Title: Rail freight in Great Britain - Wikipedia
Headings: Rail freight in Great Britain
Rail freight in Great Britain
Contents
History
Pre-19th century
19th century
Early 20th century
Nationalisation era
Privatisation era
Current operations
Intermodal freight
Terminals
Sea ports
Inland terminals
Trainload freight
Coal
Oil and petroleum
Construction materials
Food and drink
Nuclear flask trains
Steel
Timber
Vehicles
Waste
References
External links

Content: Rail freight in Great Britain - Wikipedia
Rail freight in Great Britain
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History and types of freight moved by rail in Great Britain
Three Class 37 locomotives hauling a coal train on the Rhymney Line in 1997
Mass of freight carried by rail in the UK from 1983 to 2020 (annual rolling average). There was a large decrease in coal carried in 1984–5 due to the miners' strike. Rail freight moved in the UK from 1983 to 2019, in terms of mass-distance per year
The railway network in Great Britain has been used to transport goods of various types and in varying volumes since the early 19th century. Network Rail, which owns and maintains the network, aims to increase the amount of goods carried by rail. In 2015–16 Britain's railways moved 17.8 billion net tonne kilometres, a 20% fall compared to 2014–15. Coal accounted for 13.1% of goods transport in Britain, down considerably from previous years. There are no goods transported by railway in Northern Ireland. Contents
1 History
1.1 Pre-19th century
1.2 19th century
1.3 Early 20th century
1.4 Nationalisation era
1.5 Privatisation era
2 Current operations
3 Intermodal freight
3.1 Terminals
3.1.1 Sea ports
3.1.2 Inland terminals
4 Trainload freight
4.1 Coal
4.2 Oil and petroleum
4.3 Construction materials
4.4 Food and drink
4.5 Nuclear flask trains
4.6 Steel
4.7 Timber
4.8 Vehicles
4.9 Waste
5 References
6 External links
History
Pre-19th century
Even in the 16th century, mining engineers used crude wooden rails to facilitate the movement of mine wagons steered by hand. In Nottingham, 1603, a tramway was constructed to transport coal from mines near Strelley to Wollaton. Horse-drawn lines were increasingly common by the 18th and early 19th centuries, chiefly to haul bulk materials from mines to canal wharves or areas of consumption.