With intermodal accounting for almost half of the rail freight traffic in the UK, more container trains may be the last thing the UK network needs. That however is exactly what a new report says....Read more
The post-pandemic opportunity for freight has been recognised by Alex Hynes, the managing director of Scotland’s Railway, branded as ScotRail. Hynes was addressing the Scottish Conference of the industry’s representative body, Rail Freight Group (RFG),...Read more
Despite the pandemic and the Brexit, rail freight in the UK recorded growth of over two per cent in the third quarter of 2020. The latest official quarterly figures from the Office of Rail and...Read more
There is a great opportunity for freight to assert itself in a way that hasn’t been seen for almost half a century. That was the message this Friday in the UK edition of RailFreight Live....Read more
Brexit, railway capacity and freight for freeports in the UK. This week’s RailFreight Live is a dedicated UK edition. With the freight director of the country’s infrastructure manager and several other high-level speakers, the discussion...Read more
Eight new freeports have been announced for the UK, reaching from Liverpool to Felixstowe, and inland at East Midlands Airport, adjacent to the rail facilities of the East Midlands Gateway logistics park. The UK Chancellor...Read more
A high-level report has cast a shadow over rail freight development in South Wales, just as the railway in the region is undergoing much-needed modernisation. Representatives of the industry say that if adopted, the report...Read more
A number of UK freight services are temporarily increasing in length and weight in support of the economic recovery after the pandemic. The longest trains, running at 775m, are in-line with the planned ambition to...Read more
More than 90 per cent of pre-pandemic rail freight traffic volume is back in operation. That seems like good news for the future says Network Rail’s Andy Saunders. The recovery comes despite a thirty per...Read more
Chris Heaton-Harris, rail minster and a member of the UK parliament, has gone on record to praise the efforts of the rail freight industry during the current pandemic. The government minister was remotely addressing last...Read more
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
The UK government has announced this morning that it will support the passenger network for at least the next 18 months. This means that it is officially renationalising the railways, doing away with the franchising...Read more
The UK High Speed Rail project, HS2, officially launched its ten-year construction phase last week. The recruitment drive will eventually employ over 22,000 people at over 200 sites along the line, between London and Birmingham....Read more
With a new timetable introduced today, much of the UK passenger network is now operating at almost pre-pandemic levels of service. While passenger numbers are still down, the network is once again filling up. What...Read more
The independent representative body for the industry in the UK, the Rail Freight Group, has published its forward position on post-pandemic business affairs within the sector. The Group has also taken a holistic view on...Read more
Major representative bodies and stakeholders are today seeking progress on a national initiative to make the railways net-zero carbon by 2050, in line with the UK government target set out in legislation.Read more
After last week’s announcement by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in which he committed to ‘build, build, build’, the rail industry was hoping for some detail in today’s statement from UK chancellor Rishi Sunak. However,...Read more
Passenger terminals and former smoke-stack sidings provide the clean, green alternative to city-wide congestion. An economical way to answer the needs of modern freight operations might be to dual-purpose passenger assets and recycle former facilities,...Read more
Rail freight professionals in the UK have overwhelmingly chosen increased network capacity as the primary factor required to enable sustainable growth in the sector. This was concluded in an online poll, conducted by corporate law...Read more
Transport policy in the UK is not moving fast enough to keep up with decarbonisation planning in the EU, says the Rail Freight Group. There are fears that inaction could put rail freight and the...Read more
Two of the most influential bodies in British industry have issued a joint statement, recognising the contribution of the rail freight industry during the current coronavirus crisis. They have called on government to recognise its...Read more
