DHL paper advocates modal shift to rail
DHL has published a report that advocates the shift of express traffic from road to rail. The report has already highlighted the desirability of the modal shift. Now, in a special paper tackling the subject,...Read more
Varamis Rail: Britain’s newest freight operator enters high-speed service
Express logistics has moved off the drawing board and on to the rails. Varamis, the independent express logistics operator, has dispatched its first train. Running from Birmingham International to Mossend in Central Scotland, the carrier...Read more
Penzance investment means all change at the end of the line
A multi-million-pound project is underway at Penzance, in the southwest of England. A new stabling and maintenance facility is under construction. When operational, it will allow longer passenger train formations to be serviced locally without...Read more
UK light logistics pioneers Varamis Rail lease first train
Doncaster-based Varamis Rail, which was finally granted a licence to operate just a few weeks ago, has wasted no time in leasing its first train, ready for express logistics operations. The start-up company has been...Read more
Licenced to Rail: Varamis gets green light for express logistics operations
Doncaster-based Varamis Rail has been granted a licence to operate in the UK. The news was welcomed by their founder Phil Read in a warmly received announcement to the market. The approval from the Office...Read more
UK logistics companies yet to be convinced over express rail freight opportunities
There is a great opportunity for growth in the express freight by rail market, but the logistics industry still needs to be convinced. That’s the message from a special unit at Network Rail, tasked with...Read more
UK Royal Mail to double its cross-border rail services
Royal Mail, the British postal service, is to double its daily rail logistics operation between England and Scotland, making its Shieldmuir depot in Motherwell near Glasgow busier than ever in this century. The announcement of...Read more
Turning the tide on UK urban logistics
To kick-start a modern light logistics market, a back to the future approach is proposed by the UK infrastructure agency Network Rail. In a report that will be handed on to the new overarching Great...Read more
UK’s fresh look at freight capacity of train stations
A Network Rail report casts new light on the capacity of major passenger stations to handle light logistics. A broader return to handling less than wagon load and parcels traffic has been on the agenda...Read more
Orion confirms first high-speed train departure in UK
Orion High Speed Logistics, the parcels and light loads division of Rail Operations Group, has confirmed departure this morning of their much anticipated high-speed service, bringing mass-market parcels traffic back to the British railway scene....Read more
Will Orion be the first star in a constellation of new carriers
The light logistics sector is rife with speculation that a raft of projects are on the brink of entering into revenue earning service. The chatter is that Anglo-Scottish services could be the first to get...Read moreSoon from London: cargo on passenger trains at speed
Freight moved on passenger trains, at the speed of these trains and to passenger stations. If all goes to plan, this will be a reality as soon as December this year, when Varamis aims to...Read more
Bringing rail back to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland may commission a feasibility study into the long-held ambition to restore rail services to the community of Armagh. That would involve a rebuilt connection to Portadown on the main line between the provincial...Read more
Vivarail promoting light logistics at COP26
Vivarail, in collaboration with the UK infrastructure management agency Network Rail, is set to run its ground-breaking battery train technology to COP26 in Glasgow in November. The company, which has made the headlines by repurposing...Read more
Codename Swift: tailormade light logistics train takes to the rails
The changing face of rail operations in the UK has taken another step forward. An example of the former high-density commuter passenger electric multiple unit class 321 has been rolled out in a new guise....Read more
Parcels as passengers – the latest UK innovation
All aboard, as long as you are properly labeled and someone is waiting to pick you up at your destination station. The latest light logistics ideas propose that the sharp decline in commuter passenger traffic...Read more
Freight a boost to Norfolk Orbital campaigners
Prospects for rail development are being boosted by anticipated freight traffic. The light logistics revival and the fast developing parcels industry is fuelling the reinstatement ambitions of campaign groups around the UK. The UK government...Read more
Freight and passenger operators team up for medical supply service in UK
InterCity RailFreight and CrossCountry are to provide vital support to the medical sector across the UK. The long distance passenger train operator CrossCountry, which has the most geographically comprehensive network of all the passenger operators,...Read more