Transport Integration
Transport Integration
The central Scotland motorway network, of which the project forms a key component, plays a key role in facilitating the efficient movement of goods through access to the many business and industrial areas located within (and beyond) the study area considered as part of the 1YA Evaluation.
Within the study area, the upgraded motorway network provides direct and indirect access to key sites, such as Righead and Bellshill Industrial Estates, Newhouse Industrial Estate, Freightliner’s Coatbridge Terminal (between 20 – 25% of Scotland’s exports pass through Coatbridge) and Eurocentral, at which the Mossend Rail Freight Hub is located. Both of these rail freight hubs are key facilities for the transfer of goods to and from road and rail to the following key destinations:
- Coatbridge to Crewe, Felixstowe, London Gateway and Southampton
- Mossend to Inverness, Seaforth (Liverpool), Tees Port and Daventry
Alongside Grangemouth (located outwith the wider study area) the intermodal freight terminals mentioned above, are key to the transportation of Scottish rail freight to England and beyond. The locations of the Mossend and Coatbridge Rail Freight facilities, in relation to the project, are presented in Figure 87.
Traffic count data, collected in November 2019, provides an indication of the volume of heavy goods traffic accessing the Mossend Rail Freight facility via the upgraded road network. The average daily profile of heavy goods traffic accessing and egressing the facility on a weekday, in addition to the percentage of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) as a proportion of total traffic, between 07:00 and 19:00, is presented in Figure 88.
Based on the information presented in Figure 88, significant volumes of HGVs access the Mossend Rail Freight facility (and the Eurocentral site, more generally) – between approximately 110 and 140 HGVs access and egress the site on an hourly basis (around 1,600 over the 12-hour survey period). The percentage of HGVs (as a proportion of the total volume of traffic accessing and egressing the site) on an hourly basis, varies between approximately 12% (during the PM peak, when general traffic volumes are greater due to commuting traffic) and 25% (during the IP period). Over the 12-hour survey period as a whole, HGVs made up 17% of the total volume of traffic.
Based on these observations, in addition to the changes in traffic volumes, travel times and vehicle speeds presented in The Operation of the Project and Process Evaluation section of this report, it can be judged that the project plays a positive role in facilitating the interchange of goods to and from road to rail. This includes enhanced access to the rail freight hubs located at Eurocentral and Coatbridge, as well as to other locations within Central Scotland. Reductions in delays and congestion and the enhanced reliability of journey times is of key importance in the movement and delivery of perishable goods and ‘just-in-time’ supply chains.
Current proposals to develop a new rail cargo hub at Mossend are currently in development. The Mossend International Railfreight Park (MIRP) will expand on the existing site, to create a strategic rail facility with an expanded railhead. This will include 775-metre-long sidings capable of handling longer cargo trains, and 200,000 square feet of onsite storage, distribution and logistics facilities. It is considered that the development of the enhanced rail freight facility at Mossend will ‘lock in’ the benefits of the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project, in terms of facilitating the interchange of goods to and from road and rail.
Policy Integration
A comprehensive review of the project’s fit within the strategic and local planning context was undertaken as part of the project’s assessment. Relevant strategic plans at the time, included:
- Scottish Planning Policy (SPP)
- SPP 1 The Planning System
- SPP 2 Economic Development
- SPP 7 Planning and Flooding
- SPP 17 Planning for Transport (August 2005)
- SPP 21 Green Belts
The review concluded that the project generally complies in principle with the relevant planning policies and guidance at national, structure plan, and local plan levels. It was judged that the project would contribute to the improvement in the national road and transport infrastructure, and assist in promoting visibility, access, and marketability of employment land, as well as contributing to economic development and regeneration. Furthermore, it was considered that the project was compatible with the policy of reducing congestion on the route network and would assist in increasing the competitiveness of both the Lanarkshire area and wider Central Belt of Scotland.
The review did suggest that the project would have implications for existing Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs), Greenbelt, Protected Open Space and some access routes, which will not comply with current protective planning policies. These impacts, however, were mitigated through measures provided as part of the project. It was noted that the land required for the project was allocated for a strategic road link and this is safeguarded by local planning policy. The review determined that the project had a good level of compatibility with planning policy.
It can be concluded that the project’s assessment took cognisance of the policy environment at the time, which was against the adoption of a ‘predict and provide’ approach to the provision of roads infrastructure. As such, it is considered that the decisions that were made were in-line with the Scottish Executive’s integrated transport policy and Scottish Minister’s response to the CSTCS, which applied at that time.
Integration: Key Findings
The project can be judged to be playing a positive role in facilitating the interchange of goods to and from road to rail, through the enhanced access to the rail freight hubs located at Eurocentral and Coatbridge, as well as to other locations within Central Scotland, more generally, resulting from reductions in delays and congestion and the enhanced reliability of journey times – of key importance in the movement and delivery of perishable goods and ‘just-in-time’ supply chains.
It is considered that the development of the enhanced rail freight facility at Mossend will ‘lock in’ the benefits of project, in terms of facilitating the interchange of goods to and from road and rail.
The project’s assessment took cognisance of the policy environment at the time, which was against the adoption of a ‘predict and provide’ approach to the provision of roads infrastructure. As such, it is considered that the decisions that were made were in-line with the Scottish Executive’s integrated transport policy and Scottish Minister’s response to the CSTCS which applied at that time.
< Previous | Contents | Next >