The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) has published new data revealing the £1.7bn economic benefits that rail freight brings to Britain. 

The data, compiled by the consultancy KPMG using rail industry statistics, finds that British businesses benefited by £1.2bn in productivity gains and an additional £0.5bn was generated in other economic benefits from rail freight.

The data, published today in a report - Rail Freight: Working for Britain - reveal the extent to which rail freight is securing benefits for the British economy, by reducing road congestion, supporting the delivery of infrastructure, reducing carbon emissions and reducing imbalances in regional economies.

A breakdown of the data finds that within the nations and regions of the UK, North West England, Yorkshire and Humber, Scotland and the West Midlands have the highest productivity and externality benefits, with 87% of benefits secured outside London and South-East England.

Each year the rail freight industry carries goods worth over £30 billion for its customers, from whiskies, cars and clothing to cement, stone and oil, including transporting more than one in four of the containers that enter and exit the UK via deep sea ports.

Paul Plummer, Chief Executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which brings together train operators, Network Rail and rail suppliers to enable a better railway, said: “Working together, the partnership railway stands ready to do more to increase the benefits that rail freight is delivering for Britain. As we prepare to develop new trading relationships outside the European Union, we can build on the £30bn worth of goods carried by rail freight, connecting more British businesses with new markets via our sea ports around the country.”