Rail Freight Flows and News UK

[Loadhaul60059]

Have the Lynemouth to Tyne Coal Terminal (and reverse) workings ceased? Neither service appears to have run yesterday or today.

 

[Brewer66]

Have the Lynemouth to Tyne Coal Terminal (and reverse) workings ceased? Neither service appears to have run yesterday or today.

Tyne Dock has been temporarily closed after the collapse of a dock side crane on Sunday. Probably connected.

 

[androdas]

Tyne Dock has been temporarily closed after the collapse of a dock side crane on Sunday. Probably connected.

The Lynemouth biomass trains are back on the Northumberland Line today so whatever issue there is must have been resolved.

 

[Loadhaul60059]

Tyne Dock has been temporarily closed after the collapse of a dock side crane on Sunday. Probably connected.

The Lynemouth biomass trains are back on the Northumberland Line today so whatever issue there is must have been resolved.

Thanks for the responses. Will keep an eye out for it later!

 

[WessexEclectic]

High speed freight?...

40K views · 661 reactions | Always good to see unusual traction at Sheffield Station! The team caught this today - a couple of Class 43 power cars working together to haul freight for Rail Adventure! Good catch, guys! Rails of Sheffield Store, Rail

Always good to see unusual traction at Sheffield Station! The team caught this today - a couple of Class 43 power cars working together to haul freight for Rail Adventure! Good catch, guys! Rails...

www.facebook.com

Couple of HST power cars (incl. 43423) hauling (empty?) wagons through Sheffield Midland earlier today (23/07/26).

What was the train headcode and has this run before?....

 

[yorkshirerail]

High speed freight?...

40K views · 661 reactions | Always good to see unusual traction at Sheffield Station! The team caught this today - a couple of Class 43 power cars working together to haul freight for Rail Adventure! Good catch, guys! Rails of Sheffield Store, Rail

Always good to see unusual traction at Sheffield Station! The team caught this today - a couple of Class 43 power cars working together to haul freight for Rail Adventure! Good catch, guys! Rails...

www.facebook.com

Couple of HST power cars (incl. 43423) hauling (empty?) wagons through Sheffield Midland earlier today (23/07/26).

What was the train headcode and has this run before?....

6E89 taking wagons for storage from Fiddlers Ferry PS to Gascogine Wood

 

[billh]

6E89 taking wagons for storage from Fiddlers Ferry PS to Gascogine Wood

Has to be the weirdest train I've ever seen! Two down at heel HST power cars and a train of rusty old wagons, passed me doing about 20mph this morning.

 

[Adrian Barr]

Nothing has run to or from "Tilbury 2" (which usually sees two daily departures to Daventry)
for the past two weeks.

The 4M77/4L48 and 4M07/4L27 services are still running, but have been diverted to run to/from
"Seabrook reception sidings" at Tilbury Docks.

I always get confused between Tilbury LCT, Tilbury RCT and Seabrook sidings, but I thought the
latter was just a set of run round roads where trains reverse to get to Tilbury Docks 'proper',
so I presume that the DRS trains are not actually being loaded there?

Anyone know what is going on with these DRS workings and why Tilbury 2 is out of use?

I was a bit confused why the DRS Tilbury 2 schedules had suddenly switched to Seabrook sidings, but apparently there is an issue with the track on the connection to Tilbury 2. It's described as "track movement / buckling" - with movements in and out of Tilbury 2 stopped until further notice - so is likely related to the recent hot weather. Been ongoing for a couple of weeks now...

Breakdown of the locations around Seabrook Sidings / Tilbury RCT / Tilbury LCT:

Seabrook sidings are the two reception / departure roads adjacent to the main line, east of Grays. Tilbury RCT is the former Freightliner terminal. After the Freightliner terminal shut, the crane roads were used to create a "bulk siding" with adjacent loading area for aggregate (and also the recycled glass cullet for Ince & Elton). Also at the former Tilbury RCT, the "exchange sidings" are where trains can run round to access the docks branch over to "Tilbury LCT" (London Container Terminal, which at one time was known as Northfleet Hope, and previously operated by Tilbury Container Services).

In the "Freight Only" series of books from the late 80s, the current Tilbury LCT was referred to as the OCL mini-terminal:

At Tilbury, the Rail Container Terminal (RCT) is adjacent to the main line and is operated by Freightliners, whereas the mini-terminal is situated at the end of a short privately-owned branch and is reserved exclusively for OCL and ACT traffic. (Freight Only Volume 2: Southern and Central England, Rhodes & Shannon, 1988)

Tilbury LCT is also the location of the "Maritime Railport" (using the same sidings, which have concrete hardstanding alongside) where the tinplate trains from Trostre are offloaded. Apart from the current DRS traffic to Daventry temporarily displaced from Tilbury 2, I think the only regular container traffic at Tilbury LCT is the GBRF service to Wakefield, although the Freightliner Barry Docks flow also ran to here.

