Delivering the goods

Delivering the goods Laura Wright

Powering innovation in rail freight

Laura Wright, Rail Freight Adviser, Logistics UK provides an overview of 3Squared’s project and explain why such schemes are so vital to grow the use of rail freight

The Department for Transport (DfT) launched its Transport Research Innovation Grants Programme (TRIG) last year; a scheme designed to support feasibility and proof of concept projects that will foster innovation within the UK transport sector and build links between policy teams in DfT and innovators. With the desire to grow rail freight use in the UK a government goal, 3Squared, a company specialising in consultancy and technology solutions to overcome rail challenges, secured funding through the programme with a scheme designed to maximise current rail freight capacity, unlock additional space, and build greater flexibility and responsiveness into the mode.

The challenge Road haulage is often seen as an easier and more accessible transport method to rail freight, especially for those needing to transport a small consignment of goods, or those who need a responsive service at short notice. As increased government emphasis is placed on the need for the logistics industry to decarbonise its operations – and with every tonne of freight transported by rail producing 76 per cent less carbon emissions compared to road – the industry must identify ways to drive uptake in rail use to assist in decarbonisation efforts. 3Squared’s scheme centres on the concept that untapped demand exists amongst companies in the supply chain who have tried, and failed, to move from road onto rail; 3Squared aims to level-up freight by creating a demand-led solution which opens the market to the wider supply chain. The ambition is to make the use of rail for freight as accessible and easy to use as the road network; an aim supported by Logistics UK, which is helping 3Squared to gather feedback from logistics companies on how it can best achieve this outcome.

To maximise the opportunity of rail as a freight transport mode, it is vital that connections to road are considered and incorporated into planning decisions. For example, all rail heads should have strong road links to enable to goods to be transported to the mode via HGV first. To enable modal shift and drive the greatest efficiencies in logistics movements, rail, road, sea and air should all be viewed cohesively, rather than modes in isolation.

The project The main objective of 3Squared’s project is to make rail freight a more desirable option. This project specifically tackles the problem of freight train profitability, by helping to fill them completely before they depart ports and rail’s responsiveness to changing customer demands, by improving the process for running additional trains at short notice. 3Squared is carrying out a proof of concept at

Southampton Western Docks (SWD). The core innovation of this project is creating the right conditions to facilitate modal shift and then opening up space on trains, and on the network, to the freight community. 3Squared’s PathPlanner tool can find additional paths where freight trains can run and directly request these from Network Rail to run as new trains at short notice; this helps open up more network capacity and provides much-needed additional space to move containers away from ports more quickly. 3Squared is aware that trains often leave SWD with empty wagons, so it will therefore develop capability to expose available wagon space to the supply chain.

Network Rail has already invested £17 million in the area to run longer freight trains (from 520 metres to 775 metres) in and out of Southampton, and between them, Solent Stevedores and the Association of British Ports is now investing in strengthening its ability to run longer and additional trains from SWD. By April 2023, it will have lengthened the platform for loading and unloading; doubled part of the track; and added a crossover so that turnaround times are reduced. This will enable more trains, increasing from nine to 16, and longer trains, up to 725 metres, to run each day. Why now? There has never been a better time to drive innovation in rail; the changing landscape of the rail industry presents a real opportunity for change and a higher profile for freight, building on the visibility it gained during the Covid-19 pandemic as the industry stepped up to deliver for the nation. Rail freight customers want their goods to be delivered on time, at a competitive price and connected to an endto-end multimodal journey; ease of use and optimising efficiency are central to making the most of this opportunity. And, as logistics transitions to a net zero industry, it is imperative that the sector generates the right conditions to help create a modal shift from road to rail. Programmes, such 3Squared’s project, are essential to drive innovation in rail, and, through careful examination of the factors curtailing its growth, rebuild rail freight into a transport mode that works for operations of all shapes and sizes.

Help inform the project 3Squared is keen to engage with the freight and logistics community to understand the current barriers to moving freight from road to rail, capture the pent-up demand from freight users at ports, and understand how we accelerate modal shift, especially from those who would like to move their container freight onto rail from Southampton. If you would like to help to make this project a success, Jason Durk at 3Squared would love to hear about your experiences of using rail, or why you do not currently use rail, and how services could be improved. Email jason.durk@3squared.com or visit https://3squared.com for more information.

Logistics UK is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With COVID-19, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods. For more information about the organisation and its work, including its ground-breaking research into the impacts of Covid-19 on the whole supply chain, please visit logistics.org.uk.

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