UK’s oil line remains severed for another month
A month more is required to repair the line that connects most of the UK into Aberdeen, the centre of the offshore oil industry. All services have been suspended since a landslide and fatal derailment...Read more
UK rail freight copes with coronavirus
Since March the rail freight industry in the UK has been among the most appreciative of the key workers who have kept the country running during the lockdown and restrictions that have been imposed to combat...Read more
Southampton port funding and UK Brexit ferry contracts
The UK government has handed a funding package to the South of England, around the Port of Southampton, for improvements to the local rail freight infrastructure. The port, best known for intermodal and automotive traffic,...Read more
UK Network Rail chairman to review ‘union connectivity’
Sir Peter Hendy, the chairman of the infrastructure management agency Network Rail, has been appointed by the government in London to examine transport links between the four nations of the United Kingdom. Under the terms...Read more
Tough times for UK rail freight but optimism ahead
UK freight operations are more challenged than ever but optimistic for the future, says the head of service development at Freightliner Jon Bunyan. He has been a rail freight professional since the UK railway network...Read more
German ’66s set for GB Railfreight via Luxembourg
Leasing agent Beacon Rail has announced the transfer of five class 66 diesel locomotives to UK operator GB Railfreight. The first two locomotives have already been delivered to EMD Doncaster, where they will be converted...Read more
Back to the future for UK rail freight with steam powered ’66
There is a modern twist on the original power source for the railways. An English company is working to convert the diesel workhorse of the UK freight network, to run under steam power. Will this...Read more
UK Maritime acquires Wincanton containers
The familiar blue livery of Maritime Group, the rail and road logistics operator, will take over from the also familiar blue livery of Wincanton. The former has acquired the container logistics operations of the latter....Read more
Network Rail adds to Transpennine improvements call
Network Rail plans to radically increase capacity at a bottleneck on a key rail route across the North of England. It is not the notorious Castlefield Corridor in Manchester – yet. The troublesome section in...Read more
Leaves on the line – why treatment matters to freight operators
It might be the English-speaking UK where the lyrical “leaves on the line” was first coined. But in any language, autumn spells a season of adhesion problems. These are made all the more troublesome when...Read more
UK freight engages with Rail Week for the next generation engineers
Despite the pandemic, UK rail freight operators are finding ways to support the Rail Week initiative, aimed at encouraging school children to consider careers in the industry. HS2, DB Cargo, Freightliner and the Rail Delivery...Read more
Rail freight key to regional decarbonisation plans
England’s Economic Heartland expects significant growth in the arc between Oxford and Cambridge, but wants rail freight to help. It could limit congestion and reduce heavy goods vehicle traffic by realising its full potential for...Read more
Post-lockdown surge at UK ports, rail can help
Britain’s largest intermodal port Felixstowe saw disrupted global trade flows result in traffic backed up at the quayside. With road traffic struggling to cope, rail operators have been asked to respond, and take up the...Read more
Rail helps UK construction industry in pandemic recovery
The construction industry is emerging from a Dickensian downturn to a post-pandemic recovery and rail is there to help. This is espwcially true for Tarmac, specialised in transportation for the construction industry. Their strategy: more...Read more
‘Transport sector has helped the UK survive, now it should be rewarded’
The contribution the transport sector to help the UK battle through the coronavirus crisis must be rewarded by the government. This was argued by the outspoken secretary general of the National Union of Rail, Maritime...Read more
Restoring UK railways – the freight option
Among the ten schemes supported in the first round of UK’s Restoring Your Railway Fund, two have a rail freight element and one may help relieve the busiest mixed use main line in Europe. The...Read more