RFG shines the spotlight on North East rail freight
New document outlines key priorities and growth potential across the region...
The Rail Freight Group (RFG) has published a new document focusing on the North East rail freight sector, highlighting the critical areas for development and growth.
‘Rail Freight in the North East’ was launched at the RFG’s Autumn Meeting on 13 November, held at the Port of Middlesbrough. It focuses on the current state of the region’s rail freight traffic today, the emerging opportunities available, and examines what will be needed to support growth over the long term.
The document identifies that rail freight produces some 76% less CO2 than equivalent HGV journeys and reduces road congestion while contributing some £2.45bn to the UK economy every year.
It was introduced by the Group’s Northern Representative, Martin Bignell, who said: “The North East has a long and proud history of rail freight and continues to have a huge variety of freight moving by rail to and from the region. Although we have seen considerable change in the industrial landscape of the North East in recent years, significant and ongoing investment in the region has opened up new opportunities for rail in intermodal and other sectors.”
An estimated 33% of goods enter the UK through ports in the North of England and the freight market is expected to grow by over 30% by 2050.
RFG highlights in the document the importance of infrastructure investment, in particular the Transpennine Route Upgrade, as a key enabler to develop an efficient North East - North West axis for intermodal rail freight that will remove HGVs from the M62 and some of the most congested roads in the North.
Maggie Simpson OBE, Director General of RFG, added: "Looking forward, it is vital to support emerging opportunities as the steel-making industry restructures. The region’s ports continue to thrive as gateways to Europe and new technologies like carbon capture and sustainable fuel manufacturing become established and scales. We need to ensure that our national rail infrastructure can support these new routes and demands.”