Freight recovers to pre-pandemic levels
Intermodal and aggregates traffic are driving growth, with bright futures for all freight operators.
RAIL freight traffic is 10% higher than 2020 and 0.7% higher than 2019, according to the latest figures from the Office of Road and Rail (ORR). These cover the Quarter 2 period from July 1 to September 30, 2021 and show that traffic amounted to 4.28 billion net tonne kilometres (ntk), a measure that combines 19.8 million tonnes lifted and 8.41 million kilometres hauled.
The freight operating companies have done well to sustain the level of activity given continuing decline in the use of coal, as power station closures have reduced the operational sites to two plants at Ratcliffe (Nottinghamshire) and West Burton (Lincolnshire). These are held in reserve for use when there is a spike in demand from the National Grid, or weather conditions cause low levels of wind generation.
Intermodal dominant
The largest component of freight traffic was intermodal operations between ports and inland distribution centres, plus a number of domestic flows, where a volume of 1.68 billion ntk was recorded – equivalent to a 39.2% share. Despite the recorded volume, analysts say that demand was depressed by disruption to international shipping caused by congestion at ports and a shortage of containers to meet shipping needs.
Enhanced rail infrastructure has recently been provided at a number of ports, including container handling equipment for loading to rail. There has also been an expansion in the capacity of inland rail-connected distribution sites that serve the rapidly changing requirement for high levels of home delivery, which also reduces lorry movements to retail outlets.
These trends have justified the decision made by Network Rail to allocate funding for the development of a Strategic Freight Network (SFN) on core routes radiating from ports. This enables 9ft 6in tall high-cube containers to be conveyed on standard height platform wagons, avoiding the need for ‘pocket wagons’ that represent an inefficient use of permitted train lengths.
As well as gauge clearance work, track, layouts and associated signalling have been modified to allow longer trains to run, with the standard set at 775 metres that provides loading for up to 120 TEU (20ft Equivalent Units).
The continuing growth at Felixstowe has seen progressive capacity enhancement. After opening in 1967, three rail terminals have been developed and at the start of this year a 38th daily return service has been added to the timetable. To cater for this, the layout at Ipswich was remodelled with a new two-track chord provided in 2014 to allow trains to access the Great Eastern Main Line north to Haughley Junction without reversing in Ipswich Yard.
There is further work to be done in the Ely area, with options to provide two tracks between Soham and Ely, and improve the layout at Ely
North Junction on the route to Peterborough.
From there, as part of the East Coast Main Line improvement plan to increase the number of paths available for passenger services, major engineering work has taken place at Werrington Junction to provide a dive-under to remove the conflicting movements that occur when the Joint line is used to reach Doncaster via Lincoln.
To cater for the growing size of container ships, new quays were opened at London Gateway port in 2013, located on the Thames Haven branch. Throughput here is close to overtaking the long standing intermodal activity at Southampton, and a second rail terminal is planned.
The organisation of shipping has meant that the increased size of vessels used on what might be described as a trunk route between South
East Asia and Europe has led to the need for secondary feeder terminals and resulted in growth at Teesport, where rail infrastructure has been improved as part of the SFN.
Liverpool has a long history of being seen as a gateway for Atlantic Ocean shipping, and investment in a second quay for container handling has enabled larger ships to be handled there, bringing with it greater demand for rail services. Work has recently been completed to provide double track on the Bootle branch to allow two paths per hour in each direction. Rail traffic at Liverpool also includes the substantial movement of biomass for electricity generation at Drax (North Yorkshire).
Container traffic
The original concept for containerised freight traffic in Britain was based on the transfer of goods carried by wagon load services to
“The changing mood reflects a growing feeling that the use of HGVs is inconsistent with efforts being made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the growing unreliability of roadbased transits”
containers moved by trainload Freightliner services. The plan was defeated by the decision to allow heavier lorries using the newly built motorway network, and it soon emerged that the concept was only competitive in the maritime market.
There are indications that new circumstances will make the market for domestic container movement more favourable for rail if investment by Tesco in a greater number of rail services sets a trend for other large retailers.
An expansion is taking place at Daventry to allow the operation of up to nine daily services, including refrigerated loads, to Tilbury, Cardiff (Wentloog), Mossend, and Teesport via Doncaster. From Mossend, services are provided to Inverness and Teesport, and between Tilbury and Coatbridge. Haulage will be provided by Direct Rail Services as a result of a recently signed three-year agreement that will maximise the utilisation of Class 88 bimode locomotives.
