A tale of two ‘C’s: construction and containers

RAIL freight fared rather better than the passenger sector in 2021. After the initial lockdown dip back in April 2020, volumes recovered well and the tonnages moved between January and September 2021 were more or less up to pre-pandemic levels. Indeed, the official figures for freight moved in July-September 2021 showed an overall increase of 0.7% compared with two years earlier.

Not only were volumes healthy, but also freight train punctuality remained higher than it had been before the pandemic, due in large part to the reduction in passenger train frequency on some key routes. It was still common for freight trains to run ahead of schedule because they were looped less often for the benefit of faster passenger workings.

Rail freight’s green credentials were temporarily dented in October when a sudden rise in electricity prices prompted the standing down of almost all the sector’s electric traction. All Freightliner workings south of Crewe switched to Class 66 haulage, as did DB’s only Class 90-hauled train between Mossend and Daventry. DRS reverted to using Class 68s on most of its Anglo-Scottish trains and its Class 88s (currently the UK’s only bi-mode locos) operated in diesel mode. Thankfully