The Rail Freight Group (RFG) has published Freight Forward, a report highlighting how rail freight supports the UK’s supply chains, trade competitiveness, and decarbonisation targets. The report notes that the sector “enables businesses to import and export goods, transports the fuels that power our society, and helps keep our shelves stocked with products from around the world,” while contributing GB£2.45 billion in annual economic benefits and removing over 1.6 billion lorry kilometres from the roads each year.
RFG, which represents the industry at large, emphasises that rail freight carries around a quarter of all containerised goods from UK ports and moves millions of tonnes of industrial and consumer products annually. The sector directly supports nearly 6,500 jobs and sustains a further 4,000 positions in the wider logistics and supply chain network, underlining its critical role in keeping the UK’s import-export flows efficient and reliable.
Strategic advantages for cargo operators
Freight Forward identifies four advantages for businesses moving goods: efficiency, sustainability, reliability, and safety. On efficiency, the report states that rail “helps keep the costs of moving goods competitive compared to the alternatives, enabling businesses to invest in new services, improve productivity, and drive economic growth”. Rail freight also strengthens supply chain resilience amid driver shortages, rising fuel costs, and congestion on key road corridors. Given that the entire logistics sector employs upward of 2.5 million, as verified by Logistics UK, the rail freight sector contributes a high return from its relatively small personnel.
Sustainability is a core focus. Rail emits 76% less carbon dioxide per tonne than heavy goods vehicles, comparing diesel trains to diesel trucks. Each train replaces up to 76 HGVs. The report highlights that rail corridors “minimise potential noise and air pollution for communities”, making the mode attractive to cargo operators and local authorities seeking lower-impact logistics solutions.
Growth potential and policy priorities
By calling for significant expansion, the Freight Forward report addresses the UK government’s 75% rail freight growth target by 2050. RFG stresses the need for “a clear and stable operating framework that enables rail freight to continue delivering for Britain”, highlighting investment in capacity, electrification, and alternative traction technologies as essential for meeting future cargo demand.
Integration with Great British Railways (GBR) is framed as a “significant opportunity to create the conditions for our sector to thrive”. GBR is the Without long-term policy certainty and structural support, the report warns, freight risks being sidelined in a network largely designed for passenger services, limiting its ability to capture modal shift opportunities from road to rail.
Supporting resilience and decarbonisation
Rail freight’s role extends beyond cost savings to national resilience. The report notes that it moves essential goods, including industrial materials, food, fuels, and medical supplies, stating that “rail freight offers reliable, sustainable solutions for the whole economy”. By shifting cargo from roads, rail freight reduces congestion and improves safety around ports, terminals, and urban logistics hubs.
RFG concludes that coordinated investment and policy support will allow rail freight to strengthen domestic supply chains, support emerging industries, and “build the foundations our country needs for long-term prosperity”, highlighting the mode’s strategic relevance to UK trade and cargo movement.