Rosyth International Container Terminal Rail Freight Access

May 2011

Document control sheet BPP 04 F8

Client: Babcock Marine Rosyth Ltd Project: Rosyth International Container

Terminal Job No: B1561000

Document Title: Rail Freight Access

Originator Checked by Reviewed by Approved by NAME NAME NAME NAMEORIGINAL John Appleton Ted Keegan Ted Keegan Mark Lancaster

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May 2011

Document Status –Final

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Jacobs Engineering U.K. Limited This document has been prepared by a division, subsidiary or affiliate of Jacobs Engineering U.K. Limited (“Jacobs”) in its professional capacity as consultants in accordance with the terms and conditions of Jacobs’ contract with the commissioning party (the “Client”). Regard should be had to those terms and conditions when considering and/or placing any reliance on this document. No part of this document may be copied or reproduced by any means without prior written permission from Jacobs. If you have received this document in error, please destroy all copies in your possession or control and notify Jacobs. Any advice, opinions, or recommendations within this document (a) should be read and relied upon only in the context of the document as a whole; (b) do not, in any way, purport to include any manner of legal advice or opinion; (c) are based upon the information made available to Jacobs at the date of this document and on current UK standards, codes, technology and construction practices as at the date of this document. It should be noted and it is expressly stated that no independent verification of any of the documents or information supplied to Jacobs has been made. No liability is accepted by Jacobs for any use of this document, other than for the purposes for which it was originally prepared and provided. Following final delivery of this document to the Client, Jacobs will have no further obligations or duty to advise the Client on any matters, including development affecting the information or advice provided in this document. This document has been prepared for the exclusive use of the Client and unless otherwise agreed in writing by Jacobs, no other party may use, make use of or rely on the contents of this document. Should the Client wish to release this document to a third party, Jacobs may, at its discretion, agree to such release provided that (a) Jacobs’ written agreement is obtained prior to such release; and (b) by release of the document to the third party, that third party does not acquire any rights, contractual or otherwise, whatsoever against Jacobs and Jacobs, accordingly, assume no duties, liabilities or obligations to that third party; and (c) Jacobs accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage incurred by the Client or for any conflict of Jacobs’ interests arising out of the Client's release of this document to the third party.

Contents

1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Background 1 1.3 Rail Haulage 3 1.4 Ownership Issues / Control Etc 5

2 Conclusions 6 2.1 Conclusions 6

3 References 7

Figures 3-1

1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction

This report has been prepared in support of the Harbour Revision Order application made by Port Babcock Rosyth Limited (hereafter referred to as Babcock) to provide information on the potential for the use of the existing rail network to serve the proposed Rosyth International Container Terminal (RICT). It draws on discussions and previous studies undertaken to establish the nature of the network, constraints and required improvements to allow the movement of containers by rail to and from Port Babcock Rosyth (the Port). Babcock accepts that the opportunity to transport containers by rail is desirable. Where viable it is something which is recognised to be appropriate. This, however, is not something which can happen immediately at the start of the life of the RICT project (the Development) but will take time to develop as markets are identified and infrastructure improvements are implemented over time. At present the Port is served by a short single track branch line which connects to the national railway network. This provides access to the Fife Circle line and hence the main Edinburgh to Aberdeen line to the south of Inverkeithing Rail Station and offers the potential to be utilised for transporting freight to and from the Development site. 1.2 Background

