A large proportion of food and snacks being enjoyed by COP26 delegates will have arrived in Scotland by rail.

Each day freight trains carry over 8,000 tonnes of food, products and essential items across the England-Scotland border at Gretna, and as this is the greenest way to transport food, drink and other essential items in bulk, it offers a great example to those attending the climate change conference.

Scotland does not have any deep-sea container ports and is reliant upon the West Coast main line to move supplies north. Just 24 hours later those goods are on sale in supermarkets, high street shops and hospitality venues such as Glasgow’s COP26 conference complex.

Both the West Coast main line and its crucial spurs carry over 1 million tonnes of freight each week and each day sees 188,000 tonnes of vital supplies carried by rail between London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.

The benefits of just one freight train pulled by one locomotive see’s up to 76 heavy goods vehicles off the road.

The rail industry’s ‘We Mean Green’ campaign at COP26 aims to showcase how moving more goods by train can support the ongoing battle against climate change.

200 World leaders will be attending the huge summit, seeking solutions to rising global temperatures, and the value of freight in this has been made clear – and nowhere more so than on Network Rail‘s North West & Central (NW&C) region, which is also called the ‘Backbone of Britain.’

Tim Shoveller, managing director for North West & Central, said: “Ordinarily, rail freight goes largely unnoticed. Much of it travels by night, rolling in darkness to and from every part of the country to keep shops, pharmacies and hospitals stocked – but now is the time for us all in the rail industry to promote its green credentials.

“Moving goods by rail is an easy clean and green solution, taking polluting lorries off our congested roads to transport vital supplies around the country in a fast, reliable and environmentally friendly way.”

Maggie Simpson, director-general of Rail Freight Group, said: “Rail freight is helping companies across the country go green, with each train producing 76% less carbon emissions than HGVs on average. Moving more by rail is good for the environment, good for road congestion and good for consumers who want their products delivered on time and in a sustainable way.

“More and more companies are looking to use rail as part of their sustainability plans, and the rail freight operators and Network Rail are working hard to meet this demand, with new services and facilities expecting to be developed in coming months.”

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