Road Report Supports Rail Improvement to Reduce A14 Congestion but finds Road Charging “of Marginal Benefit”

A recent report commissioned by the Department for Transport from engineering consultants Atkins has highlighted the benefit of railfreight in reducing both carbon dioxide emissions and traffic congestion on the roads.

Although examining the case for road improvements on the Huntingdon to Cambridge section of the A14, as well as for road charging, the report also came out with an estimate that the ongoing improvement to the Felixstowe to Nuneaton railfreight route could cut HGV traffic on the A14 by 11%.

The benefit from road charging was, however, described as "marginal" due to the effect it would have of diverting traffic onto other roads.

Following the recent completion of a 1-mile section of new track at Nuneaton, the next most significant improvement to the trans-Anglia railfreight route will be the so-called "Bacon Factory Curve" at a junction north of Ipswich.