The railway spur to the Port consists of 2 miles 462 yards of single track railway connected to the Fife Circle by a turnout and crossover to the south of Inverkeithing Station. The branch line passes under the main line to Edinburgh via the Ferry Toll tunnel and this line allows rail movements from Rosyth to the north either via Kirkcaldy or Dunfermline. Trains travelling south have either to turn at Townhill engineering sidings or travel around the Fife Circle to use the Forth Bridge. During the initial feasibility, outline design and scoping stages of the project, consultation was carried out and meetings held with representatives of Network Rail’s Freight and Routing Divisions and other stakeholders. This was undertaken in order to better understand the opportunities for rail freight transport and the associated network issues which required to be considered in order to allow container transport by rail to and from the Development. The rail network in the area is detailed within Figure 1. There is a dedicated freight line aligned east to west from Dunfermline via Culross, Longannet Power Station and Kincardine onwards to Alloa, Stirling and the wider network (SAK). Passenger services connect at the periphery of SAK at Alloa to the west and the Fife Circle line at Dunfermline and Inverkeithing to the east. Whilst it is still possible for trains to access the Port none operate at present. The last regular service provided by British Rail carried workers to and from Kirkcaldy, Inverkeithing, Aberdour and Burntisland. In 1991 the service was withdrawn as it was no longer considered commercially viable. As a consequence the signal box, signalling and parts of the track have fallen into disrepair. Since this time there has been ad hoc use of the rail connection when appropriate. Rail Freight Access_v5 - FINAL 1

Constraints to freight movement by rail include the available operating envelope of the line. There are four loading gauges (W9 to W12) that accommodate different sizes of containers beyond the basic loading gauge of railways in the United Kingdom. The W9 gauge allows small containers and restricted European containers. W10 gauge accommodates 9'6" deep-sea containers and has been the recent standard for clearances. W11 and W12 are designed to convey larger European containers that need both additional height and width. Network Rail has indicated that the Rosyth line is suitable for the majority of freight wagons with the exception of some bulk wagons with an axle load greater than 22.8 tonnes as well as larger containers carried on standard height wagons. It has also been confirmed by Network Rail that the existing line has a W8 gauge freight-only connection status and that further work is necessary to ensure suitable clearance to operate at W9 status. This constraint can be overcome to a degree by the use of appropriate wagon types; but this can itself introduce other issues such as increased train lengths and reduced efficiency. The connection at Inverkeithing is north facing. This means that any freight trains accessing the Development from the south would either have to change directions north of Inverkeithing or divert around the Fife Circle line to gain access to the Development from the north (Figure 1). Access to Inverkeithing is available from a number of directions. Trains from the south and west can access Inverkeithing via the Forth Bridge or via the recently reopened Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine Railway (SAK), to Charleston Junction (south of Dunfermline). However, the loading gauge from both directions is restricted. In addition there are timetabling issues for freight traffic. As noted above, trains from the south either have to change directions north of Inverkeithing or travel round the Fife Circle. Inverkeithing is also accessible from the north. This exacerbates timetabling issues. Currently there are significant numbers of passenger trains passing through Inverkeithing. This varies from approximately six trains per hour in each direction during the day to up to eight trains per hour in each direction during peak periods. This would limit the number and times of day when freight trains could access the Development although it is acknowledged that opportunities to access the line would be available. In 2006 Jacobs Babtie was commissioned by Scottish Enterprise Fife to undertake a study into providing improved rail access to the ports of Rosyth and the waterfront. The report considered the use of the rail link at the time, the constraints preventing its enhanced use and proposals to address them. A key part of the study was the consideration of how the ports can be better connected to the wider rail network via the (at the time still to be constructed) SAK rail line. The report examined two opportunities to improve access to and from the ports. The first of these included improved rail handling facilities within the ports. The second, of direct relevance to the Development, sought to identify the necessary improvements to the main rail infrastructure to make access to and from the ports simpler, quicker and commercially viable.

