WatcherZero
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- 25 Feb 2010
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ORR is currently consulting on massivley raising the freight track access charges that NR will charge by as much as 400% for power station coal. ORR believes this price jump will only reduce the amount of coal carried by 5% with other bulk goods such as hoppers, wagons and container freight also facing large jumps in pricing and seeing falls in shipping of upto 25% predicted. However ORR believes that this will produce a net increase of £50m per year in NR income. Freight currently makes up 7% of traffic but provides only 1% of Network Rails income around £55m per year. NR estimates Freights share of its variable costs as £281m (£192m-£241m with ORR mandatory efficency targets)per year and that in the fives years between end of CP4 and end of CP5 it expects variable maintenence costs for freight to rise by 7% as opposed to 5% for passenger trains. This new system would force freight to pay its way as much as possible, starting with the fourfold increase for carriage of coal which is considered highly price inelastic it would reduce the variable cost for each type of freight so no more than 10% of existing traffic was scared away, it would also investigate setting freight track access charges on a regional basis.
Sensible adjustment to make freight actually pay its true track charges and reduce its subsidy? price gouging because of budget cuts and efficency drive? or just a neccesary evil, what do you think?
http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/pr13/PDF/freight-charge-consultation-may2012.pdf
Sensible adjustment to make freight actually pay its true track charges and reduce its subsidy? price gouging because of budget cuts and efficency drive? or just a neccesary evil, what do you think?
http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/pr13/PDF/freight-charge-consultation-may2012.pdf
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