Rail Freight Group welcomes strengthened commitment to freight through Transpennine Route Upgrade roundtable

Rail Freight Group (RFG), alongside rail freight operators, customers and wider industry partners, attended a strategic freight roundtable with the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) Programme on Tuesday 13 January. The session was co-chaired by TRU Managing Director James Richardson and Huw Merriman, Chair of the Liverpool–Manchester Railway Partnership Board, and marked an important step in further developing the Programme’s freight proposition.

The roundtable built on the strong and constructive engagement TRU has received from the freight sector since work began on the multi-billion-pound upgrade. Discussions focused on strengthening a credible, evidence-led and commercially grounded case for freight, and on ensuring the upgraded route delivers meaningful, real-world benefits for current and future rail freight users.

TRU remains firmly committed to delivering enhanced freight capability across the Pennines. Key benefits of the Programme include the ability to support up to 15 additional intermodal freight trains per day in each direction between Manchester Victoria and Thornhill Junction near Ravensthorpe. At present, no intermodal flows operate across this route due to existing capacity and capability constraints.

The upgrade will also enable 775-metre-long freight trains to operate with W12 gauge clearance, facilitating longer intermodal services capable of transporting greater volumes of goods by rail. This will support modal shift from road to rail, with the potential to remove more than 1,000 lorries a day from the region’s roads. In addition, the Programme will offer greater flexibility in freight paths, enabling services to operate more frequently and reliably.

The session provided an opportunity to refine understanding of the freight markets the route will serve, its immediate operational potential and its longer-term growth trajectory. Set against the backdrop of wider regional investment plans announced on 14 January by the Chancellor, including £1.1 billion released to progress the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme (of which the Liverpool-Manchester railway would be part), the meeting reinforced the strategic importance of TRU, and rail freight’s role within it, in supporting economic growth across the North.

The discussions underlined the importance of continued collaboration between TRU and the freight industry, particularly as the Programme moves through the next stages of business case development and funding approvals, and as advocacy with key decision-makers is stepped up.

Martin Bignell, RFG’s North of England and Scotland Representative, said: “RFG has been engaged with the Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme from the outset, and the freight deliverables secured to date will be truly transformational for the North of England and for the national rail freight network, particularly for high-growth intermodal sectors.

“The roundtable, which brought together freight operators and customers, reinforced that the opportunities presented by TRU are real and immediate. It also highlighted the need for continued close working with the Programme as it progresses through the next stages of approvals and funding, to ensure freight capability is fully realised.”

A number of actions were identified during the meeting, which RFG will take forward with its members to support the continued development of a strong, compelling and deliverable freight case for the Transpennine Route Upgrade.