GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

There are three types of grant support available for rail freight: Freight Facilities Grant, Track Access Grant and Company Neutral Revenue Support:

Freight Facilities Grants (FFG)

A system of Freight Facility Grants has been available since 1974.

It is recognised that in order to transfer freight from road to rail companies may need facilities or equipment that would not be necessary for road only operations. The additional capital cost of providing this equipment may make the conversion of traffic non-viable even though the operational running of a rail-based service is more economic.

Freight Facility Grants are therefore designed to offset the additional capital costs of rail based operation. As public money is involved, there are some key criteria that determine how much grant can be paid. These are:

The environmental benefit, which is a measure of the value of taking lorries off road
The 'financial need', which is the difference in total cost to you between the rail and road options.

The calculations used by the SRA are based on the number of lorry miles removed referred to as 'Sensitive Lorry Miles', related to the type of roads involved.

The grant is discretionary and is generally between 50 - 75% of the capital cost of the rail scheme. Assuming appropriate and accurate information is made available, applications for smaller schemes can be assessed in 8-10 weeks, although larger schemes may take longer.

Track Access Grants (TAG)

The Government can provide grant assistance to offset track access charges for economically marginal rail traffic, however this is only available to freight operating companies. 

Company Neutral Revenue Support (CNRS)

Company Neutral Revenue Support (CNRS) is a new way of supporting the movement of intermodal containers in Great Britain. The grant provides revenue support and aims to secure growth in this sector. The grant applies to deep-sea, short-sea and domestic intermodal rail freight.

Further information:

The Department for Transport administers FFG for England, CNRS and TAG.

The DfT website contains full details of each scheme. Potential applicants can use an online calculator that works out the value of the environmental benefits that can be gained by transferring a particular freight flow from road to rail.
Go to: www.dft.gov.uk

The Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly administer freight Facilities Grants for Scotland and Wales respectively.
Go to: www.scotland.gov.uk or www.wales.gov.uk