West Fraser terminal highlights rail freight’s role in supporting growth and resilience

RFG’s Scotland and North of England Representative, Martin Bignell, joined Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport, Stephen Flynn MSP, and Inverness and Nairn MSP Emma Roddick on a visit to West Fraser’s newly opened rail freight terminal near Inverness.

The £11.2m terminal, part-funded by a £3m Freight Facilities Grant (FFG), is expected to enable West Fraser to remove up to 20,000 HGV movements from the road each year. It serves West Fraser’s “cloud factory”, the UK’s only OSB manufacturing site, which produces around 1 million tonnes of product annually for the UK market and export, including an established market in Japan.

The visit provided an opportunity to highlight the wider business case for rail. West Fraser is experiencing long-term growth, with timber-frame construction increasingly being adopted in England alongside its established use in Scotland. For the company, rail provides additional resilience and capacity to support that growth, alongside the benefits of reducing road movements.

The visit included a tour of the plant and control room before moving to the new terminal, where the 600m sidings accommodate a daily service between West Fraser and Inverness intermodal terminal. The service becomes a combined train between Inverness and Coatbridge.

West Fraser, Russell Group, DRS and Tesco have been working together to optimise curtain-sided intermodal units, carrying retail products northbound and OSB southbound. Coatbridge is not the end of the journey: loads are consolidated there before continuing by rail to DIRFT in Northamptonshire. West Fraser also moves product for export through Grangemouth and to Tilbury, while its other processing mill near Stirling produces a range of additional timber-board products.

The Cabinet Secretary was able to see the train being prepared for departure and hear directly about the operation and the challenges involved in expanding rail freight. Martin took the opportunity for a one-to-one discussion with the Cabinet Secretary, highlighting West Fraser as a strong example of public and private sector collaboration. As an FFG-funded facility, the terminal is operated separately from the manufacturing site and is technically open access, providing the potential to support other customers.

The discussion also covered the role of rail alongside zero-emission road haulage. Martin welcomed Transport Scotland’s recent £2m investment in zero-emission haulage, noting that shorter-distance electric HGV operations are a natural partner for long-distance rail. More than 70% of Scottish rail freight is long-distance, cross-border traffic.

Importantly, Martin emphasised that West Fraser’s decision to use rail has not been driven solely by decarbonisation or immediate cost savings. Securing resilient capacity for future growth, particularly against the backdrop of longstanding driver shortages and challenges in the road haulage market, is a key consideration.

The Cabinet Secretary acknowledged the point, recognising that Government’s approach to rail freight needs to reflect the way customers are actually making transport decisions. He expressed a desire to see more freight moved by rail and welcomed RFG’s input on the barriers and opportunities. Martin also stressed that supply chains are not constrained by administrative boundaries. In response, the Cabinet Secretary agreed that, whatever structure the rail industry ultimately adopts, Scottish Government needs to recognise that rail operates as a system and that rail freight must work effectively across geographical and administrative boundaries.

The message was clear: industry and government must continue to work together, keeping the needs of customers at the centre and ensuring that opportunities to grow rail freight are not lost through fragmented approaches. The Cabinet Secretary encouraged RFG to remain engaged with Transport Scotland officials, confirmed the Government’s willingness to support the industry, and invited RFG and the wider sector to continue challenging Scottish Government to ensure the full opportunity for rail freight is realised.