Response to call for evidence: unlocking the growth potential of rail freight

When publishing the Future of Freight plan earlier this year, the government confirmed its intention to consult on the development of a rail freight growth target, in line with long-standing commitments made in both the Transport Decarbonisation Plan and the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail.

The government believes that there are significant opportunities to grow the rail freight sector in the UK. It believes that a rail freight growth target will further strengthen the place of rail freight on the national network, create new opportunities for growth and investment, and accelerate a modal shift of freight with resulting decarbonisation benefits.

The CBI supports the development of a rail freight growth target, but it cannot be the only element to the story in order to ensure that rail freight grows.  

For rail freight to grow, the priority must be ensuring continued private sector investment is able to flow. Government must also support the sector to overcome the barriers that rail freight currently faces, which include issues relating to cost, speed, and connectivity.

In our response to the call for evidence, the CBI has outlined the main factors inhibiting the growth of rail freight and made clear recommendations for government about how it can help industry to overcome them.

Government should:

• Support private sector investment in rail freight by issuing its response to the Union Connectivity Review and highlighting where it expects private investment to be targeted across the freight network
• Outline, as soon as possible, its plans for the National Freight Network (NFN) to send a clear signal to potential investors about the future growth and profitability of the rail freight market
• Work to support the sector in putting rail freight on a more competitive footing by conducting a review of track access charges
• Support the sector to maximise the decarbonisation benefits of rail freight by funding the £30bn Tracti