The six priorities

Hence, the six priorities. Two focus on gauging works to allow the passage of bigger trains both along the Transpennine Route and complementary projects around it, namely the Northallerton-Eaglescliffe section. Moreover, TfN is asking for the “approval and delivery of additional, complementary rail freight terminal capacity in the North West served by the Chat Moss rail corridor”, linking Manchester with Liverpool.

The fourth and fifth priorities also concern the Manchester area, including passing loops for long freight trains in Eccles and Patricroft. Additionally, TfN advised for funding the Manchester and North West Transformation Programme for further capacity developments. Finally, the sub-governmental body stressed the need for government support to improve the infrastructure around the TRU.

For the gauging works mentioned above, TfN calculated that they would cost somewhere between 55 and 60 million pounds (63 and 69 million euros). Funds for terminal capacity enhancement should come from the private sector but were not calculated, while the financial needs for the remaining priorities remains “unknown at this stage”, the appendix to the letter clarified.

The parliamentary spending watchdog said the east–west railway project, intended to transform connections between northern cities, is now entering a more defined phase after years of policy changes. However, the NAO cautioned that major infrastructure programmes of this scale still face significant delivery challenges, particularly given the number of organisations involved and the shifting scope the project has experienced since its first conception more than a decade ago.

Shifting political plans

The scheme has undergone numerous revisions since the idea first emerged in the mid-2010s. Early ambitions for a largely new high-speed railway have gradually evolved into a programme combining new infrastructure with major upgrades to existing routes. Changes to the project have been closely linked to wider shifts in national transport policy, including decisions affecting HS2, the high-speed rail project that had its Manchester connection cancelled.

In recent years, the government’s wider Network North strategy has also reshaped how Northern Powerhouse Rail is expected to be delivered. Under current plans, the programme is intended to improve connectivity between major urban centres, including Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, delivering faster journey times, additional rail capacity and upgraded stations across northern England.

Big on budget, small on progress

Despite the long gestation period, the NAO report highlights that the scheme remains relatively early in its development. The government has set an overall funding envelope of around £45 billion (€52.7bn), at 2025 prices, for the project’s future delivery phase. So far, around £410 million has been spent on development work, including route planning, design studies and programme preparation. Construction activity itself remains limited. There’s not much to see on the ground, reflecting the scale of planning and design required before major railway projects can move into full delivery.

The watchdog warned that cost estimates and delivery schedules will continue to evolve as the programme develops. It added that clear oversight will be required to ensure the project stays aligned with both national transport priorities and the wider economic ambitions behind the so-called “Northern Powerhouse”.

Complex governance structure

The report flagged up the complexity of the organisations involved in delivering the programme. The Department for Transport is responsible for overall policy direction, while infrastructure planning and delivery involve the infrastructure agency Network Rail, and the regional transport body Transport for the North.

The NAO said that coordination between these organisations, as well as local authorities and regional partners, will be critical if the programme is to achieve its intended economic benefits. The report emphasised that Northern Powerhouse Rail is more than simply a transport project. Its success, the auditors suggest, will depend on how effectively rail investment supports broader regional development goals across northern England.

Capacity implications for freight

Although the programme has largely been framed as a passenger connectivity scheme, the capacity increases proposed across the TransPennine Route Upgrade could also have implications for freight operations. The TRU is already underway, and it is something politicians have conflated with the NPR.

Additional rail capacity and upgraded routes linking northern ports and logistics hubs could potentially support greater rail freight flows across the region. Improved east–west corridors may help relieve pressure on existing routes and create opportunities for additional freight paths between ports, distribution centres and industrial areas. For the freight sector, the longer-term significance of Northern Powerhouse Rail may therefore lie not only in faster passenger journeys, but in the possibility of a more resilient and higher-capacity railway network across northern England.

While the scheme now appears to be entering a more settled phase after years of revisions, the auditors make clear that delivery will require sustained political commitment and effective programme management. Northern Powerhouse Rail could reshape economic geography across the region. However, the NAO’s latest assessment makes a clear warning. Turning long-standing ambition into operational railway infrastructure will remain a long-term undertaking, and no wavering of political ambition.

The incident occurred late on Sunday, 25 January, in the operational railway bore of Standedge North Tunnel, part of the multi-bore Standedge Tunnel complex beneath the Pennines, just west of the town of Marsden. The fire involved a Road Rail Vehicle (RRV) operating within the tunnel, prompting a large-scale emergency response and the subsequent suspension of rail traffic through the route.

Extremely challenging conditions

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that crews were mobilised to a blaze involving heavy railway machinery located approximately 1.5 kilometres inside the North Tunnel. Firefighters accessed the incident via the designated access tunnel and progressed on foot in what were described as extremely challenging conditions.

It took around two hours to establish water onto the fire, said the fire service. Responders cited several complicating factors, including uncertainty over the exact location of the blaze, restricted access routes, limited initial water supplies and dense smoke that significantly reduced visibility. The operation required close coordination with the national infrastructure agency Network Rail, and several neighbouring fire services.

Damage discovered after fire extinguished

Although the fire itself was successfully extinguished, Network Rail has since identified damage to the tunnel structure that needs to be repaired before trains can safely resume operation. As a result, major disruption is expected to continue until at least 06:00 on Thursday, 29 January.

The Standedge route is a critical artery for both passenger and freight traffic, forming part of the Transpennine Route linking Yorkshire, the North East and the North West. The most acute disruption is between Huddersfield and Stalybridge on the edge of Manchester. Passenger services are provided by long-distance operator TransPennine Express.

Freight flows disrupted across the Pennines

The closure also affects freight traffic using the route. The Standedge line carries intermodal container flows between the hubs such as Liverpool and Manchester’s Trafford Park, and destinations including Leeds, York and Teesport, alongside Network Rail engineering trains, ballast movements, rail delivery services and occasional departmental and bulk flows.

The steep gradients (up to 1 in 105), tight clearances, and an intensive passenger timetable all mean the Standedge corridor is already operationally constrained. Many freight services are timetabled overnight or in off-peak windows, while some operators favour alternative Pennine crossings such as the Calder Valley or Hope Valley routes when capacity allows. Hope Valley has been the subject of an upgrade programme for precisely that capacity reason.

Minor setback in major tunnel complex

Standedge is a unique tunnel complex, with several bores all three miles (5.4km) long, built over a period of five decades. Today, only the 1894 double-track rail tunnel is operational, but two historic predecessors are maintained for safety access and were used to help fight the weekend fire. A further tunnel carries a canal parallel to the railway tracks.

All trans-Pennine routes, both historic and modern, involve significant tunnelling, and the region has seen major tunnel-related incidents before. The most notable was the Summit Tunnel fire of December 1984 on the Calder Valley line between Littleborough and Todmorden. That incident, involving a derailed petrol train, burned for several days and caused severe damage to infrastructure. The Standedge incident is on a far smaller scale, but revived memories of jets of superheated flames rising into the moorland skies.

The fire represents an unwelcome but limited setback for the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) programme, which aims to transform rail connectivity between Manchester, Leeds and York through electrification, digital signalling, line-speed improvements and major station upgrades. It’s unclear if the road-rail vehicle that was burnt out in Sunday’s fire was involved in routine maintenance or the overall project.

Northern Powerhouse Rail is, once again, back on track — at least in the glossy rhetoric of a government for whom Euston Road is just a little too far from the Thames. The official “Growth Plan for the North” promises “new and improved rail links to unlock opportunities for people, housing and businesses.” The cover shows no factories, only gleaming typefaces and imagined prosperity. Opposition parties sneer, businesses roll their eyes, and the people of the North collectively do a Jerry Maguire: “Show me the money!”

