With electric trucks on the horizon and a pothole-patching policy filling Whitehall inboxes, rail freight might be forgiven for feeling like the poor relation. Yet the industry’s appetite for investment is undiminished, writes Simon Walton, UK Editor for RailFreight.com.
The picture is a yard full of locomotives gleaming in the mid-July sun, flanked by a chief executive and a lord, both of them talking freight and smiling broadly. The scene at GB Railfreight’s Peterborough headquarters yesterday was crowned with a pair of brand new Class 99 bi-mode locomotives making their official unveiling – although they’ve already been on a tour of the UK visiting more venues than Oasis.
Uncertain signals from parliament
There’s a lot of optimism in a yard like this. Plenty of pride, too. There’s a sense that even if the national policy isn’t quite with the programme, the industry most certainly is. Guests eagerly passed between the freshly liveried machines and the display banners. The message is clear. Rail freight is ready, willing, and investing.
It’s a fitting atmosphere in which to contemplate a wider truth. The UK government cannot decide whether to pull the signals off or on. Its strategies seem to be stuck at a junction, unable to decide which way to switch the points. Freight operators are putting two yellows up to that prevarication, and proceeding under their own caution.
Upward, not paused
All around the country, the mood music from Westminster suggests stalling rather than accelerating. The Ely upgrade – critical to unlocking east-west freight capacity – is indefinitely delayed. Electrification of the Midland Main Line remains unfinished, and signs from Sheffield suggest no sense of urgency. Meanwhile, official government communications trumpet funding for electric vehicle charging points and ever more road improvements, like the A66 trans-Pennine dualling programme and Midlands motorway enhancements.
Admittedly, hardly anyone involved in the logistics of Britain will complain about upgrading the sinuous road that connects east and west. They may even point out that the rail project, also crossing the Pennine spine of England, is already underway. They may further suggest that the East West Rail project, between Oxford and Cambridge, is set to provide another rail route of significance for freight traffic, albeit with no wires installed.
Looking on the bright side
Rail freight, in contrast, doesn’t have a ‘road to net-zero’. It has a track – and it’s laying it itself. GB Railfreight is committing to a future-proofed fleet with the Class 99 – the Stadler-built bi-mode locomotive that offers zero-emission running under the wires where it can, and with high-performance diesel traction where it can’t. At the same time, new rail terminals are springing up alongside distribution parks – Northampton recently took its first intermodal train, and DP World is incentivising container customers to move by rail rather than road from Southampton.
“I just think it’s the right solution for the market,” said John Smith, CEO of GB Railfreight, talking about his new baby. Yes, he agreed that electricification infills like Ely and Felixstowe would render the Cummins diesel in the Class 99 less useful. “I don’t see electrification on the horizon, do you? For now, we can provide quicker, longer trains for customers who want to decarbonise.”
Red signals, green ambitions
Yet this enthusiasm comes just as some markets are shrinking. Oil traffic from Lindsey and Grangemouth is winding down. Industrial output is changing, with heavy industries contracting. Despite this, the rail freight sector remains bullish.
The reason is not often heralded by the sector. Rail freight has just over 9% market share (based on distance-weight carried). That, however, makes the room for growth enormous. The government has set an ambitious target of a 75% growth in rail freight by 2050. That may not make much of a dent in overall net-zero targets, but for rail freight, it will be transformational.
Lording it over infrastructure
Even in infrastructure terms, there is cause for hope. There are billions going into pathing enhancements on the East Coast Main Line – the London to Scotland route that’s always been a prestige passenger line, but is increasingly important for freight. A long-standing pinch point for north-south flows. In the long term, net-zero commitments will inevitably place a greater burden on policymakers to back rail, the cleanest freight mode by far (cue comments from friends in the waterways sector).
Now, there’s a piece of hardware that can ‘do freight’ on that prestige passenger route. “I have no doubt that this locomotive will become an icon of British rail freight,” said Lord Peter Hendy, the UK Rail Minister, who praised the ’99 behind him, and did not agree with my pessimism. “Putting GBRf at the front of the green transition is a great thing. There is a wind of change around in the railway. Actually, the government is serious about rail freight. Investing in things that last thirty years is a really powerful mark of the longevity of rail freight.”
Where we’re going, we don’t need roads
Still, the sector would be right to ask if the government could do more. My answer is yes, absolutely. A good start would be direct engagement – a strategy for freight that isn’t an afterthought. Infrastructure development should be planned with freight in mind, not in conflict. Beyond the wires and junctions and pathing plans, there’s also a communications gap. While passenger rail gets glossy TV campaigns – “Nothing Beats Being There” – freight is left on the shelf.
Imagine if the same emotional energy were applied to promoting rail freight – the reduced congestion, the cleaner air, the reliability. Imagine if the industry were given the marketing tools to reach new customers and the operational framework to make access easier. This is where ministers could really move the dial – by not only investing in infrastructure, but in advocacy. Go back to the future, and check out the high street in the 1960s, with speedy electric trains on every other billboard – not passengers, but hauling high-speed containers.
Put freight in the picture
Operators like GB Railfreight are doing their part. Investing, innovating, and demonstrating resilience. The launch of the Class 99 is not just a new locomotive – it’s a rolling rebuttal to the idea that rail freight is stuck in the past.
On a day like yesterday, standing between the future and the policymakers who can shape it, you get the sense that optimism isn’t misplaced – it’s essential. For rail freight, too, the message is the same. When it comes to clean, efficient, resilient logistics, there’s only one answer. Nothing Beats Being There.