The location names and schedules can be a bit messy in this area, which adds to the confusion. I'm not sure why the DRS schedules terminate at Seabrook Sidings and not the LCT - it wouldn't be possible to load or offload containers at Seabrook, and the former Freightliner terminal at Tilbury RCT is no longer suitable for container traffic now that it's set up for loading bulk materials, with the cranes gone and the loading area next to the current bulk siding taken up by bays full of aggregate and crushed recycled glass.

A few links / pictures quoting myself from a previous post:

Like Thamesport, I think Tilbury lost most of its deep sea traffic after London Gateway opened in 2013, leading to the closure of Tilbury Rail Container Terminal operated by Freightliner. Part of the former Tilbury RCT is now used as the "bulk siding" to load recycled glass "cullet" (resembling sand) for URM heading to Ince & Elton, plus a Freightliner-hauled aggregate service for FM Conway at Theale. There's also a separate Tarmac "CMAT" aggregate terminal over at Tilbury 2 which currently receives stone from Mountsorrel, but has also been used to load imported stone for East Anglian destinations. The exchange sidings at the former Tilbury RCT are also used to access London Container Terminal, further down the branch on the dockside. There is also the Maritime Railport here, where tinplate coils from Trostre are transferred from train to ship for onward movement to European destinations.

66621 in Tilbury bulk siding (not the LCT as per caption) loading aggregate for FM Conway in 2021:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/world_railways/51270543305/ (Photo: David Smith)

66792 in Maritime Tilbury Railport / London Container Terminal (containers and tinplate are offloaded in the same place) with a tinplate train from Trostre in 2021:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139865875@N07/51834559902/ (Photo: 37408)

This 2-page PDF has a handy map of the track layout in Tilbury Docks (zoom in to see it better):
https://www.londoncontainerterminal...23/12/ForthPorts_Rail-Insert-2023-Eden-v1.pdf
And this webpage has more info on London Container Terminal itself:
https://www.londoncontainerterminal.com/terminal-details/

 

[S101]

Has to be the weirdest train I've ever seen! Two down at heel HST power cars and a train of rusty old wagons, passed me doing about 20mph this morning.

A long time since a freight has used the Barnsley branch.

 

[BRX]

That prompted me to see if there had been any more recent mention of the Paris Valenton - Daventry service that, supposedly, was originally going to start last year, but has so far produced nothing

Have just come across another mention of this, from May this year:

French rail freight market marking time but combined transport buoyant

The economic slowdown in Europe and the disruption caused by geopolitical crises means France’s rail freight players have been largely marking time since the start…

www.railfreight.com

Gallo went on to highlight the “considerable uncertainty” amongst shippers, linked both to the oil crisis, the European economic slowdown and to the war in Ukraine. “The prevailing attitude is one of ‘wait and see’ and is weighing on the launch of new services”, he said.


This has led DB Cargo France to postpone the launch of its proposed France-UK combi service, linking Paris-Valenton and Daventry, (in Northamptonshire, England), as the required volume commitments have not materialised.


On the other hand, the combined transport operators that DB Cargo France is working with are seeing their trains running at high capacity, no doubt due to the high price of diesel, Gallo noted. “It’s a pity this is not translating into additional services.”

So the indefinite postponements continue.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Jul 2026 ==

I expect it's by design that these press releases always make it unclear whether new traffic is involved, or whether it's just the same traffic under a different owner, but mention here of sidings at Shoreham and Chichester:

Brett Group Strengthens South Coast Network With Chichester And Shoreham Sites

The addition of Chichester Rail Siding and Shoreham Wharf significantly enhances our market coverage along the South Coast, linking our existing operations at Newhaven and Portsmouth and strengthening our offer to customers.

www.brett.co.uk

 

[Dr Hoo]

Shoreham is a long-standing wharf (as is Portsmouth), no rail connections.

 

[BRX]

Shoreham is a long-standing wharf (as is Portsmouth), no rail connections.

Thanks.

So when they say

the sites will support the increased use of rail and marine transport, helping to move materials more efficiently and sustainably by reducing the number of journeys made by road.

what it actually means is the chichester site might support increased use of rail and the shoreham one will only support increased marine transport. Presumably increased use of Shoreham for marine transport would actually mean an increase of road journeys if that's the only way it's connected.