Well, maybe different this time. The government has pledged some money. £45 billion, apparently — although the reality is vaguer. There is a commitment to spend up to £45 billion on northern rail projects, spread over the next two decades. That amounts to an annual expenditure of roughly half the annual subsidy currently paid to passenger train operators, spread out over twenty years. Up front, £1.1 billion is earmarked for “consultation and feasibility studies.” No harm in getting things right the first time, but it is hard to avoid the sense that the money is doing very little on the track itself.

Pledging is easy, especially when delivery lies three political cycles in the future. In that spirit, I could pledge a billion pounds to completing my pet project: the Borders Railway, another billion to reconnect Peterhead and Fraserburgh in my native Scotland, ten billion to electrify all remaining main lines, and two billion to upgrade Ely — all with freight-ready infrastructure. I could promise a dozen more projects, all focused on freight and supporting sustainable growth – and I would have as much chance of seeing those trains run as the ministers making these announcements have of overseeing Northern Powerhouse Rail in action.

Freight. Guess what? Omitted, again

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander took to the House of Commons on Wednesday, delivering a near-1,400-word statement reiterating the government’s commitment to NPR. Her message: improved railways will reinvigorate the North, raising productivity in its largest cities to the national average — potentially adding £40 billion a year to the UK economy. Yet, she never mentioned freight. Nor did anyone else during the debate. For a region historically reliant on rail for goods as well as people, this is a glaring omission.

Heidi Alexander bemoaned the previous government’s cancellation of High Speed 2 to Manchester and Leeds and described a northern railway “still reliant on diesel trains and two-track Victorian infrastructure.” A charitable reading: many parts of the North rely on rationalised, decrepit single-track Victorian infrastructure, a nuance that was apparently lost in the statement. Well, forgive her for not mentioning it, previous generations of her government allowed that rationalisation of infrastructure.

The scale of the disparity between North and South is starkly illustrated by the Transpennine Route between Manchester and Leeds. Roughly the same distance as London’s Central Line between Ealing and Epping, the 45-mile (72km) corridor is a critical link between two major northern cities (both bigger than Ealing or Epping). On paper, it is vital. In practice, it is caught between ambition and inertia.

On a mid-morning weekday, there are just four direct trains an hour. That will increase, but it will still be a modest frequency compared with the Central Line, where trains swish past every two or three minutes. Journey times are broadly similar: the fastest Transpennine trains take just over an hour (often longer), while the Central Line, despite stopping at 49 stations, requires up to ninety minutes end-to-end. One line is a high-frequency urban lifeline; the other is a regional route expected to drive economic transformation with a fraction of the capacity.

The Transpennine Route Upgrade is, thankfully, actually underway and is rightly described as transformative, but the scale of planned improvements pales in comparison to the challenge. The route carries some freight alongside passengers, a mixed-traffic burden the Central Line never faces — London’s Tube moves commuters only, while goods travel along alternative corridors. The North has no such luxury: regional railways are expected to deliver speed, connectivity, and limited freight capacity, all on infrastructure that was never designed for modern economic expectations (it gets mentioned so often, people unfamiliar with Manchester believe there is a station called Castlefield Corridor – since so many trains stop there).

Stellar ambitions, but the eagle has not even taken off

Government pledges for northern railway investment — for all the fanfare of “transformational upgrades” — fall far short of what is required to close the South–North gap. Faster trains, smoother services, upgraded stations: small gains against decades of underinvestment. The Transpennine Route may improve, but it remains a symbol of ambition constrained by caution, a reminder that talk of a Northern Powerhouse has yet to meet the scale of the challenge.

There is no new high-speed line for the North. Government sources will crow about their proclaimed reactivation of the Birmingham–Manchester corridor, but only because the land is already bought. Its specification will fall short of HS2, and even if it proceeds, it will follow NPR in some distant future. Manchester’s hopes of a new rail route remain as remote as a man walking on Mars. That man will likely be a Chinese man, and we all know about their alacrity at building railways.

In the meantime, the North is left with three threads: the Transpennine Route Upgrade, a “pledged” Northern Powerhouse Rail project whose delivery horizon stretches decades ahead, and a possible Birmingham–Manchester line that exists mostly in aspiration.

