Road-rail Transport (Hansard, 16 March 1994)

§ Ms Walley
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the current capacity of combined road-rail transport operations.

§ Mr. Freeman
Table 5.14 of Transport Statistics Great Britain 1993 contains statistics on "other traffic" which includes intermodal road-rail traffic. A copy of this publication has been placed in the Library.

§ Ms Walley
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what documentary evidence will be required relating to the destination of the loading unit used in a combined transport operation from or to a rail terminal; and what enforcement measures will be implemented.

§ Mr. Freeman
The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1994, which were laid in the House on 25 February exempt from the 38 tonne maximum weight limit a vehicle carrying a loading unit as part of a combined transport operation either(a) to a railhead pursuant to a contract for the transport of that unit by rail, or (b) from a railhead to which the unit has been transported by rail. The regulations require a document to be carried in the cab of the vehicle which specifies, in the case of (a), the railhead, the date of the relevant contract and the parties thereto or, in the case of (b), the railhead and the date and time at which the unit was collected from the railhead.
690W
Enforcement of lorry weight limits is carried out by the vehicle inspectorate, the police, and local authority trading standards departments. The 44 tonne weight limit will apply only to vehicles carrying containers and swap-bodies and therefore vehicles not carrying these weights will be unable to operate legitimately above 38 tonnes.

§ Ms Walley
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details and locations of the rail terminals he has identified for use by 44-tonne lorries in combined road-rail transport operations.

§ Mr. Freeman
Any rail terminal with facilities for the transhipment of containers and swap-bodies will qualify as a railhead for the purposes of the relevant regulations. It will also be necessary for the loading units in question to travel, or to have travelled, by rail on a network operated by British Rail or under a network licence.