 

[Wavertreelad]

Hapag Lloyd expands UK Rail offering with the launch of their netw intermodal rail service delivered in partnership with Newell & Wright, DB Cargo UK, & PD Stirling connecting Southampton, London Gateway and Felixstowe with Bellshill, Scotland. The service will operate three days a week and looks very similar to the concept launched a few weeks ago by Meditterranean Shipping Company from Felixstowe and London Gateway Port to Scotland.

 

[75A]

Thanks.

So when they say



what it actually means is the chichester site might support increased use of rail and the shoreham one will only support increased marine transport. Presumably increased use of Shoreham for marine transport would actually mean an increase of road journeys if that's the only way it's connected.

A centuary ago Shoreham (Aldrington Basin) had a rail connection with the LBSCR

 

[CastlebarKeith]

lt must be 50+ years since Shoreham port had a rail connection to Coastway West
Chichester had an abundance of rail sidings for aggregates from Lavant on the Midhurst branch
"Developers" have their eyes on them

I won't hold my breath waiting to see heavy rail use ever again.

 

[Solweytracker]

Hapag Lloyd expands UK Rail offering with the launch of their netw intermodal rail service delivered in partnership with Newell & Wright, DB Cargo UK, & PD Stirling connecting Southampton, London Gateway and Felixstowe with Bellshill, Scotland. The service will operate three days a week and looks very similar to the concept launched a few weeks ago by Meditterranean Shipping Company from Felixstowe and London Gateway Port to Scotland.

View attachment 208463

Ties in nicely with the observation that most of the containers on 4E76 Mossend PDS to Rotherham Masborough on 13/7/26 were Hapag Lloyd ones, and a probable Felixstowe link (see my post #2609).

Seems a further sign of flow realignments and fragmentation by the big shipping lines. Once, Southampton, Felixstowe and London to Scottish Central Belt were rail-served by Freightliner only via Crewe Basford Hall. Now MSC offer the Hams Hall interchange route and Hapag Lloyd this new route via Rotherham and the ECML.

 

[Wavertreelad]

Thanks for the responses. Will keep an eye out for it later!

BBC report on the collapse which is believed to happened as a result of a collision with another ship.

Man injured in South Shields dockside crane 'collapse'

Emergency services attend the Port of Tyne after a crane "collided" with a container ship, police say.

www.bbc.co.uk

And a video showing the damage.

 

[Freightmaster]

I was a bit confused why the DRS Tilbury 2 schedules had suddenly switched to Seabrook sidings, but apparently there is an issue with the track on the connection to Tilbury 2. It's described as "track movement / buckling" - with movements in and out of Tilbury 2 stopped until further notice - so is likely related to the recent hot weather. Been ongoing for a couple of weeks now...

update: The issue has now been resolved and DRS services are once again serving Tilbury2

 

[matt99001]

Does anyone know if the clay trains going to Par Harbour has now stopped? And St Blazeys yard now closing?

 

[Freightmaster]

Does anyone know if the clay trains going to Par Harbour has now stopped? And St Blazeys yard now closing?

Yes to both (the last train from Par Harbour ran this morning)

 

[matt99001]

Thanks for the update, will there be a reduction in movements from Imerys or is it being transported via Fowey Dock instead?

 

[Express380]

Thanks for the update, will there be a reduction in movements from Imerys or is it being transported via Fowey Dock instead?

Increased service from Treviscoe has been mentioned

 

[Dr Hoo]

Thanks.

So when they say

what it actually means is the chichester site might support increased use of rail and the shoreham one will only support increased marine transport. Presumably increased use of Shoreham for marine transport would actually mean an increase of road journeys if that's the only way it's connected.

Well, in general terms, stone terminals mean a feed in by rail from (e.g. the Mendips, Peak District, Yorkshire Dales..., keeping large HGV articulated tippers off main roads over long distances but then a lot of local moves by lorries to local building sites and merchants around Chichester, Cricklewood, West Drayton and so forth. There are a few large scale exceptions for projects such as HS2 or Sizewell where there is a railhead effectively 'on site' at, say, Willesden or Leiston, perhaps linked by haul roads or conveyors not involving public highways.

A sea-fed coastal terminal for sea-dredged, coastwise or imported material will similarly tend to rely on local road distribution although there may be a second leg semi-trunk haul by rail such as from Newhaven or Grain to inland terminals for final road delivery.

 

[zwk500]

Well, in general terms, stone terminals mean a feed in by rail from (e.g.0 the Mendips, Peak District, Yorkshire Dales..., keeping large HGV articulated tippers off main roads over long distances but then a lot of local moves by lorries to local building sites a merchants around Chichester, Cricklewood, West Drayton and so forth. There are a few large scale exceptions for projects such as HS2 or Sizewell where there is a railhead effectively 'on site' at, say, Willesden or Leiston, perhaps linked by haul roads or conveyors not involving public highways.

