Careful planning is required in the efforts to transition road freight to railways, former Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) head of rail division Yuslizar Daud has said, reported The Star.
“We need to know the tonnage of the existing, future growth (30-year profile) of rail and road haulage so as to develop a comprehensive plan as this provides a good platform in terms of the transition of cargo from road to rail,” Yuslizar said.
The transfer of just 2% of road freight volume to rail will subject rail capacity to an increase in demand by 25%, which planners need to know. “Therefore, a comprehensive assessment is crucial to strike a good balance so as not to choke the railway network,” he said.
A move to migrate just 4% of road cargo to the railways will further choke the rail network that is shared by other services, such as special charters and intercity trains. This leaves just 30% to 40% of capacity margin on the KTMB network, after accounting for a 20% spare capacity for contigencies, according to the report.
“To ensure all trains move unhindered, it essential to incorporate a robust assessment that takes into account current and future data and operational standards. In particular, rail planners must factor in some spare network capacity to accommodate potential perturbations and ensure system reliability under stress and a quantitative benchmark must be done to ensure the success of the synergy between the road and rail,” Yuslizar said.
Last October, transport minister Anthony Loke stated that a meeting was held with Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) and the Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) on the need to ramp up ‘Road to Rail’ (transporting goods by rail rather than road) efforts.
The aim is that one 40-wagon train can take over, and thus relieve the roads of 80 lorries, lowering the risks of accidents and reducing road congestion, the transport minister said at the time.
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MoT comments was based on not have much knowledge about freight train systems.
thanks Yuslizar for sharing this information. obviously spad do knows what the effect of road to rail haulage. the new team need to do thorough studies and come up with better solutions. past studies result does matters in research and any review.
thanks again Yuslizar