From rail pioneer to UK powerhouse, Freightliner reflects on 60 years of continued evolution 

As the UK’s largest maritime intermodal logistics operator and award-winning provider of heavy haul logistics, Freightliner offers some of the most sustainable, efficient and advanced intermodal and heavy haul services in the country. Celebrating 60 years in business in 2025, Freightliner has a rich history characterized by continuous innovation and a reputation for bringing pioneering logistics solutions to the market. 

With a strong network of strategically based terminals and depots, Freightliner can service every area of the UK and is committed to ‘protecting what matters’ – its customers, their goods and the environment. Recognizing that its operations touch every part of the UK, Freightliner has a comprehensive ESG approach aimed at supporting a greener environment in the communities in which it operates.

Michael Leadbetter, Service Planning Director, joins Supply Chain World to elaborate on Freightliner’s approach to sustainability, as well as reflect on the company’s journey over the last 60 years. “As we celebrate our 60th anniversary, we reflect on our rich history and continuous innovation,” he opens. “For those not aware, Freightliner started life as a division of British Rail as the first operator of container trains internally within the UK and we later developed into a deep-sea freight intermodal business offering our own end-to-end proposition. It existed as part of British Rail until 1996, as it was struggling at that time, the UK assets were sold as part of a management buyout and I don’t think many people expected it to succeed. 

“However, the management focused on two things: efficiency and service delivery. By creating a high quality, reliable service offering, the company built an intermodal network with a strong reputation for being a good alternative to road freight. We then diversified our offerings in 1999, providing services for maintenance and infrastructure upgrades for Network Rail, and a maintenance division was later launched in 2006. Freightliner Heavy Haul was established in 1999 to focus on safe and secure heavy haul loads like cement and coal, which rapidly grew in terms of business and revenue. Just 25 months later in 2003, for instance, Freightliner was responsible for 25 percent of the UK’s coal movements.” 

As rail freight was increasingly competing with road freight after the turn of the century, service is the secret for Freightliner. “Building a reputation for reliable service that meets specific customer needs and delivers great supply chain efficiencies has been key to our success,” Michael states. “As road networks become more congested and companies push ESG initiatives to embrace social responsibility, we’ve seen increased demand for our rail services in the UK over the last four-to-five years, including from recognizable brands. While we are still expanding our maritime routes, we are also operating contracts to move products from the Midlands area to Scotland on an overnight basis, seven days a week, for example. Tying in with our 60th anniversary, it feels as though the drive to lower carbon footprints and reach net zero goals has taken us back to our roots. 

“The trains we use are getting longer and with lighter wagons, meaning we can transport more than double the number of products per train compared with around 30 years ago. With rail emitting up to 76 percent less CO2 than road freight, choosing rail aligns with sustainability agendas and helps companies reduce emissions. We are also the only freight operator in the UK using electric freight locos and we are always looking to increase our usage of them. If just 60 extra miles of rail track electrification took place, an additional two million miles of electric freight train movements would be possible – providing a clear route to net zero for rail freight.” 

Continuing his reflections on the company’s 60th anniversary, Michael shares his thoughts on what factors have enabled such success and longevity. “Constant innovation,” he simply states. “We’ve never rested on our laurels, but instead embraced continuous innovation to drive growth, whether it be product diversification or investing in new technologies. We were one of the first companies in the UK to invest in Class 66 locomotives, for instance, and around 2015, we later led the introduction of Class 70 locomotives. 

“This constant innovation has kept us at the forefront of the competition, and more recently we are seeing an increased push for digital systems. We’ve transitioned our drivers to using iPads, for instance, and we now electronically monitor the condition of our fleet. We’ve also invested in new booking systems with our terminals, including the imminent launch of My Hub, a virtual booking system to make our rail freight services more accessible throughout the UK. By using an electronic booking system, road hauliers sending their vehicles into our terminals are reporting reduced wait times from as much as two hours to as little as 13 minutes – improving productivity, efficiency and reducing cost and emissions.” 

As our conversation focuses primarily on Freightliner’s 60th anniversary, we’re keen to hear about the celebrations in place to mark such an impressive milestone. “We’ve painted several locomotives with celebratory liveries that pay homage to our history,” Michael says. “We also had a competition where staff submitted ideas of a name for a celebratory locomotive and we held a gathering at our depot in Crewe to announce the winner – one of our drivers, who named the locomotive ‘The Spirit of 65’ to reflect the year we were established.” 

Speaking with Michael gives us a clear indication of Freightliner’s priorities – service, innovation, and sustainability. With expertise spanning six decades, the company is a leading force in the UK’s rail freight network and continues to advocate for further improvement, whether in terms of sustainability or accessibility. 

Commenting on these issues, Michael explains: “Rail freight operators rely on what I’d call regulatory support, especially when we consider that our competition, road haulage, is less regulated. Of course, road hauliers must have licenses, but their access to the road network is generally more flexible whereas rail is a regulated, pay-as-you-go charged service, as we pay track access charges at a variable rate per ton and per mile. We have been subject to real terms and inflationary annual increases in access charges, while road hauliers have benefited from a 14 year+ freeze in fuel duty. The UK Government have supported us in recent years and, recognizing the environmental and economic benefits of moving freight by rail, have an ambitious rail freight growth target – at least 75 percent growth in volumes moved by rail by 2050. We’ve done some great work with Network Rail and the Department for Transport around discounted access to drive this. We have recently established a service between Tilbury Docks in Essex and Manchester, for instance, where we’re being provided with free track access for six months to get the service up and running. 

“Aside from track access, rail freight operators require more support when it comes to electricity. While routes are slowly being electrified, it’s no secret that energy prices have risen dramatically in recent years, and without government support, we run the risk of diesel locomotives being cheaper to run than electric ones, which is damaging for the country’s environmental goals. A solution that not only helps operators but also advances sustainability agendas would be to incentivize operators with cheaper electric charges or other discounts.” 

As Freightliner celebrates its 60th anniversary, it can be proud of its enduring innovation and ongoing commitment to sustainable operations. From its roots in British Rail to becoming the UK’s leading intermodal and heavy haul operator, Freightliner has constantly innovated to meet evolving demands and will inevitably continue to do so beyond its 60th celebrations. 

“We’re building our domestic rail proposition, and as the UK’s roads continue to get busier, rail freight will increasingly be an efficient solution that not only avoids congestion but delivers products efficiently and sustainably,” Michael concludes. “We’ll continue to push our sustainability goals while leveraging new digital technologies to ensure our services exceed customer expectations for another 60 years.”  

www.freightliner.co.uk