On Wednesday (25 March) and into Thursday, core routes were blocked by fallen trees and damage to overhead wires. In some cases, the support masts were destroyed. High winds caused significant disruption across the North West rail network, with fallen trees damaging overhead line equipment on routes between Manchester and Preston. Other incidents further south knocked out services to Wolverhampton.

Fraught freight flows

The incident near Lostock, outside Bolton, blocked a key artery used by both passenger and freight services. That forced cancellations and halted traffic while repairs were carried out. Lostock is midway between Manchester and Preston, and the line feeds into the West Coast Main Line. Further south, damage on the West Coast Main Line itself compounded the problem. That was a real headache for all traffic, and restricted capacity on the UK’s most important freight corridor.

Images of stranded passenger trains have illustrated the immediate impact of the storm. However, the consequences extended well beyond the passenger timetable. Freight services operating through the region — including flows linking Trafford Park, the Port of Liverpool, and inland terminals — were also affected by the loss of available paths. In a network with limited diversionary capability, even short sections of blocked line can have disproportionate consequences.

Capacity constraints ripple across the system

On Wednesday, most of the UK woke up to a sunny – albeit cold and moderately windy day. It was a different story for those on the West Coast. “The disruption has been caused by severe winds overnight,” said Darren Miller, infrastructure director for Network Rail’s North West route, delivering a statement on the day. “Trees [have knocked] down overhead power lines, severing connections, knocking down masts entirely, which causes major disruption.”

Britain’s passenger-intensive network has meant freight trains are held at terminals or looped en route, paths were lost or rescheduled at short notice. Congestion built up on alternative routes, where available. Fortunately, a diversion does exist at Lostock and on routes westward out of Manchester, which connect with the West Coast Main Line. Ironically, another blockage, further south on the WCML near Wolverhampton, left some capacity available for diverted workings.

The infrastructure agency Network Rail and the official passenger information service, National Rail Enquiries, warned of disruption until at least the end of Wednesday. That was still the case by early Thursday morning.

The local member of parliament has been quoted as calling the scheme idiotic. However, West Midlands Interchange has already seen ground broken. Main contractors Winvic were appointed last year, and a rail freight operator was put in place earlier this year. The development has been criticised for the scale of the project. However, the argument in favour has often cited a significant shortage of modern warehousing in the UK – notably in the “Golden Triangle”, the area in the heart of England, where the logistics industry is heavily concentrated.

Objections have been voiced elsewhere

“West Midlands Interchange (WMI) represents a rare opportunity to expand the very small network of existing Strategic Rail Freight Interchanges (SRFI), significantly enhancing access to the rail network for local business.,” says a statement from Four Ashes Limited, the company formed to promote the project. “Expansion of SRFI capacity aligns with the objectives of business and Government to provide additional transport options and capacity for the movement of goods across the supply chain.”

However, the huge logistics park, eventually covering 300 hectares, is not without its detractors. All such developments attract a degree of criticism, and WMI is no exception. Gavin Williamson MP, who represents the constituency within which the terminal will lie, has called the scheme “idiotic”. He has been campaigning for four years to stop the development. However, with his political party now in opposition, his influence in parliament is diminished. The strength of feeling might be compared to the vociferous campaign in St Albans, where local opposition has been organised against the similarly large development at Radlett.

Objections may be trumped by capacity issues

RailFreight.com has seen reports that propose for the rail terminal to be commenced once a third of the project has found tenants. That would suggest that the first of three phases would be completed first. However, a government source says that the plans are not finalised, and that could change. “Detailed proposals are still evolving,” said the Department for Transport. “The West Midlands Interchange is likely to include an intermodal freight terminal accommodating up to ten trains per day of up to 775m long and including container storage and HGV parking. Around 800,000 sqm of rail-served warehousing and ancillary service buildings, and may include an element of manufacturing and processing.”

