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: In the 1980s, British Rail was reorganised into "sectors" including four goods sectors: Trainload Freight took trainload goods
Railfreight Distribution took non-trainload goods
Freightliner took intermodal traffic
Rail Express Systems took parcel traffic
The 1980s, however, also brought a huge down-turn in freight traffic, with the sector increasingly seen as irrelevant and without a future. In 1986, quarrying company Foster Yeoman prompted a turnaround in the reliability of rail freight by obtaining permission to run its own locomotives, and importing the first four EMD class 59s. This design was developed into the class 66 which became widely used by EWS and other operators over a decade later. Privatisation era
British Rail was privatised in the 1990s. Six freight operating companies ( FOCs) were set up: Trainload goods was split into three geographical units (all were purchased by Wisconsin Central and merged to form English, Welsh & Scottish (EWS) in 1996 ):
Mainline Freight in the south-east
Loadhaul in the north-east
Transrail in the west
Railfreight Distribution was also sold to EWS in 1997
Rail Express Systems was also sold to EWS in 1996
Freightliner was privatised with the brand name retained
The opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 allowed direct goods trains to run between the UK and the continent for the first time. Freight services are also offered by the Getlink truck shuttles. Subsequently, EWS's nuclear flask train operations were sold to the new company Direct Rail Services set up by British Nuclear Fuels . GB Railfreight was a new freight company established in 1998 by GB Railways.