Home › Freight
Freight
What runs on Britain's railways as freight today: 17 operators and owners, 20 classes of locomotive, 20 kinds of intermodal wagon and the containers they carry, and where it all goes: 16 ports, 25 rail freight terminals and 26 yards and depots.
16,055million net tonne-km moved, year to March 2026 (down 3% on the year before)
69.5million tonnes lifted in the same year
186,131freight trains run: the fewest on record
6,386million net tonne-km of port containers, the most since 2018
31.4per cent of freight train-km run by GB Railfreight
75per cent growth by 2050 at least: the Department for Transport's target (December 2023)
From the Office of Rail and Road's freight statistics (year to March 2026) and the Department for Transport; the figures above were checked against the ORR's release of 11 June 2026. Owners and fleet counts change every few months: each is dated “as at” the month it was read.
unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓
Where freight goes
Ports, terminals and yards, from the positions in each record (some are approximate). A schematic of where they are, not a route map: no line is drawn, because no route geometry is held yet. Outline: Natural Earth, public domain.
Ports with rail 16
| Name | Run by | Served by | Trains and traffic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port of Felixstowe | Hutchison Ports (Hutchison Port Holdings) | DB Cargo UK, Freightliner (intermodal), GB Railfreight | 58 trains per day in and out across 3 rail terminals (port's own figure) |
| Port of Southampton (Southampton Container Terminal; vehicle terminals) | Associated British Ports; container terminal operated by DP World | Freightliner (intermodal), GB Railfreight, DB Cargo UK | 23 container trains a day (ABP) |
| London Gateway (DP World) | DP World | Freightliner (intermodal), GB Railfreight, DB Cargo UK | Up to 20 trains a day in and out (RAIL, 6 August 2025), up from about 12 after the Gemini Alliance moved from Felixstowe in 2025. Second terminal: phase 1 open; fully operational in 2027 with capacity up to 50 services a day in each direction (RAIL, 1 April 2026) |
| Port of Tilbury (Tilbury, Tilbury2, Riverside) | Forth Ports (Brookfield-owned) | – | 38 services a week across four railheads, about 5% of port throughput; 95 a week (29%) forecast by 2030 |
| London Thamesport | Hutchison Port Holdings | – | None: last container train ran on 6 November 2013. It is also listed as mothballed 1991-2016 |
| Port of Liverpool (Seaforth) | Peel Ports | DB Cargo UK, GB Railfreight, Freightliner (intermodal) | Containers, Biomass to Drax (GBRf, Liverpool Biomass Terminal) |
| Teesport | PD Ports | DB Cargo UK, GB Railfreight, Direct Rail Services, Freightliner (intermodal) | PD Ports says 25 services a week (undated, company claim). 16-wagon Teesport-Mossend/Grangemouth train from October 2025 adds 40 slots a week |
| Port of Immingham | Associated British Ports | DB Cargo UK, GB Railfreight | More than 240 rail freight movements a week (ABP) |
| Port of Hull (King George Dock, Alexandra Dock) | Associated British Ports | DB Cargo UK | Biomass to Drax (DB Cargo, with Immingham), General cargo, offshore wind components |
| Royal Portbury Dock (Bristol Port) | Bristol Port Company | Freightliner (intermodal), DB Cargo UK | Planning consent caps freight trains on the Portbury link at an average of 20 a day in and out of the port |
| Avonmouth (Bristol Port, container terminal and bulk) | Bristol Port Company | Freightliner (intermodal), DB Cargo UK | Containers (a London Gateway intermodal service ran from Avonmouth before moving to Portbury in 2022), Bulk and aggregates |
| Port Talbot (Tata Steel steelworks and tidal harbour) | Tata Steel UK | DB Cargo UK | Up to 35 loaded slab trains a week from Newport at full volume (70 paths, up to five trains a day) as of January 2025 |
| Port of Grangemouth and Grangemouth Rail Freight Terminal | Forth Ports | DB Cargo UK, Direct Rail Services, GB Railfreight, Colas Rail (freight and infrastructure) | Containers, Fuel (ended with refinery closure) |
| Garston (Liverpool) | Peel Ports (docks); Freightliner terminal | Freightliner (intermodal) | Intermodal containers (Freightliner), mainly Liverpool origin/destination traffic for other ports |
| Hunterston Terminal | Peel Ports (Clydeport) | – | None: terminal closed in 2016 |
| Port of Tyne (Tyne Dock) | Port of Tyne | GB Railfreight | Biomass for Drax (GBRf) and Lynemouth, Possibly coal/other bulk |
Rail freight terminals 25
