§ 27. Mr. HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to encourage heavy loads to be transported by rail rather than road. [23906]
§ Mr. WattsWe have already opened up access to the rail network for private sector rail hauliers. In conjunction with the BR board, we are currently progressing plans for the privatisation of the British Rail freight businesses. We also make available capital grants for rail freight facilities402W and revenue grants to assist in defraying track access charges levied by Railtrack. For example, a recent freight facilities grant award of £2.6 million to a company based in Derbyshire will secure traffic to rail which would have otherwise gone by road, thereby avoiding an estimated 45,000 lorry journeys per year.