The UK’s drive to build more homes and stimulate economic growth could create opportunities to make better use of former railway land. Redundant marshalling yards, sidings and other railway property could provide redevelopment sites for commercial and industrial uses, including facilities supporting rail freight.
The challenge is to identify land that can be developed without compromising railway operations or sacrificing infrastructure with future potential. From former industrial sites around Edinburgh and Sheffield to new intermodal terminals, there are different ways to bring railway and property development together.
Bridging the gap between rail and development
International consultancy Steer has highlighted the difficulties facing rail-led development. Its development planning lead, Jon Williams, and rail advisory specialist, James Farnell-Smith, have examined why housing ambitions, transport planning and commercial interests frequently fail to align.
Although Steer’s briefing concentrates on housing and new stations, the underlying problems also affect industrial and commercial projects. Developers need certainty over planning, funding and delivery, while railway organisations must protect safety, capacity and operational performance. Local administrations must balance economic development against competing demands on limited resources.
Former railway land potential
Steer identifies fragmented decision-making as a major obstacle. Early collaboration between developers, public authorities and railway organisations can establish whether sites are commercially viable and operationally suitable. According to the consultants, developments involving more than 1,000 homes take over five years on average to secure detailed planning permission, followed by another three to nearly five years before the first homes are delivered.
Former marshalling yards offer one potential source of development land. Modern rail freight has reduced the need for extensive facilities dedicated to sorting individual wagons. Some former railway sites can therefore accommodate new uses, provided active lines, operational facilities and future railway requirements are protected.
Uses beyond housing
Around Millerhill, south-east of Edinburgh, the former marshalling yard has been substantially reduced as the wider area undergoes development. Nearby Shawfair is a major new community, although its principal development site was associated with the former Monktonhall Colliery rather than the marshalling yard itself.
Millerhill also illustrates how former railway land can accommodate uses beyond housing. The site retains railway facilities and includes a recycling and energy recovery centre. Its wider setting, with road and rail connections, highlights the potential for industrial and economic development alongside existing infrastructure.
In Sheffield and Rotherham, redevelopment around the former yard at Tinsley, which straddled both civic boundaries, similarly illustrates the potential for employment and commercial uses on previously developed railway-use land. The challenge is to ensure that opportunities for rail-connected businesses are considered from the outset, rather than treating proximity to the railway as simply another selling point.
Closing off railway redevelopment options
Not every development involving former railway land benefits freight. The M602 through Salford illustrates the trade-offs when road infrastructure occupies land associated with former railway routes. The motorway’s development involved land occupied by former railway lines, once dedicated to slower traffic, particularly freight. A historical engineering account from the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation describes the ground and drainage challenges associated with the former trackbed. The M602 opened in December 1982.
Such examples raise questions about how civic administrations assess the long-term value of redundant railway corridors before committing them to alternative uses. Not every disused trackbed needs to be reinstated, but decisions should consider potential freight demand, network capacity and the difficulty of recovering land once redevelopment has taken place.
Building freight into new developments
Development can generate employment and investment while retaining railway facilities. Commercial and industrial developments can also incorporate rail from the outset. The requirements of modern freight operations are not as land-intensive as historically. SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton provides an example. In 2022, SEGRO announced an agreement with Maritime Transport for a 17-acre intermodal terminal. Designed to accommodate trains up to 775 metres long, it was planned to handle almost 2,500 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units), provide parking for more than 125 lorries and support up to 16 trains daily when fully operational. Yet, the rail element requires only relatively modest infrastructure.
Such projects make railways part of the wider commercial proposition. Rail access offers logistics businesses an alternative to moving every container by road, while developers can provide transport infrastructure for occupiers. Success nevertheless depends on demand, suitable connections and commercially viable services. Steer argues that clearer funding arrangements, greater certainty and earlier collaboration can help development projects progress. These principles apply equally to freight-related schemes, where railway administrations, developers and planning authorities need to establish responsibilities and operational requirements early.