| Name | Run by | Served by | Traffic |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIRFT (Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal) | Prologis (site owner, DIRFT III); DIRFT I railport run by Malcolm Group (Wikipedia SRFI table) | DB Cargo UK, GB Railfreight, Direct Rail Services, Freightliner (intermodal) | Retail and consumer goods: Tesco, Sainsbury's, Royal Mail, DHL; trains to Scotland (Mossend, Coatbridge, Grangemouth), Felixstowe, Southampton and Channel Tunnel traffic |
| Hams Hall Rail Freight Terminal | Maritime Transport | GB Railfreight, Freightliner (intermodal), DB Cargo UK | Containers to and from Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway |
| Birch Coppice (Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal) | Maritime Transport | Freightliner (intermodal), GB Railfreight | Containers via Felixstowe, Southampton, Tilbury, London Gateway |
| Lawley Street (Birmingham) | Freightliner | Freightliner (intermodal) | Containers (Freightliner) |
| Trafford Park (Euroterminal and Freightliner terminal) | Maritime Transport (Euroterminal, from DB Cargo UK); Freightliner terminal | DB Cargo UK, Freightliner (intermodal), GB Railfreight | Containers |
| Ditton (Halton) | Freightliner | Freightliner (intermodal) | Containers |
| Wakefield Europort | Maritime Transport (terminal); site developed by Wakefield MDC/AMEC | DB Cargo UK | Containers, swap bodies, rail-served warehousing |
| iPort Rail, Doncaster (Rossington) | Medlog (iPort owner) | GB Railfreight, Freightliner (intermodal) | Containers from Southampton (GBRf thrice weekly at an early stage); Freightliner Southampton-Doncaster |
| Doncaster Railport / International Railport (Doncaster Europort) | Freightliner (Doncaster Europort) | Freightliner (intermodal) | Containers (Freightliner Southampton-Doncaster Europort) |
| Selby intermodal terminal | – | – | – |
| Stourton Freightliner Terminal (Leeds) | Freightliner | Freightliner (intermodal) | Containers |
| Teesport Intermodal Rail Terminal (and TRIP, Middlesbrough) | PD Ports | DB Cargo UK, GB Railfreight, Direct Rail Services, Freightliner (intermodal) | Containers to Scotland, Manchester, Felixstowe |
| Mossend EuroTerminal | DB Cargo UK, leased to Maritime Intermodal from 1 October 2021 | DB Cargo UK, GB Railfreight, Direct Rail Services | Rail-road transfers; Daventry and port services; crew and traction changes |
| Mossend International Railfreight Park | PD Stirling | – | Containers; planned for 16 trains a day |
| Coatbridge Freightliner terminal (Gartsherrie) | Freightliner | Freightliner (intermodal), Direct Rail Services | Containers; DRS Daventry-Coatbridge from November 2025 |
| Grangemouth Rail Freight Terminal (Grangemouth Terminal) | Forth Ports / DB Cargo UK site | DB Cargo UK, Direct Rail Services | Containers, Teesport and Daventry services |
| Wentloog (Cardiff) | Freightliner | Freightliner (intermodal), Direct Rail Services | Containers: five services a day (two DRS, three Freightliner) in a Network Rail release of uncertain date |
| Barking / Ripple Lane (Barking Eurohub) | Network Rail (leased from Legal & General, Feb 2026) / Platform4 | DB Cargo UK, GB Railfreight | Intended: Channel Tunnel swap-body intermodal |
| Willesden Euroterminal / Willesden Logistics Hub | – | – | Historic Channel Tunnel euroterminal; now HS2 Willesden Logistics Hub |
| East Midlands Gateway Rail Freight Interchange | SEGRO (developer); Maritime Transport operates the terminal (25-year lease announced 2019) | DB Cargo UK, GB Railfreight, Freightliner (intermodal) | Containers; Felixstowe and London Gateway services |
| Northampton Gateway (SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton) | SEGRO; Maritime Transport | DB Cargo UK | Containers: Felixstowe five days a week (Maritime, 2026), Didcot/Southampton |
| West Midlands Interchange (Four Ashes) | Four Ashes Limited (Kilbride/Grosvenor); Maritime Transport named as operator on Wikipedia SRFI table | – | Planned: up to 10 trains a day of 2,543 ft (775 m) |
| Radlett SRFI | SEGRO | – | – |
| Rotherham (Masborough) steel/intermodal terminal | Maritime / DB Cargo site list | DB Cargo UK, GB Railfreight, Freightliner (intermodal) | Steel (Rotherham Steel Terminal on DB Cargo list); intermodal |
| Telford International Railfreight Park | – | – | – |
Yards and depots 26
| Name | Run by | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Toton (TMD, Up and Down yards, North Yard) | DB Cargo UK | Traction maintenance depot (DB Cargo UK's only depot with heavy locomotive maintenance) plus marshalling and stabling sidings; ETCS retrofit of Class 66 under way |
| Wembley (European Freight Operations Centre, A/B fans) | DB Cargo UK | Staging and exchange sidings (designed for 70 trains a day, Wikipedia); Channel Tunnel-era EFOC |
| Bescot Yard | DB Cargo UK | Freight yard (West Midlands); not on the 27 May 2026 DB Cargo list |
