CATERING FOR THE EXPECTED GROWTH OF UK DOMESTIC RAIL FREIGHT: SPECIFICATION OF THE TERMINAL NETWORK

This paper presents interim findings from this year's Institute of Logistics and Transport 'Research Initiative' project, which has investigated the terminal requirements to cater for the expected growth in UK domestic rail freight. The background to the research is that whilst such growth of rail freight forms a significant part of current policy towards freight transport, relatively few suitable terminals remain as a result of many years of decline. The terminals established for handling Channel Tunnel rail freight between the UK and Europe however remain (for the most part) significantly under-utilised. Greater use for domestic movements would therefore boost the viability of these terminals. This paper reviews information on the likely future for UK rail freight; reports on the findings from a small-scale survey of experts and key industry players regarding the questions posed above; and considers what further research is required in this field to gain a more complete understanding of the issues, and what methodology might be most suitable for such work. (A) For the covering abstract see ITRD E121926.