Rail freight

THE total volume of rail freight lifted in the third quarter of 20162017 (Q3, October-December 2016) was 4.42 billion net tonne kilometres (ntk), down 2.8% on the corresponding period in 2015-16.

Figures released by the Office of Rail and Road on February 23 highlighted that construction and domestic intermodal between them accounted for more than 60% of total freight lifted.

Both commodities have been rising year-on-year, said ORR. Indeed, domestic intermodal set a new record for the highest amount of freight moved in any quarter since the start of the series (Q1, 1998-19), with 1.72bn ntk - a 5.2% increase on the same period last year.

Five of the seven commodities recorded an increase compared with Q3 in 2016-17. International traffic rose 14.4% to 0.11bn ntk, construction was up 6.6% to 1.04bn ntk, metals was up 6.6% to 0.37bn ntk, and oil and petroleum rose 0.6% to 0.29bn ntk.

However, coal fell to 0.46bn ntk (down 34.5%), while the Other category (which includes biomass) dropped to 0.42bn ntk (down 14.8%). This was the third biggest drop for coal since the quarterly time series began, although ORR pointed out that: “Since the turn of the current financial year, and while not to levels previously seen, coal has now recorded successive increases for freight moved in each quarter to 2016-17 Q3.”

ORR said the reasons for the possible changes included more construction materials moved by rail, a growth in consumer-focused service industries for domestic intermodal, and better security at Calais increasing the flow of traffic in and out of the ferry terminal.

Meanwhile, the decision to remove the climate change levy for power stations generating renewably-sourced electricity is gradually feeding through as freight companies secure new supply contracts.

Overall, freight lifted fell 9.6% to 20.8 million tonnes in Q3 2016-17. This is the lowest Q3 figure since the start of the quarterly figures in Q1 1996-97. Coal lifted was 3.4 million tonnes, down 43.4%