I wish to inform the House of an additional target that the government is setting for the growth of rail freight, as part of continued support for the freight sector to realise its economic and environmental benefits.

We have previously affirmed our support for the existing target of:

at least a 75% increase in freight moved by rail in net tonne kilometres by 2050

To help realise this ambition, I am now setting an additional target as a milestone towards achieving the desired growth, namely of:

at least a 40% increase in freight moved by rail in net tonne kilometres by 2040

This new target reflects not only our ambition for the sector, but our commitment to improving supply chain resilience, economic growth and decarbonising our logistics sector.

It is estimated that delivering the 2040 growth target will increase the value of goods moved by rail freight from £33.7 billion to £49.5 billion.

It is also estimated that meeting the target would save a million tonnes of CO2 per year compared to if the freight went by road.

What is stopping more freight moving from road to rail?

The government has set a new target to increase the amount of freight going on trains by 40% by 2040.

The plans have been welcomed by councils and business leaders in the East of England, who say it will be good for the economy and the environment and tackle congestion on busy roads such as the A14 and A12.

They would have a big impact in Suffolk, which has the country's largest container port in Felixstowe and one of the largest rail freight terminals in the UK.

But ministers have been warned that the growth in rail freight will not happen unless there is significant investment in rail infrastructure.

We all know that Europe and Asia are the home of modern passenger rail, while North America lags far behind. Canada’s mainline railways move about 36 passenger-kilometres per capita each year, while the European Union’s move 984. What many people might not know is that North America dominates in freight rail, while Europe largely lags far behind. The EU moves 833 annual rail freight tonne-kilometres per capita each year, while Canada moves 10,660. Canada alone moves more tonne-kilometres of freight by rail than the entire European Union combined. And that’s not just heavy natural resources in the West. It’s also vast amounts of intermodal and industrial goods. North American freight railways get thousands of trucks off the roads and that is something we should be genuinely proud of ...