Rail Freight Group – The Opportunities and Challenges

Presenter: Maggie Simpson

Meeting Held at Shenfield Parish Hall

Maggie gave us an excellent Zoom presentation a year ago; she kindly accepted our invitation to visit us at Shenfield for a face to face meeting.

In the first part of her talk Maggie reminded us of the purpose of the RFG, that it is a representative body or trade association with 120 member organisations that provide the various services in operations, rolling stock, terminals, etc.  The RFG seeks to influence policy and decision makers, with the overall aim of increasing the proportion of goods that is carried by rail (“modal shift”).  This is very current, in the context of global warming.  So, RFG networks, runs forums (mostly online), events such as award dinners and publishes the RFG News.

Benefits claimed for modal shift include: decarbonisation; job creation; new infrastructure.  This is in the context of new trade deals, post Brexit and the post-Covid economic recovery, plus a review of ‘Just in Time’ supply chains.  Also the Williams-Shapps Integrated Rail Plan, just published t (18 November).  Government policy is not always coherent or consistent and this can be frustrating – electrification policy and implementation is one very important example.

There are encouraging developments however.  Network capacity is being addressed; longer trains are being run (52 wagons, 3 800-4 000 tonnes, 775 meters) where possible.  Terminal planning is a significant activity.  Alternative fuels and means of propulsion are being used or trialled.  Moreover, rail freight is growing and Maggie gave many examples of this increased activity, the types of traffic and the customers.  The picture on balance is a positive one.  Intriguingly, something called “sharing capacity differently” is exercising the minds of RFG members and their colleagues in the various railway organisations and departments.  Planning is difficult for many reasons, the future amount of passenger use being just one of them.

Further information, including access to a free newsletter, is available on the RFG website www.rfg.org.uk