Rail freight operators and customers have a lot at stake in the development of HS2. The construction of Phase One will be a significant opportunity to use rail freight for outbound tunnelling spoil and inbound materials along the length of the route. Freight operators and materials suppliers are already in advanced discussions to facilitate this, and once the contracts are let, hopefully later this year, we expect to see significant investment in the necessary staff and resources to facilitate the work. It is also expected that rail freight will benefit from the released capacity that HS2 will create south of Birmingham, and latterly Crewe. Although there are numerous aspirations for new services using this space, there remains a good case for additional freight paths in the off-peak, providing much-needed additional capacity for growth.
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