For all the government rhetoric about a second rail revolution, the reality is that the North will continue to operate on a patchwork of Victorian and slightly upgraded lines, expected to support both passengers and freight on a shoestring. The promise of economic transformation through rail remains a distant echo of the glossy reports, not yet grounded in the steel and sleepers that make journeys real.

The RFG welcomes the Northern Powerhouse Rail commitment, announced today by the UK Government. However, the body calls for freight to be an essential part of the project. RFG has welcomed the Government’s announcement on Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), describing it as a significant opportunity to strengthen rail connectivity across the North and Midlands, provided rail freight capacity and capability are embedded in the plans from the outset.

Build rail freight into plans

A long-awaited revival of rail development in the North of England has been announced (see RailTech.com for in-depth reporting). Although freight is not expected to run on new high-speed lines, released capacity across the existing network, along with the already committed Transpennine Route Upgrade, will provide a transformative opportunity for businesses across the region, says the RFG. The Government has announced £1.1bn (about €1.3bn) over the so-called Spending Review period. The cash will essentially be used to progress planning, development and design work for NPR. It will not result in so much as a single sleeper being laid.

For any of the proposals to be realised, a wider “funding envelope” of up to £45bn (about €52bn) across the programme. The plans aim to improve passenger rail journeys between major northern city regions, including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York, with improved services to Newcastle and Hull. “It is great to see this significant commitment to developing the railways across the North and Midlands,” said Maggie Simpson OBE, Director General, Rail Freight Group. “It is essential that the plans support the growth of rail freight, supporting new industries, infrastructure and consumers across the region.”

Other projects need safeguarding

Maggie Simpson did, however, express concerns over existing works, particularly the huge improvement works underway between Manchester and York.“NPR must, however, not delay the successful completion of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, which will provide transformative capacity and gauge capability for rail freight,” she said.

RFG said that improving rail connectivity across the North is not only a passenger priority, but also a critical enabler for goods movement, industrial investment and decarbonisation. Rail freight already plays a vital role in moving construction materials, consumer goods, containers, and bulk commodities across the region, while supporting growth in emerging sectors including low-carbon energy, renewables, advanced manufacturing and new fuels. With demand for rail freight expected to grow in response to net zero policies and the expansion of new infrastructure and industrial sites, RFG said rail freight must be at the heart of the rail network in the North and Midlands.

“Rail Freight Group will continue to engage with Government, Network Rail and Great British Railways to ensure the NPR and TRU programmes deliver a railway that supports national growth, reduces congestion on the road network, and contributes to lower-carbon logistics across the North and Midlands,” said a formal RFG statement.

More than 160 million pounds (190 million euros) will be invested during the shutdowns as crews replace ageing track and bridges, install modern signalling, and refurbish stations. Network Rail says these works will reduce faults, improve reliability and safety, and make the railway fit for the long term. Passengers are the emphasis, but works will help maintain essential freight connections across the country.

Thousands of rail colleagues on the network

Services will be particularly busy in the run-up to Christmas, but many passenger routes will close early on Christmas Eve. National Rail services stop entirely on Christmas Day, while only a handful of passenger services run on Boxing Day. Despite this, freight trains continue to move, keeping key supply chains open, including flows to and from ports, distribution centres, and industrial sites.

Anit Chandarana, System Operator Group Director at Network Rail, said the industry had worked closely with train operators to organise diversions and replacement services where possible. Daniel Mann, Director of Industry Operations at Rail Delivery Group, reminded travellers and freight customers to allow extra time and be considerate of colleagues working on the network.

West Highland freight and Transpennine upgrades

Scotland sees major engineering works, including the installation of a new bridge at Bowling in West Dunbartonshire, near Glasgow, from 24 December to 2 January. The route carries a busy commuter service, and also less frequent services into the rural and isolated West Highlands. The line remains important for freight, continuing to serve the aluminium works at Fort William and offering potential for timber and other bulk flows. Sidings at locations such as Crianlarich can support freight operations even while passenger services are suspended.

