RAIL OFFERS LOW CARBON ALTERNATIVE FOR FREIGHT

RMTnews :: january 2008 :: www.rmt.org.uk 22 Working hard? Feeling sleepy? Have your say about fatigue! The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), supported by RMT, has commissioned a research project into fatigue and shift work of freight drivers and trackside workers. QinetiQ, an independent science and technology company, are carrying out this study. The project follows on from a successful study of passenger train drivers that was completed in 2004. The aim of the study is to find out about the patterns of work within freight and infrastructure environments and what influences fatigue. Using this information, it should be possible to make a positive difference to how fatigue affects you at work. But we need your help Over the coming months QinetiQ will be contacting a number of companies and requesting help with the study. JOIN IN You may be asked to take part in a focus group, or to fill in a questionnaire or a diary by QinetiQ. It’s really important that you take part in order to find out what is happening in the workplace. The time you contribute to the study could range from a few minutes a day writing down what hours you’ve worked and how tired you feel, through to 20 minutes to fill in a questionnaire about your general patterns of work and how this affects you. All responses will be anonymous and will be treated confidentially. If your company has agreed to participate, more details about the study will be available in the coming months. If, in the meantime, you would like to know more, or want to request to take part, please contact: Alison McGuffog Tel: 01252 394160 Email amcguffog@qinetiq.com Karen Robertson Tel: 01252 393339 Email: karobertson@qinetiq.com F reight on Rail has called for the government to put rail freight at the heart of its carbon dioxide reduction policy and increase rail capacity on key freight corridors. Freight on Rail welcomed the recent government funding for rail freight projects and commitment to commence work on the strategic rail freight network allowing rail freight services to expand. Further increases in rail freight capacity along key freight corridors would be the fast route to lowering carbon emissions at the same time as alleviating road congestion. The Department for Transport is now committed to multi-modal assessment of options and this should include schemes to increase rail capacity which can lower carbon dioxide emissions on the following routes:- a) Between Felixstowe and Nuneaton which could reduce the numbers of lorries on the A14, currently responsible for 30 per cent of road traffic on the route. b) More rail capacity on the key arterial route from Southampton northwards to the Midlands and the North, linked to the reconstruction of Reading Station and its approach lines, could alleviate road congestion on the A34. Philippa Edmunds of Freight on Rail said that the reality is that we cannot rely on ever bigger roads to get freight from the ports, a range of options is important. Rail freight can act as a freight bypass and has a crucial role to play in delivering a carbon-friendly transport policy in line with the Department for Transport’s framework to deliver a low carbon transport policy. “Not only does rail freight have a much better environmental record than road freight, rail is significantly more energy efficient than road, as energy efficiency is directly related to carbon dioxide emissions. Just remember, that an average freight train can remove 50 HGVs from our roads,” she said. For more details contact Philippa Edmunds at Freight on Rail on 020 8241 9982 or 07981 881410 (mobile) or by email at philippa@freightonrail.org.uk. www.freightonrail.org.uk RAIL OFFERS LOW CARBON ALTERNATIVE FOR FREIGHT CALLING RAIL FREIGHT DRIVERS AND TRACKSIDE WORKERS