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Consultation carried out at the time with the Rosyth waterfront landowners established that the major constraint identified in their discussions with freight companies is the lack of a simple rail connection from the ports to central Scotland and beyond. In order to improve access it was considered necessary to provide a direct link to the new SAK line. The most appropriate location for this link would be from a new ‘chord’ at the Charlestown junction, (Figure 1). The new chord is required to maintain flexibility in train operations and also to prevent and overcome the current costly time and capacity constraints caused by reversals further round the Fife Circle line. A second connection between the up and down lines needs to be added to allow trains to proceed off the Kincardine line travelling towards Rosyth. Once again this will also provide operational flexibility. A preferred option was identified for the new chord link and was subject to more detailed examination including signalling requirements, route capacity and costings. The majority of freight movements from the Development are expected to be to or from Strathclyde or Lothian with a limited volume of freight anticipated to travel north. Due to the short distance to Edinburgh and Lothian, along with the fact that, currently, there are limited loading / unloading facilities for container freight in the vicinity, it is unlikely that much, if any, freight would be transported to this area from the Development. For freight travelling to and from the greater Glasgow area, there are a number of existing suitable terminals able to handle container traffic. Rail freight would travel either over the Forth Bridge or via Charlestown Junction and the SAK line. A new Charlestown chord would provide a west facing junction, removing the need to reverse direction, however the works associated with the provision of this infrastructure need to be planned, designed and implemented by others. For freight travelling to and from the Lothian area there are similar issues due to the Rosyth branch line joining the east coast line at Inverkeithing in a northerly direction. Trains either have to go via Stirling, or round the Fife Circle, or reverse back down the main line once they have joined the line at Inverkeithing. Therefore enhancements to the main railway network will be required to allow containers to travel on the line with any regularity. 1.3 Rail Haulage

In the UK and other similar North European markets, the role of rail is generally confined to the shipment of containers over distances of around 200 miles and over. This is because the requirement to deliver the container to and from the railhead invariably involves a truck movement and additional handling of the container. There are some exceptions to this, specifically where a large individual customer operates its own siding within the boundary of its factory in order to handle regular dedicated high volumes of containers. An example of such an arrangement would be Ford’s product shipments from Dagenham to Felixstowe. The market for the Development will primarily be the central belt of Scotland, with typical haul lengths to and from customers being considerably less than 200 miles. As a result an economic case for large scale rail movements of containers using the Development must be made. There may be an opportunity for the development of the railing of containers at the terminal, but this would be entirely dependent upon specific arrangements being made with large scale cargo owners / operators. At Rail Freight Access_v5 - FINAL 3

present it is not possible / feasible to identify the potential magnitude of such arrangements and hence any requirements associated with rail infrastructure improvements. A report on freight and passenger transport connectivity issues between Clackmannanshire, Fife and Edinburgh was commissioned by the South East Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran), Fife and Clackmannanshire Councils, and was published in February 2010. The report ‘…followed the Regional Transport Strategy, produced by SEStran, which had identified several projects for taking forward to improve transport connectivity in the area…’ The report used Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) to identify and then assess a number of options. Four options were shortlisted for further, more detailed assessment. The options were as follows; • Option A: use of existing railway line from Alloa to Rosyth with both

passenger and freight services, including stops at Clackmannanshire, Kincardine and Cairneyhill and with the Charlestown Chord in place. Services could be run on an hourly basis as an extension of the Glasgow – Stirling – Alloa service to Edinburgh; and vice versa;

• Option B: as option A but without the Charlestown Chord in place, requiring a

switch-back operation and an additional rail service time of 15 minutes; • Option C: this consisted of the rail freight option conforming to the rail

alignment in option A plus a new express bus service with an alignment following the A985, stopping at Clackmannan, Kincardine, Cairneyhill and on to Edinburgh; and

• Option D: as for option C but with a new express bus service with an

alignment following the A907 with stops at Clackmannan, Oakley and on to Edinburgh.

After undertaking the assessment in line with STAG guidelines the report’s chief recommendation favoured Option A. However it was noted that ‘…there are concerns with issues regarding train path availability…’ The report contained an indicative capital cost breakdown for each option (page 76, Table 7.3). The costs associated with each option equate to; • Option A: £65.03m; • Option B: £60.94m; • Option C: £13.05m; and • Option D: £12.66m. The report highlighted that each option would also require grant or subsidies. The report also highlighted a number of recommendations for future work should the project proceed. Among them was the need to carry out an outline engineering assessment to help refine the capital cost estimated. Specifically the costs estimated were based on discussions with Network Rail and the study remit did not include a detailed railway engineering analysis.