On the national freight network, the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade continues around Church Fenton, Yorkshire. Works include signalling, track, and power supply improvements, and the route will be closed to passenger trains between Leeds and York until 3 January. Freight, however, continues to benefit from the upgrades, with the corridor serving as a vital connection between East and West Coast ports, linking the North Sea container and bulk terminals with Liverpool, Manchester, and the Midlands.

Bridging the gap on Europe’s busiest mixed-traffic route

The West Coast Main Line, the busiest mixed-traffic railway in Europe, faces some of the most disruptive projects. From Christmas Day until 4 January, a junction replacement at Hanslope shuts the line between Milton Keynes and Rugby. That will affect both passenger and freight movements. Further north, a 1960s bridge replacement over the M6 motorway between Preston and Carlisle from 31 December to 15 January will again impact flows on this key Anglo-Scottish artery. Diversions and temporary restrictions will be in place for both rail and road. Additional signalling work at Kingmoor, just north of Carlisle, from 1 to 7 January will further constrain services.

Network Rail stresses that the concentration of works over the festive period allows major upgrades to be delivered when passenger volumes are lower. Freight operators, meanwhile, continue to run services wherever possible, keeping essential goods moving despite the scale of the engineering programme.

Some urban rail regeneration and a continuation of existing projects. Vote-catching projects were reannounced. One of them – a passenger fare freeze – was so ‘oven-ready’ it was still hot from the joint announcement with the Transport Secretary on Sunday. The real impact for rail was secondary, insofar as the measures chosen by the Chancellor will affect the businesses that provide rail with its revenue. If there is anything for the freight sector, it is certainly still down the line.

Rail freight gets the usual prominence: none

The rail fares freeze figured high in the Chancellor’s hour-long speech, but that measure was already on the statute book – as reported previously by our sister service RailTech.com. That earlier announcement might have been made as a softener to the Budget’s position of a tax on electric cars. Neither move was aimed at freight operations (not forgetting that containers don’t vote, voters do).

“Today’s Budget contained limited new measures affecting the railway industry and rail businesses,” understated Darren Caplan, the Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association (RIA), which represents the sector’s supply chain. “Our members – many of whom have experienced difficult times this year commercially – will welcome the Government’s recognition of the value of rail investment to boosting the UK’s growth and productivity.”

The Office for Budget Irresponsibility

Anticipation of the Chancellor’s speech had already impacted on every aspect of the economy. Uncertainty has led recruiters to refrain from recruiting, businesses to hold off from investing, and consumers to refrain from spending. There was some good news for rail, even if it wasn’t actually new news for rail. “The government is committed to improving infrastructure and rail connectivity across the North of England, including the £11 billion [€12.4bn] Transpennine Route Upgrade currently being delivered,” said Reeves’s Budget statement.

There had been much leaking of the Budget measures, but that turned into a flood on Wednesday morning. In an unprecedented breach of protocol, the government’s own watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, accidentally published its detailed critique of the entire Budget in the hour before Rachel Reeves delivered her speech. This error could become a far more serious matter. If this seems trivial for the rail and logistics sectors, be aware that British governments have fallen for far lesser breaches. A new government may well have a very different attitude to trade and industrial development.

Give fewer leaks and more clarity, please

Optimist and perennial chief executive of the RIA, Darren Caplan, concluded on an upbeat note. “We would like to have seen in this Budget more of the government’s plans to encourage innovative funding models in rail,” he said. “Whether private or ‘third party’ investment, more direction on its long-term strategy for rail, we urge the Government to give more clarity on these issues, to both boost jobs, GVA and Treasury revenues to the benefit of UK plc, and also to ensure the rail supply sector can play its part to efficiently and cost-effectively deliver world-class UK transport infrastructure in the future.”

