Row over freight charges on fast rail line

The start of a new rail freight service bringing more efficient mainland European wagons into the UK is being held up by unreasonable fee demands from the owner of the track, according to Britain's largest rail freight operator.

EWS, owned by Germany's Deutsche Bahn railway group, believes there is demand for Continental-sized freight wagons to run through the Channel tunnel and then along High Speed 1, the fast line to London.

Such wagons are barred from almost all the UK's railways because bridges and tunnels are too low.

But High Speed 1, whose last section opened in November, was built to accommodate Continental-sized freight trains. Nevertheless, no European or UK-style freight train has used it since the first section was opened five years ago. The line is owned by London & Continental Railways.

Graham Smith, EWS's planning director, said larger wagons would offer customers considerable efficiency advantages. They could carry pallet-loads of goods stacked three-high, rather than two-high on normal, British-sized wagons.

"It would be good for manufactured goods, vehicle components and fresh produce and would enhance the rail freight offering through the Channel tunnel."

Spain's Transfesa, also part of the DB Group, was interested in using the new service to take goods to Ford Motor Company's Dagenham plant on the edge of London, Mr Smith said. However, EWS fears the likely charges to use High Speed 1 could make the service uneconomic, and has appealed to the Office of Rail Regulation to force LCR to change how it calculates the fee.

Most UK goods trains are charged only for wear and tear on the track, energy consumption and other marginal costs of running the train. Mr Smith said LCR wanted to charge freight trains a marginal cost almost twice that on the normal network, an extra mark-up to produce a profit and a charge to cover some of the track's building costs. LCR declined to comment.

The ORR can handle appeals against decisions by LCR over issues such as pricing, but does not regulate it as tightly as Network Rail, owner of the rest of the mainline rail network.

The office has ruled that mark-ups can be charged only on traffic that can bear the extra cost, defined as coal going to power stations and trains carrying nuclear waste. The ORR has received an appeal from EWS.