Rail freight usage statistics for the period from 1 October to 31 December 2023, published by the Office of Rail Road, ‘underline how challenging current market conditions are for the rail freight sector’, Rail Partners Chief Executive Andy Bagnall has said.
During the quarter 3.85 billion net tonne kilometres of freight was moved, up 4% on the same period the previous year. Intermodal maritime, the most significant type, saw a 5% decrease and the lowest figure for this quarter since 2013, due to depressed container volumes through major ports. There was better news for construction, which represented the second largest share of freight moved, with volumes up 11%, driven by movements for HS2.
Intermodal non-maritime freight saw a 72% year-on-year increase, while biomass volumes were up by 30% as extra capacity is introduced at Drax. Metals volumes were down by 3%, domestic waste by 23%, industrial minerals by 6% and international volumes by 11%, but oil and petroleum grew by 6% due to additional tonnages of jet fuel moving from the Isle of Grain to Heathrow Airport. Coal saw the largest decrease at 72%…