The rail element may progress faster. The developers have already appointed UK multimodal logistics operators Maritime Transport as the rail freight managers on the project. Maritime has extensive experience in the sector and is involved in several modern logistics parks, notably the East Midlands Gateway, which was recently expanded. One factor that may be an issue is the connection to the West Coast Main Line. The project was conceived while the HS2 high-speed rail project was still planned to provide a bypass for the very busiest section of the WCML. Those projected ten daily trains from WMI will now have to feed onto the existing line, which will not be relieved by the HS2 project. If anything were to scupper the rail element of the logistics development, it may not be objectors. It may be the somewhat more intractable issue of capacity on the line.

Maritime Transport already has an enviable record of modern logistics management under its considerable belt. The West Midlands Interchange development claims it will be the UK’s largest logistics complex. Taking on the rail freight management responsibilities at WMI will give Maritime access to a vast infrastructure development, well within the prime “golden triangle” of distribution operations in the UK.

Leading facility in the Golden Triangle

Rail freight facilities are set to be embedded into the West Midlands Interchange. Since Oxford and LCP acquired the WMI site in joint venture in 2021, they have been at pains to stress the importance of the rail facility, despite the clearly convenient road connections. “This next step to create the leading intermodal logistics facility in the UK’s Golden Triangle is a significant one”, said James Boadle, Senior Vice President at Oxford Properties. “Maritime are the leaders in their field, and WMI is the leading logistics development in the country. The two coming together will deliver a significant boost to the regional and national economy.”

The Strategic Rail Freight Interchange will be a typically discrete part of the development. The commercial buildings will dominate the park. There is no denying that eight million square feet (745,000 square metres) of warehouse facilities will be a radical change to the landscape, no matter how much landscaping is undertaken. However, it should be noted that if the project lives up to contemporary standards, it will be convincingly discrete. One billion pounds (1.17 billion euros) does buy a high standard of landscaping. The first phase of development has already commenced at the 734-acre site (around 300 hectares), comprising significant infrastructure works including earthworks, highways construction, water installation and the creation of two new community parks.

Moving cargo closer to the end user by rail

“As the leading road and rail freight logistics provider in the UK, West Midlands Interchange is the obvious next addition to our rail network”, said John Williams, Group Executive Chairman of Maritime Transport. “Being the long-term operator of WMI fits exactly with our wider strategy of decarbonising the full load supply chain by moving cargo closer to the end user by rail. We have already substantially increased container movements by rail, from six per cent in 2019 to over 24 per cent in 2023.”

Maritime has certainly a track record of moving towards cleaner logistics. The carrier already operates twenty-five rail freight services, and their road trucks are being more frequently deployed on shorter runs, and their familiar blue and white liveried locomotives are a common sight on the West Coast Main Line, Europe’s busiest mixed traffic route, and elsewhere on the British network.

“We are committed to this strategy of decarbonising which will lead to the introduction of BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) effecting the first and final mile transport, creating the most sustainable full load supply chain network in the UK”, explained John Williams. “WMI is poised to remove up to 50 million kilometres of HGV [heavy goods vehicle] traffic annually. This marks yet another milestone for a project that exemplifies both Oxford’s conviction in UK logistics, and our commitment to environmental social governance.” Build out of the entire West Midlands Interchange project is expected to take up to a decade.

Warehousing shortage in the UK

The London and Bristol-based Copper Consultancy has Been working on delivering consultation and engagement services to support the Development Consent Order (DCO), as well as communications and support building. The site is one of the biggest projected logistics parks in the UK and will go some way to addressing the warehousing shortage so often, proving a concern for trade in the UK.

As one of Europe’s largest new logistics development sites, West Midlands Interchange (WMI) will provide a 734 acre (300 hectares) Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) at M6 Junction 12, between Cannock and Telford, just north of Wolverhampton. Progress has been made with the appointment of Winvic Construction Ltd as the design stage delivery partner. The company has extensive experience in the field and is actively delivering similar logistics projects around the UK.

8,500 jobs regionally

The developers say the project will offer over eight million square feet (754,000 square metres) of commercial space, supported by a dedicated intermodal rail hub. The Pre-Construction Services Agreement (PCSA) role is the first of four phases of our development programme, followed by early enabling works, infrastructure works and vertical unit delivery. The site is also intended to provide sustainability credentials, including a community park and biodiversity protection. The developers are confident of delivering 8,500 new jobs for the region “during its development, construction and operation.”

