The DfT has announced that the Freight Facilities Grant, which helped finance modal shift from road to rail has been scrapped with immediate effect. The Scottish government has also said that their scheme is being scrapped.
In England £10m of FFG funding was available during 2010/11 to help assist transport firms in providing the necessary infrastructure for the modal shift.
The Freight Transport Association has slammed the decision made by the Department for Transport.
Christopher Snelling, the FTA’s head of global supply chain policy, saying “While revenue support grants remain, the loss of the facilities grant will make it less desirable and more cost prohibitive to invest in the sort of machinery and technology, like cranes and other freight handling equipment, needed to make rail and water borne freight a reality for companies currently focusing solely on road freight.”
Hauliers have also expressed their disappointment at the news. The Potter Group says that it has made significant strides in persuading companies to switch from road to rail. A spokesman said, that in the light of the recent announcement, ” It will be far harder to convince shippers to make such a switch when higher levels of capital investment are required.”
Started in 1974, the FFG has paid up to 75% of the cost of installing rail infrastructure for various companies.
