It has been difficult to make short route freight a commercial proposition in the UK. However, on the unlikely streets of New York City, short-line rail freight is alive and well. It’s not long trains crossing the Great Plains. It’s short, frequent, and efficient rail movements right into the heart of the city.
The New York and Atlantic Railway (NYA), serving Long Island, is proof that short-haul freight isn’t just viable. It’s vital. This freight railroad, operating on tracks owned by the Long Island Rail Road, delivers everything from lumber to food to building materials across a network with an average journey of just 25 miles.
New York, new Britain
It’s a world away from the traditional British rail freight model of long-haul intermodal from port to distribution centre. NYA’s success could serve as a useful lesson for UK operators and policymakers. By focusing on what’s local and essential, the NYA has found sustainable volumes in short distances, avoiding road congestion and reducing emissions. In a bold move, its parent company even developed a rail terminal in Queens, New York, specifically to bypass road freight.
NYA began operation in 1997, as the result of a privatised concession to operate freight trains – something that resonated with British operators. They serve a diverse customer base and share track with the densest passenger system in the United States. The operation claims to remove over 120,000 heavy truck trips from metropolitan New York, and reduce transportation emissions by 75 per cent. It could almost be British.
UK short-haul services show potential, profit another matter
While British policymakers often scoff at the business case for short-haul rail freight. The industry has been quietly proving them wrong. In Scotland, last year, the Malcolm Group ran a trial intermodal service between Grangemouth and Elderslie, their Paisley base – a route of barely 50 miles (80km). Similarly, GB Railfreight (GBRf) has a slot reserved for a dedicated short-haul intermodal service between Teesport and Doncaster. It has, however, proved less than popular.
These are not the several hundred-mile trunk hauls beloved of traditional rail freight modelling. Just as in New York, they make sense, at least environmentally. However, while operators are eager to prove the concept, progress is slow. Disadvantageous pricing, double handling and pessimistic assumptions built into business case modelling all conspire against UK short-haul competitiveness. Nevertheless, attitudes are changing, and even the government is advocating a radical increase in rail freight operations.
Short routes, long-term impact
For decades, British rail freight thrived on short distances. Coal, once the lifeblood of the network, was moved in huge tonnages from nearby collieries to local power stations. In many cases, these were journeys of less than 30 miles. Compare with the New York & Atlantic model again. It doesn’t run trains from coast to coast. It moves 30,000 carloads a year—everything from beer to flour, through a congested urban environment, where trucks struggle. It does so using its city-centre terminal in Queens. In the UK, sites like Trafford Park in Manchester or the Barking rail terminal in London could fulfil similar roles, if the system had the vision and confidence to invest.
The potential for short-haul rail freight in the UK is real. It remains constrained by contradictory policy decisions that demand carbon reductions but constrain cleaner rail freight developments over a still well-defined programme of road development. As New York shows, building rail solutions around local logistics challenges isn’t just a compromise; it can be a viable strategy. Environmental, economic and urban transport pressures are growing. The UK can’t afford to ignore the freight opportunity sitting just down the line.