Rail Operations (UK) have revealed their latest ambitions for a Britain-wide, high-speed light goods service. Of all the current plans and existing operations, RO (UK) has the most extensive intentions. The specialist freight and rail logistics operator plans to reach out across England, Scotland and Wales. The proposals, already branded Orion, are at an advanced stage, and set to go live in April. The company claims the sector is already worth 16 billion pounds (17.6 billion euros) annually.
A widespread rebirth of high-speed logistics and light goods is growing closer. Some operations are already established, and new launches are in the wings. The Orion programme however, is set to be the most expansive. The service, on the back of converted passenger multiple units, aims to use a combination of logistics hubs and major passenger stations, to reach destinations from Aberdeen in the north, to Swansea and Plymouth in the west and south respectively. They say they can cut comparable road transit times in half, and that has caught the imagination of logistics operators up and down the country. There’s already interest in using passenger stations as distribution hubs for personal package collection, and delivery by rail seems a logical extension.
Faster passenger has meant slower freight
The real issue for light freight development in the UK has been capacity, observed Karl Watts, the chief executive of Rail Operations (UK) – the parent of Orion. He says that the historically fast freight train was among the speediest services on the network. “Intermodal freight was introduced to the UK system in 1965”, he says. “Back then, a container train running at 75 miles per hour (120kph) was comparable with a passenger express. The requirement for freight now is to run at something like 110mph (176kph), or suffer the delays associated with making way for much accelerated passenger operations.”