| Doncaster Down Belmont Yard | DB Cargo UK | Marshalling yard with recess sidings, stabling and fuelling (DB Cargo site ref DCB 118) |
| Doncaster Up Decoy Yard | DB Cargo UK | Stabling, marshalling and wagon maintenance and repair point; loco servicing (site ref DCD 38) |
| Doncaster Roberts Road | – | Freight depot/sidings near Doncaster; not on the DB Cargo list |
| Warrington Arpley | DB Cargo UK | Yard with repair point and sidings (site ref ARP 83) |
| Tees Yard (Thornaby) | DB Cargo UK | Yard with fuel point, wagon shops, C&W grading point and Thornaby TMD (site ref TBT 113) |
| Mossend Down Yard and Down South Yard | DB Cargo UK | Marshalling/down sidings and repair points (site ref MSS SC5); frequent origin/destination in live train data |
| Westbury Down and Up Yards | DB Cargo UK | Yards with Up/Down trainload centres, C&W and permanent-way depot; Mendip stone and wagonload hub |
| Eastleigh yard/depot | – | Freight yard and depot (name only): not on the DB Cargo list |
| Hither Green (marshalling yard and TMD) | DB Cargo UK | Marshalling yard (opened 1899; freight depot 1960); DB Cargo TMD and Bramdean sidings (HTG 22, BRD 75) |
| Ripple Lane (Barking) | DB Cargo UK | Yard and sidings (Ripple Lane Yard, West Yard, Harry's Sidings); Freightliner proposes a nodal yard (unfunded) |
| Peak Forest Sidings and TMD | DB Cargo UK | Sidings, loco holding, fuel point and repair point serving Peak quarries (site ref PKF 100) |
| Tinsley Yard (Sheffield) | DB Cargo UK | Yard with wagon maintenance siding (Europa Way, Sheffield; site ref TSL 116); also Freightliner/GBRf entries |
| Carlisle Kingmoor | Direct Rail Services | Stabling point for locomotives (no allocation since 2013); former marshalling yard (New Kingmoor opened 1963); DRS depot opened 1998 |
| Crewe Basford Hall / Crewe IEMD | Freightliner (intermodal) | Basford Hall: freight yard and intermodal node (opened 1992); Crewe IEMD is a DB Cargo UK depot (CWE 165) |
| Tyne Yard (Gateshead) | DB Cargo UK | Yard (site ref TYN 129) |
| Immingham TMD and Sorting Sidings | DB Cargo UK | Depot and sorting sidings (site ref IMH 170) |
| Didcot Yard and TMD | DB Cargo UK | Yard and depot; marshalling of Channel Tunnel trainload trains happens at Didcot |
| Acton Yard | DB Cargo UK | Yard (site ref ACT 200); destination for Mendip stone trains |
| Dollands Moor Freight Yard | DB Cargo UK | Channel Tunnel freight yard: loco and crew changes; 8 roads, 25 kV |
| Kingsbury Yard (oil sidings) | DB Cargo UK | Oil terminal sidings and reception (site ref KGB 20) |
| Leicester (freight yard/depot) | – | Not researched |
| Ipswich yard / Griffin Wharf | – | Griffin Wharf terminal (Ipswich) was mothballed 1970-2013 |
| Stratford (Channel Tunnel-era freight sidings) | – | Not researched |
Freight to and from mainland Europe runs through the Channel Tunnel.
Operators 17
GB RailfreightInfracapital (M&G plc)intermodal, bulk (gypsum, coal, biomass), Royal Mail, infrastructure (Network Rail, London Underground), steelworks operations, Caledonian Sleeper haulage, new-train deliveries and test trainsClass 08, 09, 18, 59, 60, 66, 69, 73, 92, 99 · 8 liveriesDB Cargo UKDeutsche Bahn AG via DB Cargo AGbulk freight (general), intermodal, infrastructure and other bulkClass 66, 67, 90, 92 · 6 liveriesHeavy Haul RailBrookfield and GIC (the company's own page does not name its owners)steel, timber, aggregates, other bulk (cement, petroleum, scrap, waste, Network Rail ballast per Freightliner heavy haul history)Class 59, 66, 70 · 2 liveriesFreightliner (intermodal)CMA CGM Group (acquisition completed 29 Jan 2026intermodal containers (deep-sea and domestic)Class 08, 66, 90 · 6 liveriesEurophoenix Rail / DBI Holdings (Enviro Skip Hire Rail Services)DBI Holdings (DBIH) after buy-out in July 2026 (RAIL 7 Jul and 31 Jul 2026spot hire of Class 37 (mostly to ROG, also RailAdventure, Colas, Hanson & Hall), aggregate and spoil trains (haulage by Colas and GBRf; DBIH plans its own Class 60 workings to Carlisle, Westbury, Penmaenmawr, Burngullow, Dewsbury, Redcar)Class 37, 60 · 1 liveryColas Rail (freight and infrastructure)Colas (Bouygues group)aggregates, timber (Kronospan), steel, coal (historic), Network Rail infrastructure (haulage, ballast, RHTT), test trains (Class 43 power cars)Class 37, 56, 66, 67, 70 · 1 liveryDirect Rail ServicesNuclear Transport Solutions (a division of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority)nuclear flasks and fuel, intermodal (e.g. Grangemouth to Daventry, supermarket traffic), passenger charters and contract haulageClass 66, 68, 88 · 3 liveriesWest Coast RailwaysDavid Smith (majority owner)charter trains and spot hire (no freight haulage described)Class 37 · 1 liveryLocomotive Services LimitedJeremy