Rail Freight Growth Target
Setting a freight growth target for rail
In the Plan for Rail, the UK Government committed to setting a rail freight growth target. In response to this commitment, the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) is developing a range of rail freight growth target options; a key part of this work is to engage with industry through a formal call for evidence.
Call for evidence
The call for evidence ran from 5 July to 27 September 2022.
The purpose of this call for evidence was to develop an understanding of how much of the current and future market demand for freight could be met by rail, and the role rail can play in the nation’s supply chains. The call for evidence will help GBRTT to understand the realistic volume of goods that could be transferred to rail; where the potential for future rail freight traffic exists and where new rail terminals could be needed.
The call for evidence is a key way in which we are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure an evidence-based approach to the development of our growth target options. To build this evidence base, GBRTT wants to get views and ideas from the widest possible range of stakeholders within and beyond the rail and logistics sectors on how to increase the amount of freight that is moved by rail.
Responses will be used to inform future rail freight growth target options for the rail network.
Next steps
A summary report of the responses will be published in due course, summarising the key themes, findings, and next steps.
The responses to both parts of this call for evidence will be supplemented by economic modelling and lessons learned from the development of other rail freight growth targets, which will be factored into the next stage of this work. The ranges of scenario assumptions and timeframes of the options are still to be determined. The freight operating companies and the Rail Delivery Group will continue to be consulted throughout this process, to inform the development of credible and deliverable options. We will present rail freight growth target options to the Secretary of State later this year.
If you have any questions about this call for evidence, please contact RFGTcallforevidence@gbrtt.co.uk.
Related links
- Strategic Freight – a GBRTT workstream
- Future of freight: a long-term plan (Department for Transport)
- Transport Decarbonisation Plan (Department for Transport)
- About rail freight (Network Rail)
- About our long-term planning (Network Rail)
Accessibility
If you need a version of the call for evidence document in another format, please email RFGTcallforevidence@gbrtt.co.uk and let us know what you need.