Digital freight wagon sets out on UK trial
Leasing company VTG Rail UK and Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems have introduced Britain to what they call a digital freight wagon. The partners have unveiled an example of rolling stock that’s connected to more than just...Read more
UK quarry reconnects to rail to serve insatiable aggregates demand
In a move aimed at enhancing the supply of aggregates to its customers and contributing to sustainable transportation, rail freight customer and ardent advocate company Tarmac, has announced the reopening of the rail connection at...Read more
UK Freightliner and Tarmac revive freight connection in West Midlands
There’s a new flow reported between Tarmac’s Tunstead Quarry and a former oil terminal site just north of Coventry in the West Midlands. Rail freight operator Freightliner, in collaboration with Tarmac and site occupiers Junction4pallets,...Read more
‘Unlocking the potential for rail freight within the construction sector is up to the industry’
INTERVIEWAs the Head of Rail for Tarmac, Chris Swan is committed to strengthening further the relationship between industry and the railways. His company may have a name that is synonymous with road construction in its...Read more
In England a car factory is gone but the railway remains
After two and a half decades of almost compete abandonment, the sidings of the former Leyland Motor Works have found new life, in the burgeoning aggregates industry. Having been built for a Lancashire company, but...Read more
Tarmac head of rail completes fifty days as chair of Rail Freight Group
One of rail freight’s most active supporters, representing one of the sector’s biggest customers, has completed his first seven weeks in post as the chair of the industry representative body, the Rail Freight Group. Chris...Read more
Tarmac UK says it’s the end of the line for a familiar wagon design
Seen almost everywhere on the British network, the ‘vee’ shape of the universal cement hopper wagon may soon be consigned to history, heritage railways demonstrations and model layouts around the country. The familiar PCA wagon...Read more
Freightliner jumbo trains anniversary
Freightliner’s ‘two for one’ deal has passed the milestone of its first year of operations. The carrier has been running their ‘jumbo’ trains for over twelve months, combining two bulk aggregates trains into one working...Read more
Further evidence of aggregates growth in UK rail freight
It is not the most glamorous of cargo operations, but it is a continuing success story for rail freight operators in the UK. Replacing to some extent the traditional heavy loads of coal construction aggregates...Read more
UK first rail freight electrification trial boosts industry net zero ambitions
The UK’s first retractable electrification system for rail freight has taken the wires to the loading bay. The industry has led the way in meeting the net-zero ambitions set out by government legislation. A public...Read more
UK’s Holy Grail could be retractable electric supply
A ground-breaking design incorporating retractable overhead electric traction could be the answer that the UK rail freight industry has been waiting for. A collaboration between Swiss-headquartered engineering specialists Furrer and Frey, aggregates company Tarmac, and...Read more
After COP26 Scotland hosts Low Carbon Logistics
Hot on the heels of COP26 – although that may be exactly the wrong metaphor – Scotland’s Low Carbon Logistics event starts its three-day run at Mossend rail freight terminal, in Bellshill, just a short...Read more
UK: Tarmac scoops rail freight industry award
Tarmac has been named as Business of the Year at the annual Rail Freight Group Awards. Tarmac, who lay claim to being the UK’s leading sustainable construction materials business, were crowned by a panel of...Read more
Spark of genius at UK cement plant
Construction company Tarmac is collaborating with electrical engineering specialists Furrer+Frey to develop a retractable overhead electrical supply system suitable for freight terminals. The chosen site for trials is at Dunbar near Edinburgh, where Tarmac operates...Read more
Tarmac and DB Cargo UK commit to renewable fuel
Tarmac, one of the largest customers of rail freight in the UK, and their rail freight partner DB Cargo UK have announced an environmentally sustainable fuels initiative. The delivery of construction materials on a key...Read more
‘Once you work in railways, you stay in railways’
The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail propose strategic changes to the way UK railway is governed, but talent will not be flowing away from the industry. Once people are in railway, they stay in railway. The...Read more
RailFreight Live: What do UK rail reforms mean?
Britain’s railways face a major shake up, according to the contents of the recently published Williams – Shapps Plan for Rail. The changes to the managerial structure are top of the list of recommendations, and...Read more
Tarmac promotes collaboration to support improved rail freight
Tarmac, the UK sustainable building materials and construction company, is collaborating with the University of Derby to explore the potential of rail freight to meet the UK’s net zero carbon ambitions. The forthcoming academic reports...Read more
UK Freightliner goes large for aggregates…again
The UK operator Freightliner, part of the American-owned Genesee & Wyoming corporation, has successfully completed a trial running of another ‘Jumbo’ aggregates service between the Peak District and London for customers Tarmac. At nearly 4000...Read more