DB Cargo UK is no longer the biggest freight operator in Britain, according to figures released by the Office of Rail and Road on December 12.
DBC was previously English, Welsh & Scottish Railways, which acquired five of the six trainload freight companies when the railways were privatised.
However, the figures show that between July 1, 2023, and September 30 last year, DBC moved 2.25 million freight train kilometres, compared with GB Railfreight’s 2.38m during the same period. This is the actual kilometres (which is how the series is measured) travelled by freight operators on all mainline infrastructure, terminals and yards.
The ORR said that DBC now has the second largest share and saw the biggest decrease compared with the previous year – 12%. Meanwhile, GBRf and Colas Railfreight recorded their highest value since the time series began in April 2010, recording an 8% and 19% increase respectively.
The ORR said that during that period freight operators recorded 8.11m freight train kilometres, which is a 0.3% decrease on the same period last year.
Of the other operators, after GBRf and DBC, Freightliner Intermodal was next with 1.45m freight train kilometres, followed by Freightliner Heavy Haul at