Hoskingrail tours and charters (no freight haulage described)Class 20, 37, 90 · 1 liveryDCRailCappagh Group (bought from British American Railway Services in Nov 2017)aggregates, construction support, intermodal (planned)Class 56, 60 · 4 liveriesRail Operations Group (and Orion)STAR Capital Partnership (investment Jan 2021)stock moves and spot hire, charter, high-speed logistics (Orion: on hold since 2023, EMU parcels concept ended 2025)Class 93 · 2 liveriesMendip RailJoint venture of Aggregate Industries and Hanson Aggregates (assets stay with parents)aggregates from Mendip quarries (Torr Works, Dulcote, Batts Combe, Whatley) to London and the South Eastno locomotive classes listed · 0 liveriesHarry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC)Swietelsky (Austria), bought January 2025locomotive spot hire and shunting hire, maintenance and overhaul, industrial supply (Class 20s at Hope Cement Works)Class 20, 37, 73 · 2 liveriesVaramis RailPrivate (founder Phil Read)express parcels and logistics (overnight, Birmingham to Glasgow)no locomotive classes listed · 0 liveriesNetwork Rail (own locomotives only)not checked (public-sector body)infrastructure test and rail-head treatment trains (Cambrian)Class 97 · 0 liveriesLoram UKLoram Maintenance of Way (privaterail grinding and maintenance trains; hauled by hired locosClass 37 · 0 liveriesBalfour Beatty Railinfrastructure maintenance (Drain Train)Class 20 · 0 liveries
Main routes 13
With the loading gauge each is cleared to (W10 carries a 9 ft 6 in container on a standard wagon). Network Rail publishes no gauge map for the public, so a route with no published gauge is left blank.
| Route | Via | Traffic | Loading gauge | Electrified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felixstowe to Nuneaton (F2N) | Ipswich – Bury St Edmunds – Ely – Peterborough – Leicester – Nuneaton | Container (maritime intermodal) trains between Felixstowe and the Midlands, the North and Scotland | W10 (9ft 6in containers) cleared throughout, per Network Rail's scheme list and Wikipedia; W12 not stated | No for almost all of it (Ipswich-Felixstowe and Ipswich-Ely-Peterborough-Leicester-Nuneaton are diesel); it crosses wires at the ECML, MML and WCML. MML wires reach Wigston (completed April 2025) |
| Felixstowe/East Anglia to the North via the GN/GE Joint Line | Spalding – Sleaford – Lincoln – Gainsborough – Doncaster | Container trains from Felixstowe to Doncaster, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland, avoiding the ECML | No (general knowledge, unsourced) | |
| Southampton to the West Midlands | Eastleigh – Basingstoke – Reading – Didcot – Oxford – Banbury – Leamington Spa – Coventry – Nuneaton | Container trains from Southampton to the Midlands, North West, East coast and Scotland; Automotive (ABP calls Southampton the UK's number one vehicle port) | W10 (9ft 6in containers on conventional flat wagons) on the core route Southampton-Eastleigh-Reading West-Leamington-Nuneaton; a 233 ft (71m) GBP programme completed on time (reported 4 April; year inferred as 2011) | |
| West Coast Main Line | Rugby – Northampton Loop (DIRFT) – Nuneaton – Trent Valley – Crewe (Basford Hall) – Warrington – Preston – Carlisle – Mossend | Intermodal containers (Daventry, Hams Hall, Birch Coppice, Mossend, Coatbridge); Retail trains to Scotland (Tesco, Daventry to Mossend); Nuclear flasks (Cumbrian links); Steel, construction, low-volume Channel Tunnel traffic | W10 throughout (high-cube 9ft 6in containers) | Yes: 25 kV AC overhead on nearly all of the route (Weaver Junction-Glasgow completed May 1974) |
| East Coast Main Line | Peterborough – Doncaster – York – Darlington – Newcastle – Berwick | Intermodal (Teesport, Doncaster iPort, Tyne); Biomass, steel, aggregates between Yorkshire, Tyneside and Scotland; Humber and Doncaster flows | Wikipedia infobox gives W9 (via Hertford Loop) for the southern end. Network Rail's scheme list shows W12 clearance Temple Hirst-Berwick and ECML North (Scotland), completion early CP5 / March 2016. Older secondary sources say most of the ECML to the Scottish border is W12 | Yes: 25 kV AC overhead London-Edinburgh (full line 1976-1991) |
| Midland Main Line | Bedford – Wigston/Leicester – Syston – Loughborough – East Midlands Parkway – Toton – Derby – Chesterfield | Aggregates from the Peak and Leicestershire (not sourced here); Biomass; coal ended at Ratcliffe-on-Soar on 29 September 2024; Container trains (East Midlands Gateway; Freightliner Southampton-Doncaster via Nottingham) | W10 from Bedford to both Chesterfield and Nottingham, completed 2026 (RAIL, 17 July 2026), including the Kirk Hill bridge rebuild | Partly: London-Kettering-Market Harborough-Wigston electrified (completed April 2025); north of Leicester to Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield not (cancelled July 2017) |
