The latest report by the Office for Rail and Road on rail freight performance in Great Britain, covering the period from April to June 2024, shows volumes are up 7% year-on-year.
The Q2 2024 figures show notable increases in freight moved, freight lifted, and improvements in reliability, making it a standout period in comparison to previous years.
A significant milestone was reached in the volume of freight moved, which totalled 4.18 billion net tonne kilometres. This figure represents a 7% increase from the same quarter in 2023 and is the highest recorded since the first quarter of 2022.
Rail freight usage in different sectors
The report attributes much of this growth to sectors such as biomass and intermodal non-maritime freight, which both saw substantial rises. Biomass volumes surged by 94%, driven by higher activity at facilities such as Drax, while intermodal non-maritime freight saw an 89% increase, largely due to growing demand from retailers like Tesco and manufacturers such as Coca Cola.
In contrast, certain sectors like intermodal maritime and domestic waste freight experienced declines. Intermodal maritime freight, which makes up a substantial portion of the freight moved (over a third of the total), decreased slightly by 1%.
Moreover domestic waste volumes were particularly hard hit, seeing a 22% decline, the lowest level for this commodity group in seven years. The metal sector also faced challenges, with a 3% decrease, linked to weaker demand for steel in the UK, especially at key hubs like Scunthorpe.
On the other hand, construction-related freight, which also accounts for over a third of the total freight moved, saw its volumes increase by 2% to 1.40 billion net tonne kilometres, setting a record for this time of year since the data series began in 1998.
Improvements in reliability
Reliability improved significantly as well. The Freight Cancellations and Lateness (FCaL) measure, which tracks the percentage of freight trains cancelled or arriving more than 15 minutes late, improved to 7.6%.
This figure represents the best reliability score between April and June in three years, down from 9.9% in the same period of 2023. Freight cancellations were also reduced to 1.1%, reflecting stronger operational performance across the network.
Freight train kilometres and vehicle kilometres
Freight train kilometres, which measure the total distance travelled by freight trains, also rose by 1%, totalling 8.01 million kilometres during the quarter.
Notably, operators like GB Railfreight and Colas Freight posted their highest figures since the time series began in 2010. However, not all operators saw gains. Direct Rail Services, for example, recorded a 6% decline in train kilometres.
A similar pattern was observed in freight vehicle kilometres, which also rose by 5% to 182.78 million kilometres.
Commenting on the statistics, Ellis Shelton, Senior Policy Advisor at business group Logistics UK, said:
“As economic activity – particularly construction and manufacturing – starts to recover after the economic impact of the pandemic, rail freight’s ability to deliver large, heavy commodities on time will become increasingly valuable and will ensure that the country’s businesses can have access to the materials they need without having a significant impact on the environment. The reliability of the sector, which saw cancellations and lateness at their lowest level for three years for the April-June period, will also ensure that other sectors of the economy can be certain of receiving deliveries on time, vital if delays and rising costs are to be prevented across other parts of the supply chain. We hope that more businesses across the economy will recognise the value that using rail can bring to keep the country moving in order to generate growth for all.”
Photo: Freight train at Grayrigg by The Carlisle Kid, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons