THE AMOUNT of freight moved by rail grew during the second quarter of the year, according to data from the Office of Rail and Road. A total of 4.4 billion net tonne kilometres was moved during the period from July to September, 2% up on the same period the previous year. Five of the seven commodities recorded an increase. The two falling sectors were oil and petroleum, which fell by 3% to its lowest ever volume in a Q2 period since the time series began; and coal, which continued its decline with a 5% year-on-year fall. ORR says the amount of coal moved during the three-month period is just 13% of the amount moved during the same period five years ago.
The category to grow most strongly was ‘other’, which includes commodities such as biomass, parcels and domestic waste. ORR suggests the 7% rise could be attributed to new waste movements between Manchester and Leeds.
Freight moved takes into account the volume of freight and the distance travelled, whereas freight lifted measures solely the mass of goods. While there was growth in the former measure, the amount of freight lifted fell by 1% year-on-year and dropped to its lowest recorded level. The amount of coal lifted was up 12% on the same period in 2017-18, offset by a 3% decrease across all other commodities.
Total freight train kilometres, measuring the mileage operated by freight operators on the network, remained largely static compared to the same period in the previous two years. The three largest operators, DB Cargo, Freightliner Intermodal and GB Railfreight, accounted for 86% of all freight train kilometres travelled, but DB Cargo operated 9% fewer freight kilometres than the previous year while GBRf saw a 24% increase.
Normalised freight delay during the three-month period fell by 3% to 11.5 minutes per 100 train kilometres
BEACON BUYS COLAS FLEET
Changing hands: Beacon Rail Leasing has acquired 67 diesel locomotives from Colas Rail. The fleet will continue to be operated by Colas in the UK and France. Here No 70801 is seen at Colne Bridge on 11 November 2018. Russell Wykes