| North London Line and Gospel Oak to Barking (GOBlin) | Barking – Woodgrange Park – South Tottenham – Gospel Oak – Willesden / Acton | London Gateway, Tilbury and Thamesport-area container trains to the Midlands, North and Scotland; Aggregates and construction trains across London | GOBlin: yes, electrified, reopened 15 January 2018 (it also created an electrified freight link between the LTS and the WCML/ECML). The North London Line: freight is diesel hauled | |
| Great Western Main Line (and South Wales/Bristol links) | Reading – Didcot – Swindon – Bristol Parkway – Severn Tunnel – Newport – Cardiff – Port Talbot | Mendip aggregates (Merehead and Whatley quarries to Acton and other terminals); Steel slabs Newport/Cardiff to Port Talbot (up to 35 loaded trains a week at full volume); Container trains to Cardiff Wentloog and Bristol (Portbury); Automotive from Southampton and Portbury (not sourced here) | ||
| Settle-Carlisle line | Hellifield – Settle – Ribblehead – Appleby – Kirkby Thore (Newbiggin) – Carlisle | Gypsum from Newbiggin (Kirkby Thore); Diversions from the WCML; Bulk and aggregates (not sourced) | No (general knowledge) | |
| Channel Tunnel route | Ashford – Kent main lines – Hither Green – London | Very little: ORR says International freight fell to 158 million net tonne-km in 2025-26, the lowest in the series; Single-customer bulk trains | Dollands Moor yard 25 kV, with a 750 V third-rail link at Saltwood Junction to the South Eastern Main Line | |
| Scottish freight routes (WCML north to Mossend, Coatbridge, Grangemouth) | Mossend – Coatbridge – Larbert – Grangemouth | Retail and container trains from Daventry, Felixstowe, London Gateway and Teesport; From October 2025 a 16-wagon Teesport-Mossend/Grangemouth train, 40 extra slots a week (PD Ports, DB Cargo UK, Network Rail); MSC UK Mossend-Felixstowe/London Gateway six days a week; Biomass, aggregates, engineering | WCML route is W10. Older sources: ECML and Edinburgh-Carstairs are W12-capable; the rest of Scotland not W12 | WCML to Glasgow: yes. Branches to Mossend/Coatbridge/Grangemouth: partly (not sourced) |
| Southampton-Doncaster via the Midlands (Cross-Country-type route) | Oxford – Tyseley – Tamworth – Sheet Stores Junction (Long Eaton) – Nottingham – Doncaster | Freightliner Southampton to Doncaster Europort; Freight between the West Midlands, Yorkshire and North East | Now W10 via the MML to Nottingham (RAIL, July 2026); the Derby-Sheffield-Leeds core not checked | No (diesel hauled) |
| Trans-Pennine routes (Hope Valley, Calder Valley, Diggle) | Hope Valley (Dore, Edale, Chinley) – Peak Forest – Diggle – Calder Valley | Hope Valley: Peak Forest/Tunstead aggregates, Hope Cement Works (Earles Sidings), Dowlow (search summaries); Intermodal: DRS Teesport-Manchester trial; Diggle and Calder Valley: not sourced | Hope Valley: only the Manchester end (Manchester Piccadilly-Hazel Grove/Ashburys/Guide Bridge), |
Major flows 14
| Flow | Traffic | From | To | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mendip stone | aggregates | Merehead and Whatley quarries (Somerset) | Acton Yard and other London/South East terminals | Freightliner (intermodal) |
| Peak District aggregates, limestone and cement | aggregates / cement | Tunstead, Dowlow, Peak Forest, Hope Cement Works (Earles Sidings) | Terminals across Britain; Northwich; Hope cement to depots | DB Cargo UK, Freightliner (intermodal), GB Railfreight |
| Drax biomass | biomass | Immingham, Hull, Liverpool, Tyne | Drax Power Station (Selby) | DB Cargo UK, GB Railfreight |
| Lynemouth biomass | biomass | Port of Tyne | Lynemouth Power Station (Northumberland) | GB Railfreight |
| British Steel Scunthorpe | metals / raw materials | Immingham (iron ore, coal, raw materials) | Scunthorpe works; finished steel out (including to Network Rail contract) | DB Cargo UK |
| Port Talbot steel slabs | metals | Newport (Alexandra Docks) and Cardiff | Port Talbot steelworks | DB Cargo UK |
| Sizewell C construction | construction | Various (aggregates etc.) | Sizewell C site via the Leiston branch | GB Railfreight |
| HS2 construction | construction | Quarries and terminals | HS2 sites | |
| Nuclear flasks (Sellafield and others) | nuclear | Power stations and Sellafield | Sellafield / Drigg / Barrow | Direct Rail Services |
| Petroleum and fuel oil | oil and petroleum | Grangemouth, Lindsey, Robeston, Kingsbury, Theale | Terminals incl. Dalston, Prestwick | Colas Rail (freight and infrastructure), DB Cargo UK |
| Automotive | automotive | Southampton, Portbury and others | Plants and distribution centres | DB Cargo UK |
