For years, the logistics industry has happily divided itself into neat little tribes. The rail people gathered in one siding, the road haulage community in their lorry park. Warehousing, ports, shipping and air cargo all gather in five-star hotels to hold their own conversations — because they know a thing or two about living. UK Logistics Week attempted something rather different. It invited everyone to the same party and suggested they might actually have something useful to say to one another. RailFreight.com UK Editor Simon Walton attempted to be as five-star as possible.
For rail freight, Logistics Week presented both an opportunity and a challenge. Rail freight is exceptionally good at explaining rail freight to other rail freight people. Could it be accused of being less accomplished at explaining itself to the customers, politicians and logistics professionals whose decisions ultimately determine whether more freight travels by rail? If Logistics Week achieved nothing else, it reminded us that the sector’s future depends as much on engaging beyond the railway as within it.
Looking beyond the railway fence
UK Logistics Week was, at first glance, an exercise in event management. Multimodal at Birmingham’s NEC joined forces with Road Transport Expo at Stoneleigh, alongside warehousing, fulfilment and supply chain exhibitions, linked by a common identity and even a shuttle bus (no, not a branch of HS2). Some wondered whether this was simply clever marketing. After spending time at both venues, I suspect it may prove rather more significant, albeit exhausting.
The rail industry occasionally develops an unfortunate habit of believing itself to be the centre of the logistics universe. We are not. Rail freight is an important component of a remarkably complex supply chain that stretches from factories in Asia to supermarket shelves in Aberdeen. The customer rarely buys a train journey. They buy certainty, resilience, competitive pricing and reliable delivery. Rail is simply one means of achieving those objectives.
That reality was reflected throughout the week. Artificial intelligence, energy security, customs, skills shortages, emissions reporting and infrastructure investment dominated conversations. None of those subjects belongs exclusively to rail. Yet every one of them affects rail freight’s ability to compete. The more we understand the wider logistics picture, the better placed we are to demonstrate where rail genuinely adds value.
The elephant parked outside
While some rail businesses managed to roll their stock into the hall at the NEC, the road fraternity did more at their, admittedly much large outdoor venue. Railway traditionalists visiting the National Agricultural Exhibition Centre for the first time may have viewed Road Transport Expo with mild suspicion. After all, road haulage is supposedly the competition, and this was very much a “truck live” capability performance. Why should rail concern itself with an exhibition dedicated entirely to lorries?
The answer is surprisingly straightforward. Road transport is not simply rail’s competitor. It is also its biggest customer, its delivery partner and, increasingly, its collaborator. Almost every container arriving by rail completes its journey behind a truck. Modal shift is not about eliminating road haulage. It is about using every transport mode where it performs best.
There is another lesson here too. Road transport has become remarkably effective at presenting a confident, united voice to government. Rail freight can sometimes appear rather more fragmented – the concerted efforts of the Rail Freight Group notwithstanding. Spending time alongside colleagues from the road sector serves as a useful reminder that influencing policy often depends less upon technical perfection than upon speaking with clarity and consistency.
Confidence remains the recurring theme
The rail sessions at Multimodal provided encouraging evidence that the industry understands both the opportunity and the challenge. Discussions repeatedly returned to familiar themes: network capacity, long-term planning, investment certainty and the Government’s ambition to grow rail freight by 75 per cent by 2050.
What struck me most was not the detail of the debate but the consistency of the message. Whether speaking from ports, shipping lines, infrastructure managers or freight operators, participants returned repeatedly to one central point. Private investment follows confidence. Confidence comes from predictable policy, reliable infrastructure and stable long-term planning. Without those foundations, growth targets remain attractive aspirations rather than commercial realities.
Perhaps the most refreshing contribution came from outside the railway itself. Major logistics companies made it abundantly clear that they are not emotionally attached to any transport mode. Their loyalty is to their customers. Rail earns business when it provides dependable, sustainable and commercially attractive solutions. That may sound uncomfortable to railway ears, but it is precisely the discipline that keeps industries competitive.
One industry, many conversations
If there was one lasting impression from UK Logistics Week, it was that logistics increasingly speaks with one voice. Port operators discussed energy — they always do, just read WorldCargo News. Warehouse operators discussed emissions. Shipping companies discussed rail. Rail discussed artificial intelligence, planning reform and regional growth. The boundaries between sectors are blurred because customers no longer think in transport modes. They think in complete supply chains.
That presents a tremendous opportunity for rail freight. We have compelling environmental credentials, growing political support and an increasingly sophisticated customer base looking for resilient transport solutions. Our challenge is no longer convincing ourselves that rail matters. It is demonstrating, in language the wider logistics industry understands, precisely where rail improves the entire supply chain.
So, was UK Logistics Week relevant to rail freight? Absolutely. Not because it placed trains centre stage, but because it reminded us that trains are only one chapter in a much larger story. If the event encourages more conversations between sectors, more collaboration across traditional boundaries and a greater appreciation of rail’s contribution to modern logistics, then its inaugural outing will have been rather more than a successful shuttle service between major trade shows. It may just have marked the beginning of a more integrated way of thinking about freight. That can only be good news for rail.