“We are pleased to welcome Winvic to the delivery team”, said Andy Busby, UK Construction Director at Logistics Capital Partners, part of the development consortium. “They bring extensive experience constructing large-scale complex logistics projects like this and demonstrated a clear understanding of the leading approach we want to take to sustainable design, cutting edge automation, and lasting economic and social impact for the region.”

Warehouses next year, rail terminal to follow

The developers, London Capital Partners, are eager to deliver logistics units as early as next year. However, the timescale for delivery of the rail terminal at West Midlands Interchange is still unclear and unlikely to be as soon.

“Winvic’s sustainability credentials and experience in designing and constructing similar schemes, as well as our commitment to community and stakeholder collaboration”, said Rob Cook, Winvic’s Director of Civils and Infrastructure. “We can draw on our extensive project knowledge and assemble a skilful team to meet requirements, find innovative efficiencies and ultimately deliver the design stage output in a considered and forward-thinking way.”

The mixed traffic line between Dundee and Aberdeen – the only route in North East Scotland – will remain closed until Monday 22 February, says Network Rail. The North Sea oil industry city of Aberdeen remains cut off from southbound flows, with a very long detour only possible via Inverness. The bridge in question, between the fishing towns of Stonehaven and Montrose, will require engineers constantly on site to complete repairs.

The 180-year-old structure has been assessed by our specialist engineers, and Network Rail say they now have plans are in place to repair the bridge and provide additional strengthening. “We are working around-the-clock to safely reopen the railway as soon as we possibly can”, said Network Rail’s capital delivery director for Scotland’s Railway, Kris Kinnear. Network Rail has budgeted over 300 million British Pounds (335 million euros) between 2019 and 2024 for renewing and refurbishing bridges.

Perfect storm

Network Rail is facing a perfect storm of disruptive events, and being stretched to keep UK rail traffic flowing soothly. Last week’s severe winter Storm Christophe affected parts of the UK not usually exposed to heavy snowfalls. The bridge collapse near Stonehaven was the most serious of incidents.

But there was also the totally unexpected subsidence to the line between London and Norwich – which also serves the ports of Harwich and Felixstowe. It has been a trying week for Network Rail.  Since Friday (22 January) engineers have been working to stabilise an embankment at Ingatestone on the Great Eastern Main Line. Although a serious failure, the incident has not entirely closed the route, single line working has necessitated amendment to several outer suburban services, including commuter trains from the Roman city of Chelmsford. Felixstowe intermodals and Harwich bulk trains should still however be able to reach London. Trains from Felixstowe, Britain’s busiest container port, are also able to divert via the recently reinstated curve at Ipswich.

Network Rail expect to have a clearer picture of the necessary repairs by Friday (29 January). Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, was apologetic over the extended period of remedial works. “The work is taking longer than expected. She said. “I’d like to say a special thank you to those who have worked with us to give us access to the site and enable us to carry out these emergency repairs.” Network Rail further thanks their line-side neighbours for their patience. Heavily populated Essex is a long way from rural North East Scotland, but the discomfort of blocked lines is no less keenly felt.

Helicopter work

In the meantime, in the English Midlands, helicopter-mounted thermal imaging cameras have been used to help identify ‘cold spots’ on the permanent way. The busy West Midlands loop generates much of the traffic for the West Coast Main Line, Europe’s busiest mixed traffic railway. Sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow threatened to close the line last weekend and into this week. In an effort more common in the colder parts of Europe, Network Rail Air Operations team, employed helicopter mounted infrared cameras to identify ‘cold spots’ – particularly on points and switches – to help guide ground resources as efficiently as possible. Wolverhampton station, a busy passenger and freight corridor (pictured) was particularly at risk. 

Dave Penney, Network Rail’s Central route director, said thermal imaging cameras have been checking the heaters are working. “Anything reported to us from the skies can then be looked at straight away by the extra teams of people on the ground and fixed as quickly as possible”, he said.