| Retail intermodal (Daventry to Scotland) | intermodal (retail) | DIRFT (Daventry) | Mossend, Coatbridge, Grangemouth, Inverness | DB Cargo UK, Direct Rail Services, GB Railfreight |
| Southampton to Doncaster | intermodal (maritime) | Southampton | Doncaster Europort / iPort | Freightliner (intermodal), GB Railfreight |
| Coal | coal | Imports/UK sites | Steelworks and remaining users |
The statistics
| Measure | Value | Unit | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freight moved | 16,055 | million net tonne-km | April 2025 to March 2026 (down 3% on 2024-25) |
| Freight moved | 16,536 | million net tonne-km | April 2024 to March 2025 (up 5%) |
| Freight lifted | 69.5 | million tonnes | April 2025 to March 2026 (down 5%) |
| Coal lifted | 4.7 | million tonnes | April 2025 to March 2026 (up 9%) |
| Freight lifted excluding coal | 64.8 | million tonnes | April 2025 to March 2026 (down 6%) |
| Freight train kilometres | 30.3 | million train-km | April 2025 to March 2026 (down 5%) |
| Freight vehicle kilometres | 736.0 | million vehicle-km | April 2025 to March 2026 (down 1%) |
| Freight trains run | 186,131 | trains | April 2025 to March 2026 (down 7%, lowest on record from 2003) |
| Freight cancellations | 1.0 | percent | April 2025 to March 2026 (lowest in five years) |
| Freight cancellations and lateness (FCaL) | 8.2 | percent | April 2025 to March 2026 (lowest annual in four years) |
| Freight delay per 100 train km | 9.9 | minutes | April 2025 to March 2026 (down 0.1) |
| Freight Delivery Metric | – | percent | Updates ceased after March 2024; ORR proposes to remove Tables 1320 and 1324. The last figure found: 90.3% in 2023-24 (secondary) |
| GB Railfreight share of freight train-km | 31.4 | percent | April 2025 to March 2026 (30.3% the year before) |
| GB Railfreight share of freight vehicle-km | 33.3 | percent | April 2025 to March 2026 (32.3% the year before) |
| Intermodal maritime freight moved | 6,386 | million net tonne-km | April 2025 to March 2026 (up 0.8%, highest since 2018) |
| Intermodal non-maritime freight moved | 873 | million net tonne-km | April 2025 to March 2026 (up 10%, highest since 2013) |
| Oil and petroleum freight moved | 535 | million net tonne-km | April 2025 to March 2026 (down 33%, lowest since 1998) |
| International freight moved | 158 | million net tonne-km | April 2025 to March 2026 (down 19%, lowest in series) |
| Construction share of freight moved | 32 | percent | April 2025 to March 2026 (construction down 7%, a fall of 398 million ntk) |
| Intermodal maritime share of freight moved | 40 | percent | January to March 2026 (largest commodity) |
| Biomass freight moved | 296 | million net tonne-km | January to March 2026 (up 5%, highest Jan-Mar quarter since 2021) |
| Freight moved | 4,013 | million net tonne-km | January to March 2026 (down 3%) |
| Freight lifted | 16.9 | million tonnes | January to March 2026 (down 7%) |
| Freight train kilometres | 7.5 | million train-km | January to March 2026 (down 6%, lowest Jan-Mar since 2010) |
| Freight cancellations | 1.0 | percent | January to March 2026 |
| FCaL | 7.8 | percent | January to March 2026 |
| Freight moved | 4,135 | million net tonne-km | April to June 2026 (up 1%) |
| Freight lifted | 17.6 | million tonnes | April to June 2026 (down 1%); coal 1.1 Mt |
| Freight train kilometres | 7.5 | million train-km | April to June 2026 (down 3%) |
| Freight vehicle kilometres | 185.8 | million vehicle-km | April to June 2026 (up 1%) |
| Freight cancellations | 1.1 | percent | April to June 2026 (0.1 pp worse) |
| FCaL | 8.9 | percent | April to June 2026 (highest Apr-Jun since 2023) |
| Freight delay per 100 train km | 10.0 | minutes | April to June 2026 (4% worse) |
| Oil and petroleum freight moved | – | percent change | April to June 2026: down 50% on the year, lowest quarter on record after Lindsey closure |
| Construction freight moved | – | percent change | April to June 2026: up 5%, highest April-June since 1998 (HS2 and Sizewell C) |
| Freight moved | 3,845 | million net tonne-km | October to December 2025 (down 5%) |
| Lorry journeys avoided by rail | 5.63 | million lorry journeys | April 2024 to March 2025 |
| Rail share of freight moved by all modes | 8 | percent | 2024 (rail was 4% of freight lifted) |
| Government rail freight growth target 2050 | 75 | percent growth in freight moved by 2050 (at least) | Published 20 December 2023 by DfT |
| Government rail freight growth target 2040 | 40 | percent growth in net tonne-km (at least), interim to the 75% by 2050 | Announced 8 September 2026 by Heidi Alexander |
| Peak freight moved | 22,700 | million net tonne-km | 2013-14 (peak); 2025-26 is about 29% below |
