UK: The Scottish government has awarded West Fraser Ltd a Freight Facilities Grant of up to £3m towards the construction of a £11·2m rail freight terminal at its wood panel board factory at Dalcross near Inverness.
Construction is underway for opening in mid-2026. The terminal is expected to result in the removal of more than 27 million lorry-km from the roads over 10 years.
Increasing rail freight
The Freight Facilities Grant programme reopened for applications in April, following a commitment by the Scottish government.
‘Rail freight services are vital to sustainable economic growth across Scotland’, Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said on October 1. ‘This project can make a clear, measurable and early contribution to the reduction of emissions from HGVs, as well as contributing to our targets to increase the volume of freight being moved by rail.’
The project ‘could equate to removing the equivalent of up to 100 HGVs permanently from our roads per week, with the potential for even more should other companies use the facility’.
