The 2020/21 financial year recorded the lowest annual number of freight train journeys performed on national railways in Great Britain, at around 189,400 freight train movements. This 9.6 percent drop compared to the 2019/20 financial year is in part due to the introduction of carbon taxes and a government initiative to phase out fossil fuel, which lead to a dip in coal movements. In the period of consideration, freight train movements presented a trend of decline despite some oscillation. Overall, freight train movements more than halved along these thirteen years.
Annual number of freight train movements on the rail network in Great Britain from 2005/06 to 2020/21
(in 1,000s)
Characteristic
Thousand movements
2020/21
189.4
2019/20
209.5
2018/19
220.7
2017/18
215.8
2016/17
223.8
2015/16
236.3
2014/15
282.3
2013/14
288.4
2012/13
275.8
2011/12
273.9
2010/11
265.6
2009/10
278.5
2008/09
316.7
0100200300400500600
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GOV.UK. (December 16, 2021). Annual number of freight train movements on the rail network in Great Britain from 2005/06 to 2020/21 (in 1,000s) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved April 04, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/463603/number-of-freight-train-movements-in-great-britain/
GOV.UK. "Annual number of freight train movements on the rail network in Great Britain from 2005/06 to 2020/21 (in 1,000s)." Chart. December 16, 2021. Statista. Accessed April 04, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/463603/number-of-freight-train-movements-in-great-britain/
GOV.UK. (2021). Annual number of freight train movements on the rail network in Great Britain from 2005/06 to 2020/21 (in 1,000s). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: April 04, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/463603/number-of-freight-train-movements-in-great-britain/
GOV.UK. "Annual Number of Freight Train Movements on The Rail Network in Great Britain from 2005/06 to 2020/21 (in 1,000s)." Statista, Statista Inc., 16 Dec 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/463603/number-of-freight-train-movements-in-great-britain/
GOV.UK, Annual number of freight train movements on the rail network in Great Britain from 2005/06 to 2020/21 (in 1,000s) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/463603/number-of-freight-train-movements-in-great-britain/ (last visited April 04, 2025)
Annual number of freight train movements on the rail network in Great Britain from 2005/06 to 2020/21 (in 1,000s) [Graph], GOV.UK, December 16, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/463603/number-of-freight-train-movements-in-great-britain/
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