Great British Railways has set a new course for rail freight growth, the UK Department for Transport announced in a report published on 8 September 2026.
The publication, titled Great British Railways sets course for rail freight growth, records a government decision to adopt a fresh rail freight target. The target is presented as a policy instrument intended to increase the amount of freight carried by rail.
The government frames the move as a means to help businesses shift more goods from road to rail, strengthen supply chains and support economic growth. Those aims are set out in the Department for Transport document released on 8 September 2026.
Policy aims
The report describes the target as central to Britain’s approach to freight movement in coming years. It positions the objective as a deliberate step to encourage modal shift and to align rail freight capacity with broader economic priorities.
Expected benefits
The Department for Transport says the target is intended to make it easier for businesses to move goods by rail, with stronger supply chain resilience and positive effects on economic performance cited as intended outcomes. The report presents these outcomes as the rationale for government intervention.
The publication makes the target an official government objective and places Great British Railways at the heart of planning for freight expansion. By setting the goal in a formal report, the Department for Transport has signalled that rail freight growth will be an explicit part of national transport policy.
The target will be used as a benchmark against which future progress can be considered. The report does not in itself set out implementation details in the summary notice, but it frames the target as the starting point for subsequent work by rail industry bodies and government agencies.
Industry stakeholders are likely to follow the publication closely because the target alters the policy backdrop for logistics planning and infrastructure investment. The report’s emphasis on business benefits and supply chain strength is intended to clarify the case for using rail as a core freight option.
Where the target may focus effort is left to subsequent documents and engagement between Great British Railways, the Department for Transport and the freight industry. The publication establishes intent; the report indicates that operational planning and delivery will proceed in the usual channels between the statutory body and commercial operators.
The Department for Transport’s release on 8 September 2026 formalises the government’s ambition for the rail freight sector and provides a reference point for future announcements. The document is the latest public statement of policy direction on freight in Britain and will shape debate about capacity, network use and the relationship between public goals and private sector delivery.
The Great British Railways report sets out the policy headline and the government’s stated aims. It marks a new, declared target intended to encourage greater use of the rail network by businesses, bolster supply chains and contribute to economic growth.