{"id":263345,"date":"2025-08-07T20:44:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T10:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=64927"},"modified":"2025-08-07T20:44:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T10:44:04","slug":"varamis-gets-the-green-light-to-restart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=263345","title":{"rendered":"Varamis gets the green light to restart"},"content":{"rendered":"

UK express logistics operator Varamis Rail is back on the tracks. That\u2019s the triumphal message from the flegling operator\u2019s owner, Phil Read. The company, which runs an exclusively electric-powered service between Birmingham and Scotland, has successfully restructured and is confident of resuming its nightly operations.<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

In an exclusive interview with RailFreight.com, Varamis Rail confirmed it has pulled through a tough spell of challenges. The operator, which uniquely runs repurposed passenger electric multiple unit trains, said it would recommence its service on Tuesday, 2 September, with a train running in each direction on the West Coast Main Line. The company maintains an ambition to extend its light logistics service into London.<\/p>\n

Trains on tracks top priority.<\/h2>\n

A turbulent spring may turn into a sublime summer for Varamis Rail. The operator has been working hard to resurrect dedicated light logistics and parcels traffic on Britain\u2019s railways. They have announced that it will resume its operation as of 2 September. The company has not released any further details about the nature of the restructuring plan. However, it has refuted several rumours, including operational difficulties, regulatory problems and financial concerns. RailFreight.com reported on the challenges faced by the company<\/a> late last month.<\/p>\n

\"Varamis
Varamis at Birmingham International \u2013 their terminal is within the station compound, located between the National Exhibition Centre and the city’s airport. Image: \u00a9 Varamis Rail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The founder of the company was emphatic in his resolve. Phil Read told RailFreight.com that Varamis Rail was very much back on track and accepting orders. \u201cVaramis has always been about express logistics, door to door, with a zero-emissions model,\u201d he said. \u201cGetting our trains back on the tracks has been our number one priority. We have been in constant contact with our customer base, because these are the people who have shown faith in the model we have championed since earning our operator’s licence in 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n

Extreme sustainability ticks all the green boxes<\/h2>\n

Varamis has taken that sustainability model to extreme lengths. The trains used by the company are all repurposed passenger stock that otherwise faced an uncertain future. Varamis leases refurbished Class 321 units (four\u2011car sets) via Eversholt Rail. These were originally suburban passenger trains built between 1988\u20131991 and converted into parcel\u2011carrying units capable of 100\u202fmph (160 km\/h).<\/p>\n

\"Varamis
Varamis Rail express logistics train in overnight transit between Glasgow and Birmingham, with ambitions to extend to London. Image: \u00a9 Varamis Rail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The operator did express an interest in the bespoke class 325 units – a dual-voltage design built for the Royal Mail units. Phil Read was highly critical of the now privatised Royal Mail service\u2019s decision to pull out of rail-operated logistics. Last year, he – and many other voices from the rail industry – expressed anger at the hasty scrapping of the entire 325 fleet. That act was likened to the \u2018factory breakers\u2019 of old, who would be employed to destroy redundant machinery lest it be reused by a competitor. The analogy is evident.<\/p>\n

Commercial and political interest encouraged<\/h2>\n

\u201cThere are many businesses that see the value of rail-served logistics,\u201d said Phil Read. \u201cThe ability of Varamis<\/a> to move parcels and substantial packages between Birmingham International and a terminal on the outskirts of Glasgow that\u2019s also at a motorway crossroads for Scotland, in four hours, is a commercial advantage that only rail can deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n

One aspect of the revival of fortune of which Phil Read has been critical is the cool reception from political quarters. \u201cWhile individuals have been supportive, we\u2019ve not seen any significant movement towards moving zero-emission logistics up the agenda,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a service that makes perfect sense in the net-zero economy. We\u2019re playing our part, and I urge Westminster [UK government] and Holyrood [the Scottish equivalent] to take note and promote this sector. It can only do good for all their economic ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UK express logistics operator Varamis Rail is back on the tracks. That\u2019s the triumphal message from the flegling operator\u2019s owner, Phil Read. The company, which\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,17676,3112,5798,47,85,4722,1784],"tags":[12634],"class_list":["post-263345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-experss-parcels","category-express-logistics","category-phil-read","category-rail-news","category-uk","category-varamis-rail","category-west-coast-main-line","tag-railfreight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=263345"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":263966,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263345\/revisions\/263966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=263345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=263345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=263345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}