British Government initiative is set to abolish rail-access fees to shift more cargo from trucks

In an attempt to shift more cargo from trucks to rail, the British government will cut in half the charge that freight railroads pay for utilising the national network.

According to reports in eyefortransport.com, the British government will pay Railtrack, the owner of the railway system, 497 million (U.S. $710 million) over the next five years to make up for shortfalls in revenue.

Rail freight companies are asking for reductions in track access tariffs after truckers received cuts in diesel fuel duties and tax breaks for truckers, which they claim are worth around $1 billion a year.