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Finally, the report concluded that the upgrading of the line was not included within the Scottish Government’s Strategic Transport Project Review (STPR) document. It was considered prudent that SEStran, Fife and Clackmannanshire Councils engage in discussions with Transport Scotland to establish how it might form part of a future review of the STPR. 1.4 Ownership Issues / Control Etc

The Rosyth Branch line is not part of Network Rail’s national railway network, but rather title to the component parts of the line is held by the various Rosyth Waterfront landowners through whose land the line passes. The landowners’ titles set out rights to use the line as well as containing provisions in relation to its maintenance and repair. In order to safeguard the Rosyth Branch line and promote future use Babcock has sought to engage with the other parties with rights to the line, Network Rail and Fife Council, with the aim of reaching agreement on a number of matters in respect of the condition, control and use of the railway infrastructure including the connection to the east coast main line. Following consultation with the relevant parties Babcock prepared a draft agreement (referred to as a Lawncrossing Agreement) which sought to build on the existing provisions contained in the titles of the proprietors through whose land the railway runs. The proposed agreement sought to draw on the Office of Rail Regulation approved form of Connection Agreement which Network Rail will require to regulate the interface between Network Rail’s network and the railway line at Rosyth. Separate discussions were also held with Network Rail and Fife Council in relation to formalising that interface. Whilst it is hoped that this initiative will ultimately be successful, Babcock is still awaiting positive feedback from a number of the parties involved. To further safeguard the Rosyth Branch line for future use, Babcock engaged with Transport Scotland in order that neither the current configuration nor future potential development of the line would be adversely impacted by the (then proposed) Forth Replacement Crossing. To that end Babcock lodged a formal objection to the Forth Replacement Crossing Bill and subsequently engaged in negotiations along with another Rosyth Waterfront landowner to secure undertakings from Transport Scotland. Specifically Babcock was concerned that the compulsory acquisition of land interests for the bridge project would disrupt the existing balance of rights and obligations of the parties with interests in the line and separately that the design of the new structures over the line would not introduce limitations.

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2 Conclusions

2.1 Conclusions

Babcock has by its actions demonstrated its commitment to rail freight by seeking to protect the future of the line. The creation of the RICT has the potential to act as a catalyst for other infrastructural improvements such as the construction of the Charlestown Chord. If the granting of the harbour revision order to authorise the RICT project (HRO) were to be dependent upon the achievement of certain rail movements for the Development then this would severely undermine the attraction of the terminal for investment and prejudice the viability of the project. The Carbon Balance study accompanying the HRO application concluded that there will be a net reduction in carbon emissions associated with the project. The provision of additional container freight capacity as envisaged by NPF2 will promote modal shift by increasing the transport of containers to and from Scotland by sea rather than by other modes. Overall this will result in a reduction in HGV road miles that would not occur if the Development were not to proceed. It is hoped that as the Development reaches its proposed capacity, investment within the rail network will have taken place to allow some transfer of containers from road to rail. In that regard, Network Rail has indicated that the existing track and structures on the network will require to be assessed and a major programme of enhancements implemented. It is considered that these are appropriate matters for Network Rail and Transport Scotland to address. Babcock will continue to seek to safeguard and promote the Rosyth Branch line and to engage with other stakeholders to facilitate movement of freight to and from the Port by rail as appropriate opportunities are identified.

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3 References

Jacobs Babtie (2006) Port of Rosyth Rail Access Study for Scottish Enterprise Fife Scott Wilson (2010) Clackmannanshire Fife Edinburgh STAG Study

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Figures

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0 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.2 1.50.15Kilometers © Crown copyright and database right 2010. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 0100031673.

ROSYTH INTERNATIONALCONTAINER TERMINAL

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Copyright reservedJacobs UK Ltd95 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, G2 7HX

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Figure 1

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Figure 1

East Coast Main Line

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Line of Possible Charlestown Chord Charlestown Junction

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