RFG and Rail Forum hold Focus on Freight joint event

RFG and Rail Forum were delighted to host a joint Focus on Freight event on 13 March, which welcomed key stakeholders from across the industry including Transport Committee member Catherine Atkinson MP for Derby North.

The event, organised by Rail Forum, included a packed programme of fantastic speakers.
They covered a wide range of topics, with Maggie Simpson OBE, RFG Director General, beginning by outlining the political and commercial environment.

Zoe McLernon from GBRTT said she was keen to see more incentives and discounts to track access charges to help develop new freight streams and that Network Rail was making sure that, as its own passenger services grow over the coming years, freight is not disadvantaged.

Delegates at the meeting also heard about the DB Cargo /Groupe Cat service for Toyota, bringing finished cars through the Channel Tunnel, with speaker Vincent Barry pointing out the challenges when regional decisions on rail gauge can prevent the service using the most direct route.

Peter Gibbons of Network Rail outlined the huge operation needed to send an aid train to Ukraine. Dave Burley of Rail Operations Group explained the advantages of converting old passenger carriages to carry high-speed freight, while Nick Edward of Deutsche Bahn said that in-cab signalling was a big opportunity but also a challenge for the freight industry.

Alan Peters of Connected Places Catapult explained how the Freight Innovation Fund and Clusters could be used to bring innovative ideas into a testing phase. Martin Gleadow from Velociti Solutions said that it was important that the industry has an accurate view of path utilisation in order to make the right decisions on the timetable.

Chris Swan of Tarmac said it was important that rail freight is protected and promoted during the process of the current rail freight reforms, and argues that the cost of connecting sites to the mainlines is too expensive at the moment.

Delegates were lucky enough to be able to visit Tarmac’s Mountsorrel Quarry after the meeting.