The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge

The Highland Timber Transport Group Chairman: Frank MacCulloch CEng MICE

February 2009

The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge: HTTG

Contents   THE ROLE OF THE HIGHLAND TIMBER TRANSPORT GROUP............................................................................................ 1  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................................................ 1  INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................... 2  BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2  DO WE REALLY WANT TO TRANSPORT TIMBER BY RAIL?.................................................................................................. 3  WHERE CAN IT WORK? ....................................................................................................................................................... 3  OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FLOW COUNTRY......................................................................................................................... 4  OBSTACLES TO PROGRESS ................................................................................................................................................... 5  OBSTACLE 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5  OBSTACLE 2 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5  OBSTACLE 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6  THE WAY FORWARD .......................................................................................................................................................... 6  REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................................................... 6 

The role of the Highland Timber Transport Group

The Highland Timber Transport Group (HTTG) is a voluntary partnership of public and private sector organisations with a common interest in resolving timber transport issues in the Highlands of Scotland. The group acts to promote solutions to timber transport problems and it is with this aim that it has undertaken this briefing paper.

Acknowledgements

The HTTG wishes to acknowledge funding assistance for strategy development from the Scottish Strategic Timber Transport Scheme, HITRANS, Forestry Commission Scotland, The Highland Council, Fountains, UPM Tillhill, Scottish Woodlands and Balcas. Special thanks also to Frank Roach, Partnership Manager with HITRANS for his assistance. Author: Colin JT Mackenzie BSc BSc(Eng) CEng MICE FIHT Project Consultant to the Highland Timber Transport Group Braeside, Helmsdale, KW8 6JS. T: +44(0)1431821207 E: [email protected]

Front Cover Photos, clockwise from top left: Borrobol Forest windblow; Far North railway line; Killearnan Forest with railway in foreground; Unloading timber from Kinbrace at Inverness.

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The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge: HTTG

Introduction The volume of timber to be harvested from forests in the Scottish Highlands is expected to double in the next decade. This will bring welcome benefits for rural employment, the economy and the environment. However the majority of this increase will take place in peripheral areas, often served by narrow and weak public roads, and this will, in turn, create a significant transport strategy problem. There is wide agreement amongst public agencies and the general public that timber traffic should be transferred from road to rail, wherever practicable and cost effective. Unfortunately, for a range of reasons, this has been very difficult to achieve in the past. The problems encountered in trying to encourage this transfer to rail have been experienced in many areas of Scotland and are not therefore unique to the Highlands. These issues were discussed with the Cabinet Secretary for Rural and Environmental Affairs during a visit made to the Flow Country on 9th February 2009. The purpose of this briefing paper is to provide further background information and context with a view to stimulating wider debate and action on the subject.

Figure 1: Typical single track road in Sutherland, damaged by timber traffic

Background In 2002 a major railside loading bank was constructed at Kinbrace in Sutherland using multi partner funding. The objective was to facilitate the transfer of 15,000 tonnes of timber, per annum, to market at Dalcross, near Inverness, some 150km away. The development was viewed as an exemplar of railside loading but unfortunately the logistics proved complex and ultimately uneconomic. Rail transport had to be abandoned after three years, in favour of more limited road extraction, which continues to the present day.

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The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge: HTTG

Fig 2: 2000t of timber awaiting uplift at Kinbrace Railside Loading Bank in 2003 Efforts to transport timber by rail elsewhere in Scotland have also faced problems. For example: • Rannoch: Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) awarded in 2008 for railside loading facilities for 15,000 tonnes of timber per annum destined for Irvine. The project has been under consideration since 2004/5 and negotiations with Network Rail are ongoing. • Barrhill; £5.2M FFG awarded in 2006 but subsequently withdrawn at the applicant’s request. Negotiations with Network Rail and potential operators are ongoing. • Crianlarich Upper/Arrochar: Normally active terminals for timber destined for Chirk in North Wales, 450km away. There is currently no service because of market conditions. • Crianlarich Lower: Work to improve facilities as an alternative to Crianlarich Upper has been under consideration since 2004/5 but is understood to be stalled at present. Do we really want to transport timber by rail? Freight Strategies from the Government down make worthy statements about transfer of goods to rail but can these aspirations really be delivered? Based on experience with timber over the last decade the answer must be in some doubt. What has become clear is that there are a number of obstacles currently impeding the delivery of these strategies. The ultimate question for Government and society is whether the cost of removing these obstacles is considered to be a worthwhile investment in a greener future. In a perfect world these strategies would be delivered by market forces, assisted by the levers of FFG and Track Access Grants. However it is very much a chicken and egg situation and major developers are not going to invest in rail facilities unless they are assured of a competitive and sustainable alternative to road. In addition, in a free market situation, a fundamental issue is the avoidance of the need for ongoing revenue support. The logical conclusion with regard to timber must surely be to invest capital, heavily and wisely, in transhipment facilities, with the key aim of minimising long term costs.

Where can it work? Rail transport is most cost effective for long hauls and large volumes. It works best where timber can be loaded directly into rail wagons in, or adjacent to, the forest and offloaded directly at the mill. Once timber has been loaded on to a roadgoing truck, it will incur an additional cost of £3 per tonne to unload it directly on to a train standing in a siding. Where the timber has to be first unloaded to a railside stockpile this cost can be doubled to take into account the later loading on to the train. However, if the truck had simply kept going on the public road, it could have carried the timber a further 30 to 60km for the same price.

