Rail freight sector must bide its time for a clear strategy

How is our new government faring on rail reform? In the build-up to the General Election (RAIL 1012), we consulted closely with the industry to devise a seven-point manifesto to create a sound base for Britain’s railways. In this issue, HOWARD JOHNSTON assesses progress on freight

Howard Johnston Contributing Writer rail@bauermedia.co.uk

GOVERNMENTS rely on being popular for their survival, and it’s the sad truth that the UK’s rail freight business is never going to be a vote winner or loser. It is therefore not a top priority for Labour in its opening months in power. Its strategy for rail, published earlier this year, was heavily slanted towards a better deal for the passenger, although the current National Rail Plan does aim to increase the share of freight traffic by rail from 27% to 45% by 2030. There’s a lot of detail missing, but Network Rail has forecast major growth in demand in England and Wales between now and 2028-29, while at the same time admitting that wholesale creation of extra route capacity is not justified because many existing train paths are…

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RAIL (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 1024

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