Almost nothing announced in the Budget will take effect until the next financial year (2026/2027) or beyond. That’s a necessary delay since the Budget speech is merely the start of the parliamentary process. However, that is unlikely to mean anything more than a formality, not least because the government holds a very large majority in the parliament.

Rachel Reeves’s job may not be on the line over the general disappointment about the tax burden, now at an all-time high of 38% of GDP. That figure was already known – it was leaked in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s critique. If there is a job on the line right now, it’s that organisation’s chief executive. “Richard Hughes – it’s someone called Rachel on the phone for you…”

With freight flows typically at a low ebb over public holidays, Network Rail has made full use of the opportunity to progress vital improvement projects. Freight may have been quiet, but infrastructure trains have been busy in attendance as the August works near completion.

Engineers not bowled over: 261 not out

While passenger demand tends to vary – often shifting around areas of planned disruption – the long weekend is traditionally a window for works that can’t be undertaken during busier weekday timetables. This August, that has meant an investment of over £79 million (almost €95 million) across 261 projects, all designed to keep the network reliable for both passengers and freight.

Network Rail and contractors have been able to make significant progress on projects that would otherwise impact commercial flows. This past weekend saw work on key freight and passenger corridors, including routes out of London and through Birmingham, with diverted or suspended passenger services making room for vital renewals. While rail freight schedules are less intensive over public holidays, the industry will now be preparing to resume services across the renewed infrastructure, benefiting from the long-term reliability improvements the works are intended to deliver.

Major works centred on London and the Midlands

Among the most visible projects over the weekend were upgrades around London King’s Cross and Peterborough, part of the long-running East Coast Digital Programme. Services were suspended between the two hubs on Sunday (24 August), with onward connections managed by bus between Peterborough and Bedford – a nod to the complexity of maintaining long-distance flows during disruption.

Elsewhere in the capital, re-signalling in the Lewisham area disrupted Southeastern’s Victoria–Dartford route across Sunday and continues into Monday, with passengers diverted onto buses and alternative Overland and Tube routes. In the Midlands, the tracks of the West Coast Main Line, Europe’s busiest mixed-traffic route, take a constant beating, necessitating frequent attention. This engineering window has been no different. Track renewals at Garrison Street and Tyseley prompted the suspension of local services between Birmingham International and Birmingham New Street, while Avanti and CrossCountry passenger trains, and several intermodal paths were diverted and extended in journey time.

A long weekend of progress behind the scenes

Despite the scale of the work, Network Rail has been keen to stress that most of the network remained open throughout the weekend. The carefully orchestrated programme was designed to avoid unnecessary disruption and keep as many routes operational as possible. Still, with some alterations continuing into Monday night, passengers and operators are being advised to double-check their arrangements.

Freight operators, though relatively quiet during the works, stand to benefit too. A more reliable network and fewer unplanned interventions will ultimately support smoother, more efficient operations. Network Rail has been emphasising the TransPennine Route Upgrade and the digital signalling project on the East Coast Main Line – both long-term projects that will deliver transformational capacity enhancements – even if this weekend meant standing aside for the orange army to get on with the job.

That’s despite the scheme offering significant potential for freight growth, including more electrified paths, better timetabling options, and extra network capacity. The omission will disappoint industry stakeholders who have long lobbied for further infrastructure enhancements to futureproof the route for heavier, longer freight trains.

Passenger headlines dominate

The Department for Transport (DfT) says the newly electrified section will cut York–Manchester journey times by ten minutes and Manchester–Leeds from 50 to 42 minutes. Six fast services an hour will run once the work is complete.

“Today is a moment of celebration for a project that will transform train travel for millions of passengers across the North,” said UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, who then went on to politicise the project. “We are delivering on our [Labour Party] Plan for Change by upgrading rail links across the North – slashing journey times between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.”

Freight benefits go largely unspoken

Network Rail notes the programme will “enable more rail freight” once finished, with full-route electrification by early 2030 expected to remove over 1,000 lorries from the road daily. However, in press statements from both the Department for Transport and Network Rail, freight is barely mentioned compared to the extensive passenger narrative.

