Transport Business

February 2009 saw the heaviest snowfall the UK has seen in 20 years. Travel was disrupted with the heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures on 1 and 2 February. According to some commentators this cost the economy half-a-billion pounds’ worth of damage. There was much written in the press at the time and since the disruption there have been three significant reviews: first from the Greater London Assembly, then from Parliament by the Transport Select Committee and the final one for the government. This article focuses on the review by the UK Roads Liaison Group at the request of government in the context of planning for the future and considers challenges now faced by the transport profession. These challenges are going to be increasingly important when faced with climate change: how to keep transport moving in adverse weather environments. And becomes part of a wider question addressed in IHT’s November event: ‘It’s a Risk Business - WRA Conference – In these changing times how do we deliver a consistent service to the travelling public?’

The review from governement
On 12 March Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon asked the UK Roads Liaison Group to consider the ‘lessons that can be learnt from recent events and to recommend what steps could be adopted by local highway authorities, trunk road authorities, producers of salt and other stakeholders to ensure the effective treatment of England’s road networks in order that we are even better prepared should similar events occur in future years’. The review has since been received by his successor Lord Adonis at the end of July and it is expected the review will be considered by him at the return of Parliament in October. The review: ‘Lessons from the Severe Weather February 2009’ states exactly the challenge now faced by Lord Adonis – to issue clear guidance to help councils and others draw up plans to cope with another cold spell: to ensure we are better prepared in future.
    
Stocks of salt were heavily called upon in February and Surveyor Magazine noted that 30 per cent of local authorities only had two days or less of salt left in their depots. However, the good news is that the Highways Agency managed to keep the Strategic Road Network in England operational over the whole period and no local authority actually ran out of salt supplies. The lesson is that we ran too close for comfort and climate change is likely to mean more severe and more frequent weather events: the risk to government is too great to say it was a one in twenty year event and not do anything.
    
For the first time since 1880 snow lay in October 2008 and continued across much of December, January and February. To prevent roads and footways freezing and help clear snow, highways demanded significantly larger than expected volumes of salt from earlier in the winter through to February. There was also insufficient advanced warning that salt supply may be a problem.
    
Seasonal salt production
Salt production is a continuous operation but demand is highly seasonal. Highways Authorities store salt before winter and often restock during the winter season. Some highway authorities had maintained high salt reserves, but many had reduced stocks over recent years, partly due to their experience of milder winters. Stock reductions have also been encouraged by expectations that introduction of systemised restocking arrangements by the salt industry would enable them to respond to winter demands.
    
The result last February was that, although the salt industry did significantly increase production and supply, some stocks were quickly exhausted and there was insufficient resupply capacity to meet the immediate demand. Many highway authorities took measures to find additional salt supplies, share stocks and reduce their salt consumption. The government response at the time was to set up an advisory national priority salt distribution system – known as Salt Cell. People might have different views of how this worked but generally accepted was that it did work; and that it would be useful to operate a similar system – as a last resort – if such an event does happen again.
 
Addressing operational risk
The review recommends a package of new measures to ensure that England is better prepared for a prolonged period of snow and ice similar to that which disrupted much of the transport system last February. The review includes 19 recommendations grouped together under four themes: maintaining service resilience, preparation for and operation of winter service, communications and procurement.

Key recommendations include:

• Highway authorities are advised to adopt a winter service resilience standard that will ensure preparation for winter service is more rigorous and that more resources, especially salt, are available to respond to severe conditions;
• Collaboration and innovation between authorities in sharing salt depots and salt stocks, joint procurement;
• A coordinated approach to implementing minimum winter networks across neighbouring highway authorities;
• Broadening the approach to salt supply by establishing framework contracts with more than one supplier;
• Consider ways to improve the management of risk between salt suppliers and themselves, for example, longer contracts, performance contracts with minimum guaranteed purchase and supply, and contracts that include supply of salt and investment in facilities;
• Moving from mainly commodity focused arrangements with salt companies to ones where the whole process is service-led with close communication;
• Better communication with the public before and during severe weather.