But much more needs to be done to increase the amount of freight carried by rail. The industry should work in partnership with government and customers to deliver rail freight services in sectors such as aggregates, timber and movement of bulk whisky within Scotland.
Amongst the key tasks will be to identify and formalise ‘the Scottish strategic freight network’.
While the trunk road network was long ago rebuilt to allow ubiquitous passage of the biggest freight lorries, the rail network is still a patchwork of different capabilities of handling long, fast trains conveying the modern generation of tall freight containers.
The industry could argue that it has one arm tied behind its back until government funds major infrastructure changes to help level the playing field with road haulage.
