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Transport secretary Ruth Kelly last week confirmed that the M42 hard-shoulder running pilot launched last year will be extended to other parts of the road network. Pointing to the success of the trial, Kelly announced a £150m initiative to extend the Active Traffic Management (ATM) scheme to parts of the M6 around Birmingham - known as the "Birmingham Box" - by 2011. Junctions covered include J4 to J5 northbound and J5 to J4a southbound, plus J8 to J10a in both directions.

A feasibility  study to identify other potential locations for ATM will be completed by next spring, says the Department for Transport (DfT). The Freight Transport Association (FTA) welcomes the move, but calls on the government to commit to improving road infrastructure by widening existing motorways and building new roads. It stresses that road users contribute more than £44bn each year to the Exchequer, but just £7bn is re-invested in the network, and that must increase.

Stephen Kelly, FTA regional policy chief, says: "We're talking about a short- to medium-term solution here - using the hard shoulder is not a substitute for road widening." "It is a trade-off," insists Road Haulage Association regional director Mike Farmer. "We would prefer to see some proper widening, but one has to adopt a pragmatic approach."  He adds: "We still have an underlying safety concern." The DfT blasts the view that ATM is a cheap option, saying: "Rolling out advanced signalling and traffic management technologies  across large sections of the network would not be 'cheap', rather it's about looking to use the funds available to deliver a better service to the road user quicker and more cost effectively, where this might be possible.

"Equally, ATM may not be suitable for every situation and when considering how to deliver additional capacity to any stretch of the motorway network, we will look at all the options available, and make judgements that balance needs with impacts, including those on the environment." A spokeswoman from road safety charity Brake says the success of the M42 trial has not allayed safety concerns. She argues that hard-shoulder running could be a "potentially life-threatening alternative" to road widening.

The DfT adds: "The evidence we have on ATM so far has shown that safety has not been compromised. We will of cou-rse continue to closely monitor the M42 and any future ATM systems so that any safety issues are picked up quickly and dealt with appropriately." In the past, there have been calls for motorists to use the hard shoulder around J32 on the M6 at Broughton, near Preston, to ease traffic bottlenecks. But not all hauliers agree. Martin Banber, transport manager for M Threlfall Transport in Kirkham, says: "I certainly wouldn't be happy for HGVs to use the hard shoulder because it would be tricky in an emergency situation." He says proper widening is the better option.