Maritime Traffic & Navigation Group

The DfT has published a set of UK inland waterway maps to 'help business go green'. But they are available to all - not just businesses - and they are both fascinating and useful.

The maps and associated report - published under the title The Key Inland Waterways for Freight - highlight those areas where the network of inland waterways has the greatest potential for freight services and can fit with the needs of modern freight businesses.

The Transport Minister comments 'Our aim is to promote the use of our waterways for freight transport where they provide a viable alternative to road freight. The benefit of this is reduced carbon emissions and congestion on the road.'

The maps and the associated report are available on the DfT website at http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/freight/waterfreight/mapkeyinlandwaterways/, but beware, they are big - from 3MB to 11MB.

British Waterways and the Environment Agency between them manage some 2,800 miles of canals and non-tidal navigable rivers across the country. There is also a number of navigation and other bodies controlling tidal rivers and estuaries - for example, the tidal Thames is controlled by the Port of London Authority.

Details from the DfT