Intercity Railfreight (ICRF), which uses passenger trains to move express freight around Britain’s railway network, has appointed Mark Bird to a new role as its Chief Revenue Officer.

Mark previously worked for Blackbox, which is an innovative data and technology company that has worked with the passenger rail industry for the last 12 years.

As Chief Revenue Officer, Mark will seek to expand Intercity Railfreight’s relationships with train operators and also lead the deployment of new technologies to help increase the use of rail as a key logistics channel for health sector products.

Intercity Railfreight has been using timetabled passenger trains for the transport of high-value and time-critical products since 2009, and in the last two years, it has made significant investments to allow it to expand. It is now working with eight Train Operating Companies in the development of distribution networks that will connect key cities and stations so that Express Freight can deliver health products and tests across the rail network.

The company’s model uses spare capacity on existing passenger services, which generates significant extra revenue for train operating companies. It has also entered partnerships with a number of Third Party Logistic businesses (3PLs) to use the passenger rail network for the sizeable market for same-day transfers in Express Freight.

During the pandemic, Intercity Railfreight proved the rail network is an ideal logistics channel for health products when it used timetabled passenger trains to safely and securely transport over 100,000 Covid tests.

Mark Bird, ICRF Chief Revenue Officer said: “I am delighted to be joining ICRF at this exciting time for Express Freight on Britain’s railway. I look forward to expanding ICRF’s network and technological solutions so that patients can receive faster diagnoses and train operators can enhance their revenues.”

Daniel Griffiths, CEO of ICRF said: “I am really excited that Mark has joined the ICRF team. The rail and health sectors can both see the opportunities of Express Freight, which uses spare capacity on existing services to move discreet and easily handled traffic from city-centre to city-centre. Mark’s background in rail technology and customer service will enable mutually beneficial growth of this market as ICRF delivers an expanded network in 2024.”