Scotland’s Transport Network: Recognising the Critical Role of Freight, but Rail Freight?

The report establishes transport’s substantial economic footprint, supporting over 150,000 jobs and contributing nearly £10 billion annually to Scotland’s economy. More significantly, it demonstrates that transport’s true value extends far beyond these direct contributions. The 2025-26 transport budget of over £4 billion represents almost 30% of Scottish Government capital expenditure, making it one of the most significant economic policy levers available to the devolved administration.

The document provides striking evidence of freight transport’s critical importance. In 2023, Heavy Goods Vehicles alone moved approximately 134 million tonnes of freight originating in Scotland, with 118 million tonnes travelling within Scotland and 16 million tonnes to the rest of the UK. Scotland’s ports handled nearly 23 million tonnes of exports, supporting £32.3 billion in international goods trade. Trade with the rest of the UK was valued at £48.6 billion in 2021, representing over half of Scotland’s total exports.

The trunk road network, valued at over £27.4 billion, carries approximately 90% of freight originating in Scotland. However, the report focuses almost entirely on freight leaving Scotland rather than arriving, an analytical gap that appears to understate freight’s full economic contribution given the volume of imports. For example, the data presented in the report excludes the 19.7m tonnes per year of road freight into Scotland and the 19m tonnes imported through Scotland’s ports.

More concerning, rail freight receives minimal attention throughout this comprehensive 104-page document – it entirely excludes any reference to the 4m tonnes of freight lifted by rail. Whilst passenger rail features prominently in discussions of connectivity, agglomeration benefits and decarbonisation, rail freight appears largely invisible in policy thinking. This represents a significant missed opportunity, particularly given transport’s responsibility for 33% of Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions and the urgent need for decarbonisation.

The report extensively discusses road freight’s role but overlooks rail freight’s potential contribution to both economic efficiency and emissions reduction. With Scotland’s challenging geography—70 residents per square kilometre compared to 270 across the UK—and the critical importance of the trunk road network connecting dispersed communities, rail freight could play an increasingly strategic role in managing capacity constraints whilst supporting climate objectives.

The document identifies significant fiscal pressures ahead, with capital budgets facing real-terms decline and the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasting only 2% growth between 2025-26 and 2029-30. An ageing population and changed travel patterns following COVID-19 add further complexity. In this constrained environment, maximising the efficiency of freight movement becomes increasingly critical.

For the rail freight sector, this report provides powerful evidence of freight’s economic importance that can strengthen advocacy for modal shift. However, it also reveals how rail freight remains worryingly peripheral in transport policy thinking. The challenge is to ensure that future iterations of Scotland’s transport strategy fully recognise rail freight’s role in delivering economic growth, addressing capacity constraints and achieving decarbonisation targets. Transport Scotland’s own data shows rail freight’s contribution, but translating this into strategic visibility requires continued industry engagement with policymakers.

By Martin Bignell