PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT South East are calling on the Government to make immediate plans for the transition from widespread use of HGVs as a means of transporting goods across the country, to the much more environmentally friendly rail freight.
“Transportation needs to move to rail freight on the countries under-utilised rail networks where possible, with additional infrastructure and reduced charges provided to maximise this as a preferred, if not only option”, according to Una Dunphy of Waterford PBP.
The significance of the Supreme Court ruling in early August, gives added impetus to the necessity of speeding up our actions to substantially decrease our emissions. In place of being reactionary, paying fines to the EU, and placing the burden of tax on the individual trying to heat their home, we have to transition immediately, with meaningful solutions to the massive pollution that is generated by transport on a daily basis.
The move from HGVs to Rail Freight has been well researched over the past decade, with rail offering 76% less emissions than the huge HGVs that still navigate every town and village of the country. HGVs cause enormously excessive wear and tear on roads, gauged to be 10,000 times more than a family car, which greatly affects local authority’s road repair budgets.
Una continues “Recent news of the Ballina to Belview rail freight route is great news, and needs to be replicated by many more companies, providing a route from the North West to the South East, and serving all counties between. Belview’s link to Rotterdam will be invaluable in view of Brexit, by offering alternatives to the HGVs which will need to become a fast transitioning phase if we are to seriously cut our emissions.”
The Rosslare to Waterford rail-line provides a vital link to this western corridor also, and needs to be viewed in light of Freight, Public Transport and Tourism. Rail to Port routes are crucial to our future, in light of sustainable transport and offer a viable answer as they are already built. It is incumbent on local and national government to step up and ensure this happens.
The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) much-anticipated Fourth Greenhouse Gas Study, made public 4th August, shows shipping’s emissions grew between the base year of 2008 and 2018 – with a sharp and notable 150% rise in methane emissions over the period under review. Once freight gets on board an entire new battle against emissions begins. Shorter routes will place emphasis on ports such as Belview and Rosslare. However, getting the move from road to rail is the important first move we need to get moving on.