| Intermodal share of freight moved (derived) | 45 | percent | April 2025 to March 2026: (6,386 + 873) / 16,055 |
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 52 sources from Wikipedia, RAIL magazine, Office of Rail and Road and 22 more
- Freight rail usage and performance, January to March 2026 Office of Rail and Road, 2026-06-11ORR Jan-Mar 2026 release
- Freight rail usage and performance, April to June 2026 Office of Rail and Road, 2026-09-22FDM tables ceased after March 2024; proposal to remove
- Freight rail usage and performance (data portal page) Office of Rail and Road, 2026-10-25Latest-release listing; Q3 values seen via search summary of ORR portal
- Rail freight growth target (75% by 2050) Department for Transport (gov.uk), 2023-12-20target statement
- Government sets 2040 rail freight growth target Burges Salmon (law firm commentary on the DfT announcement), 2026-09target, commodity objectives, Railways Bill s17, value 33.7 to 49.5 bn GBP, 1 Mt CO2
- Rail freight transport in Great Britain Wikipedia, 2026-10-25record 22.7 bn ntk in 2013-14
- Felixstowe to Nuneaton railway upgrade Wikipedia, 2026-10-25route, works, dates, gauge, electrification
- Government committed to Ely upgrade but still no funding available RAIL magazine, 2025Ely scheme unfunded; 36 to 42 trains
- Intermodal railfreight in Great Britain Wikipedia, 2026-10-25Ipswich Chord 2014; branch passing loop 2019
- Strategic Freight Network enhancement schemes (map) Network Rail, 2014-2019 (file metadata 2014; uploaded 2019)Peterborough-Nuneaton gauge clearance scheme
- Gauge enhancement work completed (Southampton-Nuneaton W10) Railway Gazette, 2011-04 (year inferred from URL)W10 programme, cost, completion
- Hampshire County Council decision paper on Southampton-West Midlands W10 route Hampshire County Council, c.2010route of choice via Basingstoke, Reading, Oxford
- Port of Southampton Associated British Ports, 2026-10-2523 container trains a day
- First freight train runs on East West Rail line (Northampton Gateway) ACE / Infrastructure Intelligence, 2025-06Didcot to Northampton Gateway June 2025
- West Coast Main Line Wikipedia, 2026-10-25W10, 25 kV, track layout, freight role
- East Coast Main Line Wikipedia, 2026-10-25W9 via Hertford Loop, 25 kV, operators
- Midland Main Line gauging work allows for improved freight flow RAIL magazine, 2026-07-17W10 Bedford-Chesterfield/Nottingham, Freightliner Southampton-Doncaster
- Freight operators look for ways to fit more London Gateway services onto congested route RAIL magazine, 2025-08-06routing, HEO constraint, diesel haulage
- Gospel Oak to Barking electrification Network Rail media centre, 2018-01GOBlin electrification and 2018 reopening
- Network Rail and DB Cargo prepare for increased Port Talbot steel traffic after blast furnace closure RAIL magazine, 2025-01-10steel slab trains Newport/Cardiff to Port Talbot
- Mendip Rail (Wikipedia) and Railway Magazine item on Freightliner taking over Mendip stone Wikipedia / Railway Magazine, 2025Mendip stone trains to Acton
- DB Cargo UK site list (Website List updated 27 05 26) DB Cargo UK, 2026-05-28Westbury, Didcot, Cardiff Tidal, Newport yards listed
- Tyne Valley services / diversion notice (2006) Network Rail media centre, 2006-03-0325 freight trains a day (2006)
- Dollands Moor Freight Yard Wikipedia, 2024-12-14yard, role, electrification
- British businesses to regain direct rail freight links to Europe (Barking Eurohub) Global Railway Review, 2026-02-25Barking Eurohub lease Feb 2026
- Mossend EuroTerminal Wikipedia, 2026-10-25Mossend EuroTerminal opened 1994
- Rail solutions PD Ports, 2026-10-25direct Teesport links to Scotland
- PD Ports 16-wagon Teesport-Mossend/Grangemouth train (Logistics UK) Logistics UK, 2025-1016-wagon train, +40 slots a week
- Mossend International Railfreight Park Wikipedia / MIRP, 2021Mossend International RFP: 16 trains a day planned
- Rail connections Port of Felixstowe (Hutchison Ports), 2026-10-2558 trains/day, 3 terminals, operators, share by rail, ~3 ft 3 in (1m) TEU, cranes, tracks
- Tilbury freight set for big increase after port expansion approved RAIL magazine, 2026-04-01second terminal fully operational 2027, up to 50 services/day each way
- DP World London Gateway: next phase of rail expansion WorldCargo News, 2026-03-24phase 2 tender
- London Thamesport Wikipedia, 2026-02-27dates, last container train 6 Nov 2013, ownership, coordinates
- DB Cargo UK secures new five-year contract with Drax Drax / DB Cargo UK, 2024-05GBRf biomass Liverpool/Tyne to Drax
- PD Ports Rail 2022 brochure PD Ports, 2022about 100,000 units a year by rail; all four major operators
- Port of Immingham Associated British Ports, 2026-10-25>240 rail freight movements a week; ~46 Mt
