Delivering Growth in Freight

The Safety Imperative

Safety is paramount in freight. While mainline freight derailments have decreased, we still face challenges. It is regrettable that freight vehicles occasionally enter the network with, or develop a defect on, the network. This can damage not only the individual vehicle involved, but also have knock on effects elsewhere. These can impact network assets, other freight services, train staff, passenger services, and freight customers. Perhaps worst of all such events can harm the reputation of rail freight. To reduce these incidents, we must continue our collaborative approach to safety.

We are involved and supporting National Freight Safety Group (NFSG) in several workstreams that will help achieve safe freight growth. For instance, fatigue poses a significant safety risk within the freight sector. Fatigue can impair workers in their ability to perform tasks safely, which can lead to errors and accidents. Our human factors experts worked with freight operating companies and NFSG to produce a new Code of Practice in 2020, but this issue needs to kept under constant review. We are engaged with the freight sector to help them embed good practice guidelines in fatigue management. We are working with NFSG to build a clear measurable understanding of freight overspeeding events. We are also working with NFSG on where improvements may be achieved in the safety critical communications for Emergency Speed Restrictions.

RSSB data and safety scanning has identified a noticeable increase since 2020 in freight SPADs. This particularly affects light locomotive movements where no train is being hauled. NFSG are supporting analysis and working collaboratively with the SPAD Risk Sub-group to find the root causes.

Data-Driven

RSSB are supporting the freight sector in becoming more data driven. This helps in the development of a data ecosystem which will provide the necessary safety insights to inform decision making. It will also deliver industry intelligence for the development of a Freight Precursor Indicator Model.

We’ve developed a Freight Data Hub. This makes it easier for members to explore freight data. This helps the whole sector prioritise safety work effectively. Whether data is used for assessing wagon failure risk or improving compatibility between train specifications, data drives progress.

The Carbon Emission Conundrum

Delivering growth in freight traffic will lead to significant reductions in carbon emissions. It might seem counterintuitive, but it’s true. By shifting more freight from road to rail, we can make a substantial impact. Rail freight reduces CO2 emissions by up to 76% compared to road. Each freight train removes 129 HGV road movements. Rail freight is inherently more energy-efficient than road transport. Trains produce fewer emissions per ton-mile, making them an eco-friendly choice. As we expand rail infrastructure and encourage modal shift, we contribute to a greener future. The freight sector can use the Rail Sustainability Blueprint to guide its actions to improve sustainability, choosing areas that are most effective for them.

In summary, delivering growth in freight isn’t just about moving goods—it’s about working together on freight safety, freight data, and freight sustainability.