The Rail Freight Group (RFG) is pleased to announce the launch of its 2026 Cross-Member Mentoring Programme, designed to support skills development, knowledge-sharing and personal growth across the rail freight sector. The programme pairs participants from different RFG member organisations for a year-long mentoring relationship, meeting virtually or in person between 6–12 times in 2026. […]
Rail Freight Group (RFG) has appointed Ralph Goldney to its Board and confirmed the re-appointment of Richard Hastings, further strengthening its breadth of expertise and industry insight. Ralph Goldney of Railfreight Consulting was formally elected to the Board for the first time at RFG’s Annual General Meeting yesterday, 12 November 2025, held at Northampton Gateway […]
Commenting on the publication of the Railways Bill, Maggie Simpson OBE, RFG Director General, said: “We welcome the commitments for a statutory duty to promote freight, and the requirement for a freight growth target to be set by the Secretary of State. These are essential to ensuring rail freight will be a success under Great […]
Hazel Grove MP, Lisa Smart, has shown her support for increasing the volume of rail freight to minimise the number of HGVs on local roads. On a visit to Tarmac and its rail freight operations in Bredbury, the MP was shown a freight train unloading materials carried by rail from Tarmac’s Tunstead quarry in the […]
Network Rail was named Business of the Year at this year’s Rail Freight Group Awards (RFG) after demonstrating innovation, flexibility and collaboration with a range of stakeholders, resulting in reduced costs, greater productivity and new freight flows being brought to rail. The judges also noted that the Network Rail freight team has worked hard to […]
Luton South and South Bedfordshire MP, Rachel Hopkins, has shown her support for sustainable development by using the railway as an alternative to carrying construction materials on local roads. On a visit to GRS Group and its rail freight operations in Luton this summer, the MP was shown a freight train unloading materials carried 80 […]
Luton North MP, Sarah Owen, has shown her support for building the homes needed to fix the housing shortage and for using the railway as an alternative to carrying construction materials on local roads. On a recent visit to Breedon Group, based on Leagrave Road, Ms Owen was shown a freight train unloading materials carried 130 […]
Commenting on Government plans to build 40,000 new homes on railway land, RFG Director General Maggie Simpson OBE said: “We recognise the Government’s plans to build new houses, and with every freight train conveying enough materials for 30 homes, rail freight is a critical enabler of that ambition. “Rail freight must have efficient terminals across […]
Rail Freight Group (RFG) is pleased to welcome former Rail and Regional Transport Minister, and former Chair of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee, Huw Merriman, who joins us in a consultancy capacity. Huw brings a wealth of experience from his time in government and a long-standing commitment to the UK rail industry. With […]
As part of RFG’s ongoing political engagement in Scotland, Maggie Simpson and Martin Bignell met with Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, at the Scottish Parliament on 3 June. The meeting followed RFG’s Private Round Table with MSPs in March and Martin Bignell’s contribution to the Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee […]