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The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge: HTTG Unless the destination has a rail connection, and few do, similar transhipment costs may be incurred at the end of the rail journey. These reloading costs were a major issue at Kinbrace; the fact that the Norbord plant at Dalcross did not have a rail connection meant that the timber had to be loaded on a truck again at Inverness Station for the last 10km of the journey, adding significantly to the overall haulage cost. This re-emphasises the importance of cost effective transfer facilities, with the best locations being where trains can be accessed directly by specialist forest vehicles, running on rebated fuel. Permanent sidings are the most attractive option but, unless they already exist, may well be prohibitively costly. Elsewhere, and on lightly trafficked rail lines, lineside loading still appears to offer the most realistic answer.

Opportunities in the Flow Country The Highland Timber Transport Group is currently in discussion with the public and private sectors about the best strategy for removing up to 200,000 tonnes per annum from the Flow Country, starting as early as 2013. Rail seems to offer a highly attractive option for extracting these large volumes, with the Far North Line running through a number of contiguous forests. A daily 500 tonne train could replace 25 laden 44 tonne trucks (50 truck movements), taking heavy traffic off the fragile single track road network and away from communities. Two projects are currently at the outline stage of discussion: 1. Key loading facilities could conveniently be created at Altnabreac in Caithness and be supplemented by railside loading elsewhere, in order to provide economic viability. However this proposal, which would be private sector led, requires significant investment and a lead time of several years before construction can start.

Fig 3: Proposed site for transfer facilities at Altnabreac 2. The opportunity has arisen at Borrobol in the Strath of Kildonan in Sutherland to carry out a further trial of railside loading at the site of a former siding. The private sector forest there has suffered serious windblow in recent years and, with the North Highland Line running

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The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge: HTTG beside the forest, it offers an ideal location for rail extraction. The HTTG, HITRANS and HIE have been working together with the owner to see if the site can be developed to provide a template for low cost, railside loading, which would be applicable elsewhere in Scotland and beyond. The attraction of the Borrobol trial is that, with cooperation from Network Rail, it could have a short lead time and provide valuable lessons in terms of logistics and operation before embarking on the much larger proposal at Altnabreac.

Fig 4 The former Borrobol siding and proposed timber loading area

Obstacles to progress Based on experience in the Highlands there are three key obstacles to the transfer of timber from road to rail. These are outlined below and some ideas for resolving them are provided in italics. It is recognised that these views will be, and should be, challenged and that further discussion is required. However if the volume of timber being transported by rail is to increase, the status quo is not an option: Obstacle 1

The long established primacy of road transport: This embraces the reluctance of owners/agents/hauliers to try something new; the known reliability of road transport and its costs; the complexity of the rail industry and its variable track record. • Recent disengagement from rail solutions (eg Kinbrace, Barhill) and delays (eg Rannoch, Crianlarich) have increased apprehension about the rail industry’s ability to deliver. The answer must be to rebuild confidence through the development of rail solutions that are cost effective, reliable and sustainable. This will take time but progress must be made. Obstacle 2

The lack of rail connected destinations: • This is a classic chicken and egg situation. Major processors close to the rail network will not invest in direct rail access unless and until they are assured of its long term cost effectiveness and reliability. A key problem is that it does not appear to be possible to impose planning conditions for rail connections to new developments, without compromising the ability to subsequently pay FFG. It should also be remembered that whilst this document is mainly concerned with getting timber in to mills by rail, there is an equal benefit in getting finished products transported out that way. Page 5

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The Transport of Timber by Rail: Facing the Challenge: HTTG

Obstacle 3

The requirements and costs of Network Rail: This is a huge and often apparently insurmountable challenge that can only be addressed by Government. Lead times of several years can be quoted for relatively straightforward engineering works encroaching on Network Rail land and this is a major deterrent to progress. Added to this is the high cost of involving Network Rail in a potential project, where it can cost thousands of pounds just to survey and investigate the options at feasibility stage. At construction stage their costs, and that of complying with rail industry requirements, can be extremely high making it commercially unattractive to take on the risk of going forward with a project. • This is a major issue which needs to be resolved. On face value a review of the basis for funding Network Rail’s costs would seem necessary. Increasing the volume of timber transported by rail does not appear to be either a priority or an objective for Network Rail. Thought needs to be given as to how this issue can be overcome perhaps by using financial incentives and more innovative approaches.

The Way Forward This briefing note has outlined some of the history and issues preventing the wider use of rail for timber transport in Scotland. It is suggested that the following action is needed to move things forward: 1. A strategic study should be carried out to determine the scope for the transfer of timber to rail, building on work already done by Forestry Commission Scotland and others. This study should fully take into account the predicted increase in volumes and traffic and seek to quantify the full environmental benefits of rail as compared to road. 2. Projects already identified to deliver cost effective rail transfer solutions should be given further encouragement and support in order to overcome obstacles. This would generate much needed confidence in the industry that rail does have a role to play. 3. A review of the role of Network Rail in the process should be carried out, with possible Government incentives being offered to reduce costs and simplify procedures.

References 1. Transporting Timber from the Flow Country: Developing a Strategy: A discussion document. Highland Timber Transport Group. November 2007. 2. Borrobol Forest, Sutherland: A Potential Case Study for Low Cost Railside Loading. Highland Timber Transport Group. September 2008.

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