future
potential
inLanD WaTERWays
Changing
Lanes
24
Despite their pivotal role in its industrial
revolution, the UK’s waterways and canals
have largely fallen out of the transport mix.
now, with the rising cost and
environmental burden of road transport,
could UK businesses follow Europe’s
example and turn back to the water?
When, in the 19th century, UK rail development built up a head of
steam, the transport of goods on its canals and rivers quickly drowned.
While much of mainland Europe lived through the same trends – rail
transport later being supplanted by roads – the continent has taken a
more strategic approach to the use of its inland waterways.
Developing the UK’s canals and rivers as major freight networks
presents a significant challenge. There’s no way around the fact that the
geographical make-up of the UK limits the scope of water transport; there
are no rivers that compare in size to the Rhine, Elbe or Danube. Being a
relatively small island also means goods never have to travel too far inland
from the coast, making road an obvious choice.
However, things are changing. There is a latent potential that UK
businesses are beginning to explore; London in particular is seeing a slow
but steady growth of water transport.
Ed Fox of British Waterways says the key to building up the river and
canal network as a viable part of the transport mix is integration. “There are,
without doubt, niche opportunities, and most operators want to look at
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