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Topic: A road-to-rail freight interchange at Westbury? (Read 2687 times)
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Pete
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Just how feasible is this facility...
West Wiltshire District Council have safeguarded some land for this development: some 7.8 hectares. Looking at the guidelines from the SRA (Strategic Rail Authority) the likely indicitave size for this type of facility is between 10 and 30 hecatres and should also be able to expand if necessary. The guide also suggests that the facility should be located at key points in urban areas. Westbury can hardly be described as urban, more likely suburban. The guide goes on to state that the facility should be located close to a trunk road network; the closest possibility is the A36. However, this is in the process of being de-trunked. So this site fails on all three main criteria.
The SWARMMS (London to South Wales and South West Multi Modal Study) published a report in 2002 which looked at Multi Modal freight issues. Within that report the Westbury site was examined and the following conclusions we arrived at:-
Site - Brownfield – existing rail yard adjacent to station and town centre. Existing sidings not long enough for 775m train, but could be re-configured within site.
Road Access - Poor - via town centre or industrial estate. When site proposed it was expected that the A350 Westbury bypass would follow the inner western alignment, taking it through the rail yard. An eastern alignment which does not serve the site is now being promoted.
Rail Access - Moderate - on main line to London (W8), South West, regional line to Bristol / Southampton (all W7) but no plans for enhanced loading gauge.
Potential Demand - Poor - limited local inter-modal demand, which could use the nearby terminals at Avonmouth and Swindon. Too far from M5 / trunk road network to be considered as a railhead for South West freight.
Overall Assessment - No potential as an inter-modal site, but a key marshalling location for Mendip minerals traffic.
The Bristol/Bath to South Coast Study (BB2SCS) published in 2004 also looked at a rail freight interchange at Westbury and had the following to say...
Rail Freight
The Westbury line is used sporadically for freight movements during the typical week. A number of paths have been made available for freight trains, (up to 15), but these are not always taken up. The main primary freight movement is that of aggregates to the “virtual” quarry at Westbury.
The Westbury Freight Terminal has been an aspiration for Wiltshire County Council for anumber of years. The former United Milk plant, recently constructed on the Brook Lane development site in Westbury, was considered to be an “anchor” development with exactly the right sort of commodity to make a freight transfer station a viable proposition. However, with the facility having recently gone into receivership, [it is now trading as Westbury Dairies], and the indeterminate suspension of the rail freight grant funding regime by the Strategic Rail Authority, there is little prospect of the terminal being built in the short to medium time span.
The above studies were prepared by experts independant of Wiltshire County Council. All in all, not a very good prospect for this facility to actually see the light of day.
Pete
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« Last Edit: November 21, 2007, 11:32:57 PM by Pete »
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Lee
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The following should also be noted : 1) The reports that Pete refers to (and yes , I have read them) are now 3 - 5 years old. 2) Since then , the DfT have reinstated the rail freight grant funding regime , and the diversion of intermodal freight via Westbury and Melksham is now being (and has been for a while) actively considered. See link below. http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2478.from1195664965;topicseen#msg87343) The diversion of lorries away from Bath and instead being routed via the A350 is also being actively considered. This doesnt mean that I automatically think that a Westbury freight depot is now a runner (far more likely is an increase in intermodal freight via Westbury and Melksham from Southampton Docks) , but I do think that some of the circumstances upon which Pete bases his argument have now changed. |
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Pete
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Fair comments Lee.
However, I believe the citical issue is the fact that there are no large scale industries close enough to Westbury to make this facility feasible. As the reports state, there are already interchanges in Avonmouth and Swindon, that only leaves industries to the south of Westbury, towards Salisbury, and I think they would be more inclined to use Southampton.
It doesn't matter how much of a grant is awarded, if you can't attract the customers, no developer in their right mind would consider building the facility.
Pete
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« Last Edit: November 22, 2007, 03:53:50 PM by Pete »
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Lee
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I can foresee at least one scenario where a Westbury Freight Depot could become viable. Quote from Page 10 of Route 12 of the Network Rail Business Plan 2007 (link below.) http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/BusinessPlan2007/PDF/Route%2012%20Reading%20to%20Penzance.pdf"The Regional Spatial Strategy also recommends that commercial developments which generate high volumes of freight movements should be located close to appropriate rail freight facilities to support more sustainable distribution." Should the Government decide to move this kind of policy forward in this area , then an example of such a commercial development , reasonably close to Westbury , can be found in the link below. http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=311.msg859#msg859Whether they would actually decide to move this kind of policy forward in this area is , I would agree , a matter for some considerable debate. |
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Pete
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"The Regional Spatial Strategy also recommends that commercial developments which generate high volumes of freight movements should be located close to appropriate rail freight facilities to support more sustainable distribution." I would imagine a development that would generate such high volumes of freight would require a large amout of space, i.e. larger than the current West Wilts trading estate, along with an awful lot of money and a long time to get the interest generated.
