Rail freight: meeting the 75% growth target safely

Welcome to another episode of the RSSB podcast! This month we're joined by Dougie Hill, who is Chair of the National Freight Safety Group. He talks about the freight landscape in 2024, what it'll take to safely meet the government's rail freight growth target, and what RSSB is working on to make this happen.

Find out more about the NFSG here: www.rssb.co.uk/national-freight-safety-group

Transcript

Host [00.18]: At the end of 2023, the UK government set an ambitious new freight growth target: to increase rail freight by 75% over the next 25 years. Achieving this goal safely will require a focused, collaborative approach from the sector, supported by RSSB. 

I’m joined today by Dougie Hill, Chair of the National Freight Safety Group, to talk about the current freight landscape and how RSSB will support the sector’s growth ambitions. Dougie, thanks so much for joining us today.

So, to set the scene, what can you tell us about freight in 2024?

Dougie Hill [00.52]: The freight sector, like all parts of the industry, is operating in challenging times. And with expected and significant changes ahead—such as rail reform, the rollout of the European Traffic Control System (ETCS), the climate change challenge, and decarbonisation—freight operating companies remain focused and agile, playing an important economic and environmental role that will support the required modal shift from road to rail and a collaborative approach to meeting and achieving the freight growth target of 75% more by 2050.

Host [01.35]: Thanks, Dougie. And what would you say are some of freight’s unique challenges, particularly when it comes to safe growth?

Dougie [01.41]: As you say, key to growth is to take a safety-focused approach with continued collaborative effort, protecting and enhancing the reputation of real freight. Grow but grow safely. Evolving the challenge for the sector, I would suggest, will be to have greater use in digital technology and innovation. Maturing in this arena can provide greater support and alignment in its utilisation of infrastructure, assets, and resources.

Having data insights-led processes and practices can also assist the sector and organisations in the identification of strengths and inefficiencies in service delivery, allowing for better decision making in the provision of a sustainable real freight customer offering.

Host [02.38]: And in your opinion, what will it take to meet the freight growth target set by the UK government?

Dougie [02.43]: The simple answer to that is to attract customers away from road and make the model shift to rail. However, to achieve that and meet the 75% target, there are several strategic challenges to be met. Freight growth ambitions need to be matched by the whole of industry to ensure that the freight growth targets can be and are achieved. To help this, it’s important to recognise the current value of rail freight and what it positively contributes to the UK economy and the positive impacts on the environment. For example, rail freight contributes around £2.5 billion to the economy annually, and a single freight train can remove up to 129 HGV road movements. 

Some strategic challenges, in my view, are the need to have a network that supports increased rail capacity—so support and investment to deliver infrastructure capability and capacity, improved and enhanced freight train pathing that encourages the operation of longer, heavier, and faster freight trains, and a commitment to support, and decarbonisation, having the required capability for freight trains to operate electric traction from origin to destination in such a mode.

There are obviously more areas to be considered, but tackling some of these will assist in a competitive approach to road haulage and the opportunity to encourage the shift that will undoubtedly progress the route to achieving and meeting the freight growth target.
 
Host [04.27]: Thanks Dougie. So, to ensure we’re focusing our efforts on solving industry’s key challenges, we’ve introduced freight as a core part of our 2024–2025 Annual Business Plan. Can you touch on what this means for the freight sector?

Dougie [04.41]: RSSB acknowledge and has understanding of the key and important role that rail freight brings to the rail industry and those other industries and communities that rail freight serves each day of the year. Freight safety is a core part of RSSB’s Annual Business Plan and the Real Health and Safety Strategy, which ensures that the freight challenges are fully understood and can be supported head-on and in partnership with the freight sector.

So, yes, this is a real positive, and as well as providing support, it also cements RSSB’s commitment in working with the sector on achieving safe freight growth. RSSB are now signatories to the Senior Leaders Freight Collaboration Chapter and are newly appointed members to the Freight Safe Steering Group, who govern the Freight Safe Programme, which is the sector’s collaborative health and safety plan designed to facilitate freight growth.

The priority risks identified within the Freight Safe Programme will be supported by RSSB, providing expertise, resource, and data analysis to progress the various work streams aligned to the risk priorities. RSSB also chair the National Freight Safety Group, which brings the sector together at senior safety level to work collaboratively on freight safety activities and risks that are common to all freight operators.

The recently updated published Rail Technical Strategy also has a ‘Freight Friendly’ section included, which focuses on innovation to deliver a sustainable, efficient, and even safer railway, which supports freight growth through improved utilisation of existing and new capabilities of freight assets and improved whole-system thinking with freight at its heart.
 
Host [06.48]: And finally, can you elaborate on some of the specific projects we’re working on to support freight safety and growth?

Dougie [06.55]: So, RSSB support and the prioritised risks from the Freight Safe Programme are around freight safe insights work and the Horizon Scanning service. The Freight Safe Insights Project, which includes building a data ecosystem for the sector to provide the necessary safety insights, will inform decision making. It will simplify data entry, reducing duplication, and a delivery industry intelligence. This will also provide the sector with the key ask of a freight Precursor Indicator Model. The Horizon Scanning service is where our Futures Lab colleagues are also developing this Horizon Scanning service for the sector. This will allow the sector to see and understand emerging risks and potential safety hazards. The development work has commenced around research to conduct a strategic review, produce an emerging risks framework, and develop a scanning approach. And through engagement, to validate users’ needs, design and test information products, and feed back to the sector’s project team. 

The other areas where RSSB are supporting the freight sector is in the research arena, where various programmes have been carried out around coupling strength that would support longer heavier freight trains and sectional running times, which supports faster-running freight trains. Both these research programmes and their aforementioned Rail Technical Strategy are all clearly aligned to working with and supporting the freight sector in achieving freight growth targets. 

The discussions today provide a flavour of the work RSSB is committed to in supporting the freight sector on their journey to achieving the freight growth target set. And working collaboratively with the freight organisations and their members will ensure that through co-operation and collaboration, the sector will achieve and deliver safe, sustainable, and efficient rail freight, with an enhanced reputation as the preferred mode of freight transportation in the UK.

Host [09.21]: Dougie, thank you so much for joining us today. And thank you for listening! We look forward to you joining us for the next episode. And in the meantime, safe travels.