Can high-speed rail freight work? Evidently so. The British start-up GoExpress has run a four-week trial on the West Coast Main Line to prove its concept. With transit times almost halved and a near-perfect on-time arrival rate, the experiment appears to have been successful.
GoExpress ran trains at 90 miles per hour (145 kilometres per hour) between DPD’s hub in Leicestershire, England, and the Glaswegian Eurocentral Distribution Centre in Scotland. Previously, the transit time between the two hubs would have been around eight hours. GoExpress managed to cover the distance in four and a half hours. The trains, hauling 40-foot HC containers using a tri-mode locomotive, arrived on time 53 times out of 54 journeys.
Data gathered during the trial indicates that the high-speed rail service can provide substantial decarbonisation benefits. Energy consumption over a distance of 270 miles (435 kilometres) for a 20-container train was 58% lower compared to electric heavy trucks. Compared to diesel or HVO-based trucking, the GoExpress train would reduce the carbon footprint of each container journey by 390 kilogrammes and 74 kilogrammes respectively.
“A proven commercial option”
“Our trial demonstrates that express logistics companies can rapidly optimise their middle-mile networks through the adoption of high-speed rail”, commented GoExpress founder and CEO Adam Parkinson.
“For operators under pressure to take time, cost and carbon out of their networks, our reliable high-speed rail product is now a proven, commercial option which can complement existing eHGV rollout and scope 3 sustainability targets. The technology exists, the reliability is there, and GoExpress is ready to make it a day-to-day part of the UK supply chain.”
Gathering evidence to support scaling
The UK’s Rail Safety and Standard Board (RSSB), which co-funded the trial, also kept an eye on the operations. RSSB was after high-quality operational data, which could serve as evidence to support a future scalable business-as-usual activity roll-out.
“What GoExpress has demonstrated here goes beyond a faster intermodal train”, stated RSSB Chief Executive Mark Phillips. “A rail logistics offer that is genuinely complementary to road on speed, reliability and carbon creates benefits across the whole network, making it work harder for everyone.”
“RSSB’s role in this trial was to ensure the evidence generated is rigorous enough to underpin the standards and safety framework that will take high-speed intermodal logistics from proof of concept to everyday operation. That’s how a 20-year ambition becomes business as usual.”
Beyond RSSB, the trial could count on support from a broad range of organisations. For example, it received 150,000 pounds (176,000 euros) in funding from the UK Department for Transport’s Freight Innovation Fund. It also got support from infrastructure manager Network Rail, industry experts, academia, and Courier and Express Parcel sector operator DPD, GoExpress said.
With the commercial case proven, says GoExpress, the company is now working towards regular high-speed middle-mile services. It calls on interested express logistics operators to reach out.