That omission comes despite calls from the freight sector for passing loops, longer sidings, and higher capacity structures. Industry voices say these upgrades are essential if TRU is to handle projected freight growth in the coming decades.

Jobs, homes, and regeneration

DfT says the scheme will create over 5,000 jobs, support 6,500 new homes, and unlock commercial space in cities along the route. York Central (a vast urban regeneration scheme) and Ravensthorpe station redevelopment and relocation are intended to drive wider economic benefits. Eighty-five per cent of the TRU workforce lives within 40 miles of the line, keeping much of the investment in local communities. “This upgrade is about opportunity… kickstarting economic growth in the areas that need it most,” added Alexander.

The Church Fenton–York works follow electrification between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge last year. By summer 2027, 40 per cent of the route will be wired. “We have reached a key milestone as 25% of the route is now electrified,” said James Richardson, TRU Managing Director. “Enabling greener, faster, and more reliable journeys, we remain committed to delivering this transformative programme on time and on budget.”

Rail freight operators will be eyeing upgrades in the UK government’s 10-year infrastructure plan. Not necessarily the schools and hospitals. Definitely projects like the TransPennine Route Upgrade, a programme that improves both passenger and freight capacity on the North of England’s busiest east–west corridor. The £3.5 billion (4 billion euros) tranche for TRU has been welcomed, though freight stakeholders warn that the full benefits depend on timely completion. Similarly, investment in the Midlands Rail Hub, connecting Birmingham with the wider Midlands and Wales, offers potential uplift for intermodal routes and port connectivity.

Industry response: optimism with reservations

As reported by sister service RailTech.com, the UK government has just published a 10-year infrastructure plan. However, crucial freight corridors continue to be overlooked. One such omission, the Midland Main Line electrification to Sheffield, remains ‘on pause’. The project has again been sidelined in the government’s new package. This leaves diesel-hauled freight stuck on part-electric routes, curbing efficiency gains. Similarly, the Felixstowe–Nuneaton upgrade, including the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement programme, and critical to easing pressure on the country’s busiest container port, was barely mentioned, despite its clear importance to freight flows.

Otherwise, the freight world has largely welcomed the strategy as a step forward. The Railway Industry Association (RIA) praised the long-term horizon and the upcoming digital Infrastructure Pipeline portal, forecasting greater planning certainty for rail supply chains. The Chartered Institute of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) echoed the sentiment, highlighting the integration of transport with housing, energy, and digital projects as a welcome move. Engineers at AtkinsRéalis and Ramboll likewise signalled approval, emphasising that coordinated investment across sectors could turbocharge sustainable freight operations by unlocking modal shift opportunities.

Delivery concerns and regional gaps

That said, freight operators fear that big-picture announcements might not translate into timely delivery. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into inefficiencies and cost overruns in rail and road infrastructure projects, citing HS2, the much-maligned high-speed rail route between London and Birmingham, as a cautionary tale. Industry voices emphasise that unless the government streamlines procurement and delivery processes, flagship upgrades may drag on for years.

On the ground, voices from the Midlands and East Anglia are frustrated by repeated omissions. The UK government admitted ongoing delays in the Midland Main Line electrification south of Sheffield, while local stakeholders decry continued diesel-only operation as stifling regional growth, including freight. The Felixstowe–Nuneaton omission similarly drew criticism, given its pivotal status in port-to-network connectivity.

New authority or new bureaucracy

Although the UK government has committed to reducing bureaucracy, it has announced the creation of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA). Positioned as the central body overseeing delivery, it is expected to launch the Infrastructure Pipeline portal later this month.

Freight operators worry that, instead of accelerating delivery, NISTA could slow decision-making. In particular, the sector needs fast-tracked enhancements, such as electrification of key freight links and junction upgrades, not yet visible in the strategy. With NISTA now in the mix, vetting turns into delivering. The test will not be whether plans are drawn, but whether freight trains can soon carry more goods, more efficiently, across Britain.