Funding threat to rail schemes

Rail freight grants have been cut by millions of pounds

Millions of pounds in grants to help keep lorries off Derbyshire's roads could be lost.

The Derbyshire and Peak District branch of Transport 2000 has criticised a plan by the Strategic Rail Authority to suspend the grants for a year.

In Derbyshire the money is used to help companies transport freight by rail rather than on lorries.

The rail authority says it has been forced into the move by a drop in government funding.

We have had to make a number of difficult choices

Strategic Rail Authority spokesman

Wilf Carey from the transport pressure group says the effect on the region's roads would be disastrous.

"Expansion in freight will simply go to road traffic and we would not see the railways reaching their full potential.

"We would have already overloaded roads being used more and more by this type of heavy traffic."

A spokesman for the Strategic Rail Authority said: "We have had a cut in our funding of £312m over three years, with the bulk of this falling in 2003-2004.

"We have had to make a number of difficult choices to deal with this.

"The schemes which supply these grants are still running but applications for new grants will be suspended for a year."

The authority said it was still committed to getting more freight on the rails in the long term.