{"id":446447,"date":"2026-06-05T20:13:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T10:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=71572"},"modified":"2026-06-05T20:13:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T10:13:06","slug":"stage-fright-spotlight-on-freight-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=446447","title":{"rendered":"Stage fright spotlight on freight startups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why do they keep doing it? Across Europe, entrepreneurial groups are launching new rail freight services. In this intermodal world, the odds seem reachstacked against them. Thirty years of UK privatisation have entrenched a culture of intense competitiveness that is paradoxically stifling the broader development of the rail freight industry. Simon Walton, UK Editor for RailFreight.com, says we lack the bold marketing, once exemplified by the posters of the 1960s and 1970s. It’s leaving a void where customer awareness should be.<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

This suppression of market development is occurring at a critical juncture. Rail freight must fight to remain relevant. This lack of visibility does nothing for potential customer perception. When any high street is a moving billboard for road transport, rail is keeping itself on the margins of the logistics conversation. Yet, despite these headwinds, new entrants believe in the power of rail and are seeking to gain access. We are witnessing some determined attempts to rewrite the rulebook for freight.<\/p>\n

Testing the limits of speed and innovation<\/h2>\n

In the UK market, Freightliner has recently divided its operations. Its intermodal business is under new ownership, while its bulk handling is reincarnated as Heavy Haul Rail<\/a>. Yet, even in a crowded and complex market, ambition persists. This week, if you were a dedicated night owl, you might have spotted GoExpress conducting high-speed test runs in and out of Crewe, that most railway of railway centres. They are not the first to try this, but they exude a confident air of success.<\/p>\n

Carl \u201cCaffeine\u201d Watts, from Rail Operations Group, which provides the motive power, shared the overnight experience. “It’s 02.10 on Wednesday morning as we fly through Acton Bridge station at 85mph [136km\/h]. It\u2019s a special test for the Go-Express project, aiming to raise speeds for intermodal services to 90mph [152km\/h].\u201d<\/p>\n

Not bad for a train of outsized metal house bricks on wheels. They aim to build a future-proofed “middle-mile” transport network, targeting time-sensitive logistics markets like parcels and retail where reliability and transit time are paramount. Sounds a bit familiar, you\u2019ll agree, but can this consortium work where others have faltered? It would help if there were some central support. Take note, please, Great British Railways<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Systemic challenge<\/h2>\n

The UK government claims an unending desire to expand the industry. We must see if the latest radical regeneration of the railways, under the banner of state control, can actually deliver. There is an ever-growing list of challenges, not least rising costs and an increasing tax base. Looking at you – Westminster.<\/p>\n

\"Imagined
An imagining of Heavy Haul Rail, spun out from Freightliner. Image: created with Gemini and OpenAI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, the picture across the Channel is equally sobering. It\u2019s not all Narnia in those foreign lands of which we know little. Rail freight was the only mode of transport in Poland experiencing a drop in both tonnes and tonne-kilometres between 2024 and 2025. Road, air, and maritime transport all saw increases, while rail struggled.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the regulatory environment is in disarray. The fate of the Combined Transport Directive is currently hanging by a thread. It\u2019s a bit like the British \u201cambition\u201d for a net-zero economy, but written into law in 24 languages – so no obvious problem there. Meanwhile, six European rail associations are pleading with the EU to save the directive by dropping contentious definitions to avoid total failure. To my trucking friends: you think you\u2019ve got a complicated life.<\/p>\n

Innovation stifled by bureaucratic perfection<\/h2>\n

The ever-insightful Dennis van der Laan noted for RailFreight.com earlier this week that the original European vision for a competitive rail market<\/a> has, thirty years on, resulted in the opposite. According to rail innovator Patrick Sluga, the pursuit of bureaucratic perfection has made innovation gasp for air. Sluga, CEO of SWS Power Solutions, a German rail technology company, found that the homologation process for his products ballooned from 31 pages of documentation in 2019 to over a thousand today, effectively paralysing progress. British innovators will empathise.<\/p>\n

The result is a complex, stifling patchwork of regulations that scares away private investment. Manufacturers are forced to spend exorbitant amounts on engineering hours for certification, which negatively impacts the market by raising prices and reducing the number of new products. For Sluga, the solution is clear: Europe must focus on liability and responsibility rather than using safety as an unrestrained argument for more regulation. Safety should be risk-based and proportionate, not a barrier to entry.<\/p>\n

\"Class
Varamis Rail still holds hopes of a relaunch of its express logistics innovation. Image: LinkedIn \u00a9 Varamis Rail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ultimately, we need to look behind these arguments. Sometimes, calls for new regulations are simply about protecting a “slice of the cake” in old-fashioned, protected structures. If we continue to play these games, we will lose the very entrepreneurs we need. It is a cautionary tale that echoes the difficulties faced by others in the sector, such as the once-heralded Varamis Rail, which has been sidelined by extraneous circumstances beyond its control. We\u2019re still hopeful for a return to active service for the champion of repurposing redundant passenger trains into a slick, modern light logistics.<\/p>\n

Can we learn to love rail freight again?<\/h2>\n

Innovation is not a guaranteed path to profit, and the case of German innovator Helrom Trailer Rail provides a stark reminder of the market’s unforgiving nature. Helrom filed for insolvency for a second time this week<\/a>, leaving employees and stakeholders to grapple with the fallout. It\u2019s a tragedy for a company that sought to revolutionise the ‘piggyback’ concept by making it possible to load a train of road trailers simultaneously. It could have changed the tune, but for most people, its passing will go unnoticed.<\/p>\n

\"HELROM
HELROM’s trailer rail concept has hit the buffers. Image: \u00a9 HELROM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We need to start marketing rail freight generically. Give it the same change in the public spotlight, with the same emotional engagement used for passenger services. I defy anyone to listen to John Newman without seeing that couple embrace on the Penzance platform to the soundtrack of “Love You Again.” It may not be quite as romantic for the heavy metal of rail freight, but the principle of connection and reliability remains the same (I do this public engagement stuff on the side, by the way).<\/p>\n

Support the new entrants who are willing to brave these storms. GoExpress is moving from theory to operation, and there is a real appetite for the solutions they propose. Helrom\u2019s rolling stock has been snapped up by others, suggesting that a good idea is rarely truly lost. It is time to clear the tracks of bureaucracy, focus on the logistics, and perhaps, for the sake of the industry, I want to know if you can learn to love rail freight again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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