Office of Rail and Road (ORR) statistics show the volume of freight carried by rail in the UK rose by 3% in April-June when compared with the corresponding three-month period last year.
The total amount of freight lifted rose by 2% to 19.1 million tonnes compared to 2017/18, but it was still the second lowest total for Q1 since records began in 1996/97.
Volumes increased for four of the seven freight commodities measured – coal, construction, domestic intermodal and ‘other’ – with construction now accounting for more than 25% of all UK railfreight. It increased by 80 million net tonnes per kilometre to 1.16 billion net t/km – the highest for the construction sector since 1998/99.
From the history of steam through to 21st century rail transport news, we have titles that cater for all rail enthusiasts. Covering diesels, modelling, steam and modern railways, check out our range of magazines and fantastic subscription offers.
Interestingly, coal traffic matched the construction sector, rising by 7% during the period and bucking the trend of long-term decline. Oil and petroleum dropped by 2% to 0.26bn net t/km, while international traffic declined 1% to just 0.11bn net t/km.