A sea-fed coastal terminal for sea-dredged, coastwise or imported material will similarly tend to rely on local road distribution although there may be a second leg semi-trunk haul by rail such as from Newhaven or Grain to inland terminals for final road delivery.

I could see Shoreham supplying a flow to London like Newhaven does, although the chances of getting a rail connected siding to the port are vanishingly small, and the chances of paths on the BML wouldn't be any better.

Chichester seems to fit the first pattern, with a daily loaded train from Merehead/Westbury and an empty back.

 

[Ploughman]

Is it not possible to utilise the normal no trains period overnight and offload to a prepared loading point alongside?
I think this has been done in Scotland for timber and pipes.
Also the now defunct Redland Train has offloaded Stone to the trackside in numerous locations.

 

[BRX]

A sea-fed coastal terminal for sea-dredged, coastwise or imported material will similarly tend to rely on local road distribution although there may be a second leg semi-trunk haul by rail such as from Newhaven or Grain to inland terminals for final road delivery.

Yes I see. If it's for local distribution then it makes sense.

 

[Class15]

and the chances of paths on the BML wouldn't be any better.

What makes you say that? Existing freight services are very infrequent so I assume whatever hourly path exists isn’t brilliantly used as it stands.

I’m a bit tired of the paths issue being brought up in situations where I struggle to see how it’s a problem, just because ‘it’s the BML’. The BML has a pretty consistent off-peak timetable, with room for freights, and not much freight actually runs as is.

 

[CastlebarKeith]

The BML could be by-passed. Those with long memories will remember the Dorking - Horsham being used as the main Victoria- Portsmouth route

It has been SO profitable for companies to shove everything through Gatwick, increase dwell times there and block possible slots.
Yet the Horsham-Dorking route atrophies and is not even used for diversions any longer when the BML is closed.

This leads to wider political issues which are outside the scope of this thread.

 

[zwk500]

What makes you say that? Existing freight services are very infrequent

Because I've previously done a timed freight study on the BML as a Network Rail timetable planner. Service patterns have changed in the meantime but the fundamental capacity constraints won't have.

I’m a bit tired of the paths issue being brought up in situations where I struggle to see how it’s a problem, just because ‘it’s the BML’. The BML has a pretty consistent off-peak timetable, with room for freights, and not much freight actually runs as is.

If you're going to say this, may I ask what your level of experience is working with the Working Timetable, Timetable Planning, and Strategic Capacity?

 

[Adrian Barr]

I could see Shoreham supplying a flow to London like Newhaven does, although the chances of getting a rail connected siding to the port are vanishingly small, and the chances of paths on the BML wouldn't be any better.

Chichester seems to fit the first pattern, with a daily loaded train from Merehead/Westbury and an empty back.

Given that Shoreham and Newhaven are less than 20 miles from each other (and both operated by Brett) I think it's safe to assume that Shoreham is intended to "extend market coverage along the South Coast" (i.e. deliveries by road into Sussex) while Newhaven and Cliffe would continue as the railheads used by Brett to move sea-dredged aggregate into the London area by rail.

Newhaven currently has regular services to Langley, Cricklewood, and Crawley.
Cliffe currently has regular services to Neasden, Tolworth, Purley, Stewarts Lane, sometimes Langley, plus the DCR service to Chessington.

The Newhaven to Crawley flow (which runs once a week or so at the moment) is noteworthy as the distance from Newhaven is only about 30 miles. Cliffe to Stewarts Lane is about the same distance, but the Newhaven to Crawley flow is unusually short for an aggregate flow serving a terminal outside the M25.

There are 3 daily paths from Newhaven Marine (10:49, 16:10 and 23:36) and typically one or sometimes two trains run per day; so capacity is adequate for current requirements. Additional paths from Newhaven are used by Freightliner and GBRF from the Day aggregates terminal, about a mile away from Newhaven Marine.

As for Chichester, I think the railhead was previously operated by Dudman, a local firm supplying aggregate among other things. I assume the existing siding has now been taken over by Brett, who recently announced their first delivery from Merehead: https://www.brett.co.uk/news/first-...or-milestone-for-brett-chichester-rail-siding

The flows from Newhaven and Cliffe supply marine-dredged sand and gravel (often used in concrete) and I assume Shoreham would be doing the same, albeit by road. Trains from the Mendips supply limestone; so the addition of the Chichester terminal would enable Brett to supply a greater range of aggregate locally.