Pete |
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Lee
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Slight misunderstanding , Pete. I was thinking more of developments close to the proposed Westbury freight terminal , not physically right next door. The link in the previous post relates to a Warminster development.
The proposed Westbury site could also be developed as part of a network of mini - railfreight terminals , as groups such as Campaign for Better Transport (formerly Transport 2000) have proposed for this corridor.
I would agree though that the funding , and the time required for planning (if of course the plans for such a network dont exist already , as some have alleged) would be a significant factor.
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« Last Edit: November 24, 2007, 04:11:15 PM by Lee »
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Lee
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Such mini - railfreight depots as described above are slowly coming into favour. Here is a recent example from my home patch of Portsmouth. As you can see , it is a relatively basic affair (link below.) http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/08/new_railfreight_link_for_ports.htmlIt still needed to be funded though , and , as would be the case with Westbury , road access was most certainly an issue (come down here and try it for yourself.) However , it still went ahead. Also , the Conservatives are looking at building similiar mini - railfreight depots as part of their transport policy. Here's an interesting one for you : Lets have a look at it from the perspective of a London - based DfT civil servant with , perhaps , not the greatest knowledge of an area which isnt exactly central to his master's electoral prospects. Here is a map from the DfT's "Towards a Sustainable Transport System: Supporting Economic Growth in a Low Carbon World" (30/10/2007 , link below) : http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/strategy/transportstrategy/pdfsustaintranssystem.pdf The least congested roads are shown in blue , rising through orange with the most congested roads shown in red. The civil servant may decide that "best value" would lie in funding a railfreight depot at one of the least congested points on the road network , thus taking lorries off the road before they hit one of the most congested parts of the road network. He may also be looking for a location that lies at a key point on the rail network , with excellent links to many other areas further afield. Which of the locations on the map above would appear to the civil servant to best fit the above criteria? Bear in mind also that the civil servant may consider that funding the scheme above would be "better value" than funding an expensive road that appears to him to bypass one of the least congested points on the road network. However Pete , as I said in my opening post , I share your scepticism as to whether a Westbury Freight Depot will become reality in the near future. The only difference in our views is that I wouldnt completely rule out the prospect of it being built at some point. |
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« Last Edit: November 25, 2007, 12:50:47 PM by Lee »
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Pete
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Firstly I don't agree with the map. How can the congestion disappear on one side of Westbury then magically reappear on the other? It's one road!
Secondly, if I were the civil servant looking at the map, Westbury would not be the first place I would think of to put the interchange. All the roads around the site are already congested and putting the facility there would only make matters worse. My gut instict would probably be to put it to the south of Warminster where the railway line crosses the A36 at the bottom end of the bypass. It would have both the A36 and the railway line immediately adjacent, and with a minor additional railway line at Westbury all 4 directions of travel would be avaliable.
Thirdly, I never said never. I just don't think it's likely that this facility will see the light of day within the next 2 or 3 decades. I hope I'm wrong though.
Pete
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Lee
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Firstly I don't agree with the map. How can the congestion disappear on one side of Westbury then magically reappear on the other? It's one road! Interesting that you dont agree with the map. Why not write to the DfT and tell them? I would love to read the reply  Secondly, if I were the civil servant looking at the map, Westbury would not be the first place I would think of to put the interchange. All the roads around the site are already congested and putting the facility there would only make matters worse. My gut instict would probably be to put it to the south of Warminster where the railway line crosses the A36 at the bottom end of the bypass. It would have both the A36 and the railway line immediately adjacent, and with a minor additional railway line at Westbury all 4 directions of travel would be avaliable. Point noted , but I am still doubtful that the civil servant would choose Warminster over Westbury. We will have to agree to disagree on that one. Thirdly, I never said never. I just don't think it's likely that this facility will see the light of day within the next 2 or 3 decades. I hope I'm wrong though. Fair comment. It will be interesting to see how things pan out. |
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