The changing mood reflects a growing feeling that the use of heavy goods vehicles is inconsistent with efforts being made throughout the economy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the growing unreliability of road-based movements as a result of congestion and road closures due to accidents.
There is also a generational change in that employment in the road haulage industry is increasingly seen as unattractive due to low pay and poor working conditions. Sleeping in a cab with no amenities for a physical needs break is being rejected by younger staff who expect accommodation to be provided for overnight rest.
Growth in construction
The rail haulage of construction materials has grown by 9.2% since prepandemic levels, with volume amounting to 1.32 billion ntk or 30.8% of network traffic. The ORR has identified that higher levels of housebuilding are increasing the need for aggregates, and the construction of HS2 is also a major contributor to demand. As a low value commodity, the output of quarries can only be supplied over longer distances if transport costs are low, otherwise locally produced material will be cheaper. Measures to increase the payload of freight trains bring the ability to extend the geographic reach for supply from a given location.
A good example of this is the reopening of rail loading facilities at Penmaenmawr on the North Wales Main Line between Bangor and Llandudno Junction.
The facility was once used to supply railway ballast, but small trainloads meant costs were higher than using mega-trains from high output quarries, and forwarding ceased. Favourable economics for rail movements has also seen a search for new terminals and, after many years out of use, the former coal concentration depot at Chessington South has been revived to receive materials resulting from HS2 construction (see also Freight News, page 76).
The growth in aggregates by rail has seen the market entry of DCRail as a contender for contracts following its purchase of four derelict Class 60 locomotives from DB Cargo, which have been overhauled to reflect the need for improved reliability of the class.
Prospects for growth
After Privatisation in the mid1990s, it took the industry some time to change the expectation that passenger numbers would continue the decline seen in the British Rail era as greater private car ownership took place. But it has been better prepared for changes in the freight market, recognising that the use of coal would not continue indefinitely and there would be a decline in manufacturing in favour of imported goods. While this resulted in the development of the SFN, it did not include electrification. This was due in part to decisions taken by the freight operators to modernise their traction with new imported diesel locomotives to replace the life-expired classes inherited from BR, as important routes were not electrified and wiring did not extend to many terminals. Bi-mode technology is one solution that allows a switch to diesel power after using electric haulage on electrified trunk routes, but this has seen limited adoption with minimal orders for the Class 88 type operated by Direct Rail Services. A switch to electric power has also been affected by the relative cost of traction current compared to diesel fuel, with operators moving away from the more expensive electric haulage.
Although investment in freight infrastructure has taken place, there are gaps that need to be resolved – in particular, the lack of a trans-Pennine route that is cleared for the transit of high-cube containers. The Integrated Rail Plan includes the need to accommodate intermodal services on the Diggle route (HuddersfieldStalybridge), but this looks to be many years away.
Freight, such as trains conveying biomass between Liverpool and Drax Power Station, is currently routed via the Calder Valley Line (Rochdale and Hebden Bridge) as the gradients are less severe and the passenger service less intense. A decision to add this infrastructure to the SFN would allow work to be undertaken to provide gauge clearance and open up rail opportunities to relieve congestion on the M62 motorway.
Operator market share
A structure to encourage competition to improve the efficiency of freight operations was a key element of the 1993 Railways Act that led to the transfer of BR operations to EWS and Freightliner. At the same time, a regulatory system was devised to allow new companies into the market, and for freight forwarders to operate their own services. To demonstrate the market share held by each operator, the ORR uses a measure based on the volume of freight kilometres worked, which totalled 8.41 million kilometres in the most recent statistics. DB Cargo (the successor organisation to EWS) recorded a diminished 34.4% share, with its largest competitor Freightliner reaching 31.5% (including the heavy haul division it created after Privatisation). Fast-growing GB Railfreight has reached 23.9%, which is a considerable achievement for a company established in 1999; Direct Rail Services holds a 7.5% market share; with Colas Rail recording 2.4%. DCRail (Devon and Cornwall Railways) is the smallest of the licensed operators and have a minimal presence, but growth can be anticipated following the acquisition of the Class 60 locomotives.