Rail freight has rebounded strongly from the pandemic, backed by underlying growth. That is the message from a panel of industry experts debating the sector’s future at a recent round-table in Edinburgh. Rail insiders, industry...Read more
A brand new service will help Scottish producers and manufacturers reach worldwide markets. Saturday saw the first departure of a new intermodal service operated by Freightliner. The train conveys containers from the company’s Coatbridge terminal...Read more
1 April 2022 marks the day that the Scottish Government has taken full public ownership of the network in the north of the UK. A new public agency will be responsible for all passenger operations...Read more
The governments in Scotland and England have reached agreement over the implementation of the London-led freeport initiative. The devolved government in Scotland had held back, favouring a different formula for economic regeneration. This week however,...Read more
UK timber extraction by rail lags behind European practice, but campaigners propose changes that would help redress the balance. Major reserves on the border between England and Scotland are maturing, and environmental and legal considerations...Read more
The Scottish government has opened a twelve-week consultation into its second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). The comprehensive look at transport requirements for the next twenty years seeks to engage public opinion on all aspects...Read more
The concerted return of timber by rail in Scotland has taken further root. Approval has been granted from a local authority to establish a new terminal in the north of the country. The modest facility...Read more
Black Friday became White Out Saturday, as bargain hunting Britain was battered by Storm Arwen on Friday and Saturday. The railways did not escape the disruption. The country’s east took the worst of the weather,...Read more
The UK Union Connectivity Review, published today (Friday 26 November), has recommended improved rail freight at British ports to maximise the economic potential of the government-backed freeport network. The UK government commissioned the Review to...Read more
Multi-sector land and property developer Hargreaves Land has announced the sale of Ravenstruther Rail Terminal, a former coal loading terminal on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), between Carstairs and Motherwell in Scotland. The horseshoe-shaped...Read more
Last week’s showcase of a bio-fuelled class 66 freight locomotive gave the public a chance to see for themselves how the industry is tackling the challenge of climate change. Will alternative fuels be the long...Read more
Incorporating freight will make a new route in North East Scotland viable and economically regenerate the region. Rebuilding lines to the coastal communities of Fraserburgh and Peterhead will open up new markets to Aberdeen and...Read more
Discussions are underway to examine the potential for general freight returning to the far north of Scotland. Interested parties have been discussing the possibility on the back of successful trials of timber movements by rail...Read more
Network Rail has appointed Netherlands-based Fugro to deliver a gauging survey and a ‘digital twin’ of Scotland’s railway. The contract will see the Leidschendam company complete a new and up to date record of gauging...Read more
A rail freight project which could move over 500,000 tonnes of timber out of Rannoch Forest in the Scottish Highlands has taken a major step forward. A new Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between...Read more
The UK has a freeport initiative, and the English winners were announced by the UK chancellor Rishi Sunak in his budget speech in March. However, the devolved governments in the UK have responsibility for Northern...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
Several rail connections between the four nations of the United Kingdom have been prioritised in the interim report of the UK Union Connectivity Review. These include connections between Scotland and England via the West Coast...Read more
