CARBON EMISSIONS MUST BE REDUCED WITH SHIFT FROM ROAD TO RAIL - HOWARTH

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 26th Apr 2008

Recent figures have shown that rail improvement spending is far behind road spending, David Howarth MP deplored.

Improvements between Peterborough and Nuneaton and between Ipswich and Felixstowe are estimated at £120million. Studies show that these improvements will remove around 650 Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) movements a day from the port.

The A14 scheme would reduce travel times by only 8mins with an estimated cost of £944million.

David Howarth MP commented:

"At a time when carbon emissions reduction is our priority, I'm very unhappy to see that so little is being done to take lorries off our roads. We should dedicate much more money to improve our railway system. £125million is not enough for a real train alternative, when £944 million is the budget for the A14.

"Although there is a clear need for safety improvements on the A14, there is also a fundamental need for a concerted effort to shift freight from road to rail. Rail freight is a credible alternative from both an environmental and safety point of view. Reducing the number of trucks will reduce carbon emissions."

ENDS