment to support it, is vital."
Rail freight operator DR Schenker is currently looking at introducing a piggyback service after what it describes as "renewed interest from a number of customers': Stuart Boner, managing director of the network segment of DB Schenker Rail (UK), says: "We are working very hard to develop innovative solutions for customers to secure road-to-rail conversion to reduce costs arid carbon emissions."
Meanwhile, the new 26acre Telford International Railfreight Park (TIRP), which cost 18m to build and is operated by John 0 Russell, has opened.
Funding for the facility has come from Advantage West Midlands and the EU's European Regional Development Fund.
The terminal has been handling a series of one-off train movements, primarily for the MoD, since March this year, and offers direct access to the UK rail network.