Growing the UK bulk freight market will depend less on attracting traditional heavy industries and more on aggregating smaller cargo volumes while improving access to the rail network, according to Heavy Haul Rail’s Richard Mannion, their Head of Solutions Development. He gave his opinions to WorldCargo News, stating that rail continues to offer significant commercial and environmental advantages for high-volume freight, but structural barriers continue to prevent many potential users from making the switch.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, Mannion said investment in rail connections, improved customer understanding and stronger sustainability credentials will all be needed to unlock future growth. He argued that rail remains the most efficient solution for long-distance bulk movements, particularly as cargo owners seek to reduce Scope 3 emissions without increasing logistics costs.
Communicating the benefits
Mannion believes the traditional bulk rail market has already engaged with many of its largest customers. Future growth, he said, will also come from combining smaller freight flows into commercially viable trainloads rather than relying solely on major industrial producers. “The challenge is identifying businesses that have the right volume and frequency to justify the investment, not only to reduce Scope 3 emissions but also to lower their wider logistics costs,” he said. “Established rail users tend to be very large businesses moving high volumes at high frequency. There are fewer of those customers left to win over, so the next opportunity lies in aggregating smaller volumes of both bulk and unitised cargo.”
For companies unfamiliar with rail freight, perception remains a significant obstacle. Mannion said many businesses continue to regard rail as inflexible or complicated despite considerable improvements in service capability over recent years. “For businesses that don’t currently use rail freight, there’s often a perception that it’s difficult, cumbersome and slow,” he said. “Many of those perceptions are simply misconceptions that can be overcome by providing the right information and helping people understand just how flexible and environmentally sustainable rail can be.”
Infrastructure remains the principal constraint
Mannion identified rail connectivity as one of the biggest barriers facing bulk cargo development. While many industrial sites remain adjacent to railway lines, physical connections have often been removed, making future reinstatement expensive and difficult. “If a business wants to connect its site to the railway, the cost can be substantial,” he said. “What may appear to be a saving when a connection is removed can ultimately cost customers GB£10 million, £20 million or even £40 million to reinstate later.”
That can undermine otherwise viable rail freight opportunities. Mannion explained that customers may possess sufficient traffic volumes and long-term commitment to justify rail, only to discover there is no operational connection into their facility. “The alternative is then to move freight by road for tens of miles to reach an existing rail terminal, which can undermine the business case for using rail in the first place,” he said.
Focuses on industrial freight
Heavy Haul Rail is a UK rail freight operator specialising in bulk commodities and industrial logistics. The company develops rail solutions for customers moving aggregates, construction materials, industrial minerals, petrochemicals and other heavy commodities, while also supporting emerging cargo sectors including hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Alongside train operations, the business works with customers to develop supply chains that combine commercial efficiency with lower transport emissions. Mannion believes infrastructure investment should increasingly focus on moving larger volumes of commodity traffic from road to rail rather than concentrating solely on loading gauge improvements.
“We’ve recently been involved in moving hydrogen, where gauge was a consideration because it was transported in containers,” he said. “Looking ahead, containerised hydrogen and CO₂ could become important new bulk markets.” Traditional bulk cargoes present fewer technical constraints. Cement, petrochemicals and aggregates transported in dedicated wagons generally fit comfortably within existing loading gauges, allowing operators to focus on improving network access and terminal connectivity.
Commercial and environmental gains
For many bulk commodities, Mannion argued that short-distance road movements will always remain part of the logistics chain. The objective is not to eliminate lorries altogether but to transfer the long-distance movement onto rail wherever practical. “If you’re working with a quarry producing 1,500 tonnes every day or every other day, that material won’t necessarily originate from a single point,” he said. “Even so, it still makes much more sense to move that freight between, say, a Derbyshire quarry and a North London aggregate terminal by a single train rather than 50 lorries.”
Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important factor in those commercial decisions. Heavy Haul Rail has established independently verified science-based emissions targets and now calculates emissions for every new service it develops. “We have a dedicated sustainability team, and we’ve committed to independently verified science-based targets,” Mannion said. “Whenever we develop new services, we now calculate the emissions associated with those operations. Customers are often surprised by how low the emissions are when large volumes are moved by rail.”
Demonstrating both the commercial and environmental benefits of rail will be central to developing the next generation of bulk freight customers. “Rail is already significantly more sustainable than moving equivalent freight by individual lorries because of the economies of scale,” Mannion concluded. “A major part of our role is demonstrating those benefits and helping customers understand the positive impact rail can have on their Scope 3 emissions.”