Commenting on ORR freight usage stats, Robert Girgis, Director of Policy, said:
‘Freight volumes continued to recover in the last quarter. However, this growth will need to be sustained over the long term if the industry is going to deliver on the government’s rail freight growth target.
‘Rail freight operators want to invest to help decarbonise supply chains but there needs to be a level playing field between different modes of freight transport so that customers aren’t priced out of making the right decision for the environment.
‘In September, Network Rail introduced its new access charge discount scheme which will offer welcome support to freight operators introducing new flows, but freight operators need decision makers to provide confidence around long term access to the network and investments in capacity.’
- ORR’s latest freight rail usage and performance statistics were published today (17 December): Freight rail usage and performance, July to September 2024
- Rail Partners' Freight Britain report, launched earlier this year, can be read here: Freight Britain: the government’s rail freight target for green growth
Rail Partners exists to make the railway better by harnessing the expertise and creativity of private sector operators for the benefit of those who use the railway, passengers and freight customers, and those who pay for it, including taxpayers.
Rail Partners provides advocacy and policy solutions for its private sector passenger owning group and freight company members. Rail Partners additionally provides technical services to train operating companies in both the public and private sectors.
