Biggest shake up in Southampton's railway system since it was built

9:00am Tuesday 30th October 2007

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SOUTHAMPTON'S clogged roads could be relieved of more than one million lorry journeys a year after the Government backed a long-awaited plan to improve the rail freight network.

The Department for Transport is giving £43m to modernise the railway system round the city. It will give large containers access from the city's port to Birmingham, the north-west and Scotland on the West Coast Main Line.

Money will be spent on lowering tracks, raising bridges and removing obstacles to make the Southampton to West Midlands rail line more compatible with the bigger freight containers.

The work, due to start early next year and finish by 2011, will include improvements to the tunnel linking Southampton port and station with the rest of the network. The growth of rail freight has been hampered by the use of the larger containers, which are too big for certain sections of the network when fitted to standard rail wagons.

The project is likely to mean misery in the short term for commuters on road and rail,with disruption unavoidable.

Work to widen the major tunnel that runs underneath Southampton city centre is set to cause long-running disruption to services and to motorists.

The work is essential to modify the tunnel to cope with today's 9ft 6in high containers - a foot taller than their predecessors, which are being phased out. As a result, the number of containers leaving from the docks by rail has fallen from 35 per cent to just 28 per cent today, or 255,000.

Port bosses aim to get the numbers up to 40 per cent - about 400,000 containers currently, but as the container terminal pushes ahead with ambitious plans to nearly double in size, it could soon approach one million.

As well as cutting road congestion it is hoped that the multi-million-pound scheme will help to boost the city's economy and help the environment.

Southampton docks owner Associated British Ports and regional development agency SEEDA are contributing almost £12m to the scheme.

Port boss Doug Morrisson said: "It is great news and it's something we have all been working towards for some time now.

"The percentage of boxes going by rail out of Southampton has dropped over recent years because of this gauge clearance problem.

"We have an aspiration to get the percentage up to 40 per cent of our total volume and we couldn't do that without this project.

"The real beneficiaries are everyone who lives between here and the Midlands. They will see less traffic on the roads."

Route director David Pape, of track management agency Network Rail, said: "This funding represents a huge opportunity for rail freight.

"Network Rail will now begin delivery of the projects, working with all parties to carry out the enhancements to enable the rail freight market to grow and remove thousands of potential lorry journeys off the congested road network.

"We will now be continuing with feasibility studies into the best way to go ahead with the work.

"We will certainly bear in mind any potential disruption the work could cause, and we will do our best to minimise that disruption."

Bosses at Freightliner, which transports more than 225,000 containers around the country each year on its 34 daily services from Southampton docks, said that the announcement would make a big difference.

"This announcement for funding will make a difference in the ability of rail freight operators to move 9ft 6in containers on standard wagons from the major deep sea ports," said Lindsay Durham, head of rail strategy at Freightliner.

"We are pleased that the DfT recognises the important role that rail plays in the transport of containers from major ports.

"Rail movements have a much lower carbon footprint per container moved than road movements and can help to relieve road congestion.

"Rail freight has not only kept up with market growth but also increased its market share from 17 per cent to 24 per cent over the last ten years.

"This has meant last year about 800,000 lorry journeys were kept off congested roads such as the A34 and the A14 by trains."

The South East England Development Agency, one of several organisations which have contributed funds to the scheme, estimated that reduced congestion on the roads in the Southampton and Winchester area alone would deliver a £13m boost to the economy.

Its chief executive Pam Alexander said: "The port of Southampton is a major player in regional and UK economic performance, so we are delighted that the project has full approval to go ahead."

Southampton's transport bosses said the funding was "fantastic."

Cabinet member for environment and transport, Cllr Gavin Dick, said: "These improvements will help take thousands of lorries off our roads and will help to significantly reduce carbon emissions in Southampton and the UK.

"This is fantastic for both our local environment and our economy."

Captain Jimmy Chestnutt, director general of the Southampton and Fareham Chamber of Commerce, said: "This is exciting news for Southampton and the surrounding region. The Chamber of Commerce, working with other parties, has lobbied in support of this project for a number of years.

"The proposed enhancements to the rail freight gauge will provide improved sustainable transport links to the West Midlands and beyond. This will ensure that the port of Southampton is able to handle the latest generation of containers and enable more freight to be transferred from road to rail systems with the obvious resultant environmental benefits.

"It will also ensure that the transportation links to and from the port and city of Southampton will be able to more effectively support the economic aspirations of this region."

Southampton Itchen MP John Denham said: "This is a fantastic boost for Southampton. It is a real statement of Government confidence in the future prosperity and importance of our port on which so many jobs rely. I'm grateful to the transport ministers who have taken a personal interest in the development of the project."

Southampton Test MP Alan Whitehead said: "As well as helping to ensure the future competitiveness of the docks, this project will deliver huge environmental benefits by reducing the amount of freight transported by lorry and sending it by rail. John Denham and I have lobbied hard for this project and I am delighted it is going ahead."