Deliver our diesel but only by road, says ScotRail
ScotRail drivers prefer rivals trains. Picture: Jon Savage
SCOTLAND’S main train operator is seeking a new supplier to deliver 48 million litres of diesel a year – by road.
The £31 million ScotRail contract, involving some 1,500 tanker movements, comes despite ministers urging further reductions in the environmental impact of railways.
It also contrasts starkly with Prestwick – Scotland’s fourth largest airport – which gets all its 70m litres of fuel a year by rail from the Grangemouth refinery.
Environmental campaigners called on the Scottish Government to stipulate that ScotRail switches its supply route as part of the next franchise from 2014.
ScotRail and other train operators in Scotland have received diesel by road since British Rail abandoned rail deliveries before privatisation in the 1990s.
However, ministers have said rail is one of the greener forms of travel and “there are still many ways that rail can reduce its environmental impact”.
They also aim to make this a “key environmental theme” of the new ScotRail franchise – which is their biggest contract – and they intend to electrify Scotland’s main inter-city routes, powered by renewable energy
ScotRail has some 150 diesel trains – more than half its fleet – which operate almost all routes outside Strathclyde.
The new one-year diesel supply contract, from April, comprises 23 million litres being delivered to three train depots in Glasgow, 10.6m to Haymarket in Edinburgh, 8.4m to Inverness and 6.5m to Perth.
Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: “The renewal of this contract to deliver fuel for Scotland’s trains by road underlines what we have long argued – we need to get serious about shifting freight from road to rail and need to speed up the timescales for electrifying the rail network.
“The SNP government’s 2014 consultation, widely accepted as a shambles, asks how Scotland’s rail service can reduce its environmental impact. This fuel contract would seem a golden opportunity that ministers should have acted upon before now.”
Paul Tetlaw, for sustainable transport campaigners Transform Scotland, said: “If the national rail operator is getting its fuel by road, road freight is too cheap and it should be encouraged to switch to rail.”
David Spaven, Scottish representative of the Rail Freight Group, said: “Virtually all oil refineries are directly rail-connected so for the longer hauls it’s hard to imagine anything more suited to rail transport.
“For many years there has been a weekly oil train from Grangemouth to Lairg which passes right by the ScotRail fuelling point at Inverness.”
A spokesman for Aberdeen-based FirstGroup, which runs ScotRail, said: “As a result of suppliers’ arguments on grounds of costs and flexibility, British Rail removed the facilities for deliveries within rail locations under a rationalisation programme. ScotRail inherited that position.
“The latest tender for fuel on the open market is designed to get the best price possible.”
A Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland agency spokeswoman said: “ScotRail supplies and contracts, and environmental considerations regarding these, are a matter for ScotRail under the current franchise contract.
“We recognise this could potentially be improved upon and are considering the environmental criteria for the future franchise.”
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Comments
There are 16 comments to this article
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Maurice the Dolphin
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 11:35 PMA Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland agency spokeswoman said: “We recognise this could potentially be improved upon and are considering the environmental criteria for the future franchise.”.............................That's why the SNP have also cut the cash to rail freight over the past couple of years and put more heavy haulage back onto the roads from rail.
Mark Bishop
Monday, February 27, 2012 at 06:37 PMGood Grief. Using road to deliver that which can be delivered by rail TO rail. Tacking on a few extra tanker carriages at no additional cost would be far too easy? OK, let's rope in Scottish Power to electrify the railways and pass on all that free electricity from windpower and wavepower to get the railways moving. Might as well use the stuff, seeing as we are already paying heavy subsidies to the power companies to invest in the country.
Rob Royston
Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 09:53 AMIt's only five truck loads a day spread over the various depots, hardly worth all the expense of sidings, wagons, rail blockage, etc., etc.
Zuerich
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 12:23 PMFor this to work by rail, it would require a long term contract to fund the infrastructure required - new rolling stock to supply fuel, extra stabling for stock discharging fuel, etc. Also, remember that ScotRail doesn't have engines or drivers to run this contract; they're at the mercy of DB etc who are not interested in 'small' contracts to remote locations - DB currently have 'exported' some of their UK engines abroad for more lucrative work, for instance. I don't blame ScotRail for this one.
Jolly
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 10:32 AMOnly in Scotland , could a ridiculous plan about using road delivieries for railways. Greener projects here also involve stopping trains to the North and closing Glasgow suburban stations! Welcome to Scotland.
Aneirin
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 07:29 PMAre there not grants available for changing facilities from road to rail? I know these grants were under threat last budget, but I seem to recall they were reprieved. But, in any event, this situation sends out totally the wrong message. It says "We do not trust rail to deliver our goods" - in which case, why should passengers trust rail for their own delivery?
ELDee
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 07:28 PM#5, excellent point. IN the long term all lines should be electrified as far as possible.
Rob Royston
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 07:15 PM8. WHY?
Rob Royston
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 06:50 PMComment removed by moderator
Hazelkaye
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 05:53 PMWhat perverse logic - and yet another shot-in-the-foot scenario! One would assume ('tongue-in-cheek') that all Scotrail's rolling stock fleet depots are already "rail connected" - as is the GRANGEMOUTH fuel terminal!
Belle du Jeer
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 03:24 PMIf it is cheaper to move ScotRail's diesel fuel by road, then the answer is not to increase taxes on road transport in order to make rail competitive artificially, but to make rail itself more efficient. If rail can be as green as its fans propose, then this should straightforward.
Union Kon
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 10:20 AMDepressingly the railways were never electrified, so messing around with diesel is necessary. Last time I stood in Glasgow Queen St. station I could hardly breathe with the fumes. I pity the folks who have to work there.
B K
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 09:01 AMFor a company which transports its own railway wagons by road, I'm not surprised.
B K
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 09:00 AMWhy is it cheaper to pay someone else to do it in an extremely inefficient manner than to do it yourself efficiently?
JFR962
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 08:17 AMA Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland agency spokeswoman said: “ScotRail supplies and contracts, and environmental considerations regarding these, are a matter for ScotRail under the current franchise contract. As she sat back, put her feet up on the table and pocketed the latest bundle of brown envelope readies from First Group.
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