- British Steel: scale of impact of Scunthorpe closure on freight train drivers RAIL magazine, 2025-04-1680 trains/week for British Steel
- Royal Portbury Dock rail link planning limit North Somerset Council consent / Bristol Port Company planning evidence, 202120 trains a day average cap
- UK terminal shutdown / Grangemouth refinery closure rail impact RailFreight, 2024Colas oil trains ending (search summary)
- Hunterston Terminal Wikipedia, 2026-10-25closed 2016, owner, history
- Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal Wikipedia, 2026-10-25history, coordinates, customers, WCML Northampton loop connection
- Strategic rail freight interchange (16 March 2026 revision) Wikipedia, 2026-03-16DIRFT I/II/III operators and opening years (DIRFT I rail terminal 2007 per this table)
- Birch Coppice freight terminal Wikipedia, 2026-10-25seven trains a day (2021 source), operators, opening
- Wakefield Europort Wikipedia, 2026-10-25history, coordinates, traffic
- UK's first intermodal inland rail freight hub for 10 years now open and operational CILT(UK), 2018-09first train 18 Sep 2018, storage 1,500 TEU
- Rail freight teams delivering Christmas across Wales and the borders Network Rail media centre, c.2020five services a day
- Maritime starts Felixstowe-Northampton Gateway intermodal service Railmarket, 2026Felixstowe service five days a week
- West Midlands Interchange (TR050005) Planning Inspectorate, 2020-05-04DCO 4 May 2020; terminal up to 10 trains a day
- Toton TMD Wikipedia, 2026-10-25role, history, coordinates
- DB Cargo UK begins ETCS retrofit works at Toton depot Global Railway Review, 2025-05ETCS retrofit (2025)
- Behind the scenes at Sellafield's nuclear railway RAIL magazine, c.2024DRS and Kingmoor context (search summary)
- Sizewell Rail Programme Network Rail, 2026up to two trains a day early on, up to four a day at peak; first GBRf engineering train
unverified
- No public Network Rail freight loading-gauge (W8/W9/W10/W12) map found. Only the NESA (Sectional Appendix) gauge map exists, behind Network Rail's login, plus the dated Strategic Freight Network schemes map. Route gauge entries are therefore partly unverified.
- Rail share of UK containers: no published figure found for the UK as a whole or for most ports. Felixstowe says about 29% of its domestic throughput; DP World claimed over 30% for Southampton (2021, search summary).
- Trains per day/week: no current count found for DIRFT, Hams Hall, Birch Coppice, Trafford Park, Wakefield, iPort, East Midlands Gateway, Mossend, Seaforth, Garston, Hull, Avonmouth, Tyne, and for most routes.
- ORR commodity totals (construction, coal, metals, biomass, other) are in chart-only figures of the PDF and Table 1310, which could not be read. Only the numbers quoted in the text are included.
- ORR market share by operator: only GBRf's share of train-km (31.4%) and vehicle-km (33.3%) is stated in text. Other operators' shares are in Tables 1333/1343 (chart-only in the PDF); the share of net tonne-km by operator is to be confirmed.
- Freight Delivery Metric: ORR stopped updating after March 2024 and proposes removing the tables; FCaL and cancellations are the live measures.
- Operator of several terminals (Lawley Street, Ditton, Trafford Park, Wakefield, Mossend, iPort, Coatbridge, Grangemouth) rests on Wikipedia or older news; Maritime Transport's takeover of DB Cargo UK terminals (2019-2021) was not rechecked on its own site.
- West Midlands Interchange: found only the 2020 consent. No evidence it is open, so the task's assumption that it has opened is unconfirmed.
- Tilbury: the operators serving the four railheads are to be confirmed. London Gateway: current train count is the August 2025 figure (up to 20 a day).
- Station-level lat/lon: ports and several terminals/yards use approximate centroids from general knowledge (flagged per record in coords_basis); DB Cargo yards use OS grid references converted to WGS84; SRFIs use Wikipedia coordinates.
- Many sources (Railmarket, RAIL, ACE) were seen only as search-result summaries. They are flagged in the source list and kept out of 'confirmed'.
- Not researched: aggregates quarries Mountsorrel, Bardon Hill, Croft; cement Clitheroe and Rugby; Robeston and Theale oil; Halewood, Castle Bromwich and Dagenham automotive; Torness, Heysham, Hinkley Point C and Bridgwater nuclear; Inverness and Aberdeen terminals; Stratford, Leicester, Ipswich yards; Eastleigh and Bescot roles.
- Wikipedia's Intermodal railfreight article quotes 'about one in four UK containers by rail by 2017' and 7.1bn net tonne-km of intermodal in 2024-25; neither could be checked against ORR text.
Know a source for one of these? Send it to us → (opens in a new tab)