The Government’s announcement last week that rail freight needs to grow by at least 75% has been welcomed by Freightliner, but the company claims more can be done to achieve that target.

Freightliner is a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W), and welcomed the target of 75% that the Government has set for the growth in freight volumes moved by rail by 2050, and acknowledged that it shows a vote of confidence in the rail freight sector.

It also underlined the importance of moving freight by rail in greatly reducing carbon emissions, which will support economic growth and deliver prosperity for all regions of the United Kingdom.

Increasing the amount of freight moved by rail by a minimum of 75% by 2050 will result in the removal of more than 12 million Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) journeys from our busy motorways each year, which will result in a reduction of 1.5 million tonnes in carbon emissions, such a large reduction will provide an important step to delivering the United Kingdom’s zero greenhouse gas obligations.

Tim Shoveller, CEO at G&W UK / Europe, said “We welcome this target set by the government today but know we can do more. We look forward to working with Government and the wider industry in unlocking the policies that will ensure that the target is a floor and not a ceiling. Setting the target is the easy part, it is now crucial that we maintain the momentum by establishing a clear policy framework that will support the private sector investments that will be key for growth and to secure the significant modal shift to rail.”