Regular Cross-Channel Rail Freight To Return Under £15m Deal To Revive Barking Eurohub

British businesses are set to regain direct rail freight links with Europe thanks to a government-backed deal that paves the way for goods such as fresh produce to be transported from the continent to the UK through the Channel Tunnel, offering a faster, more sustainable and reliable connection. 

Image: Department of Transport

The new, long-term deal will see Network Rail take control of the Barking Eurohub terminal in east London, with plans for a £15 million investment injection to transform it into an international logistics hub.

This investment would help support the return of regular intermodal freight trains carrying cargo in containers through the Channel Tunnel that can be easily transferred across rail, road and sea.

Describing it as a “landmark deal”, the Department for Transport (DfT) said in a press release that the agreement could see British businesses directly import and export goods via rail to France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, thereby deepening trade links with Europe.

This could open the possibility for Scottish whisky, British white goods and consumer goods to be exported on trains to European customers, and for London’s bustling food markets to receive fresh fruit and vegetables direct by rail from growers on the continent.

For example, trains into the UK could carry fresh fruit and vegetables from countries such as Spain and the Netherlands, creating an additional, lower-carbon corridor for perishable imports that avoids truck driver shortages, ferry disruption, and port congestion.

Rail Minister Lord Hendy said the deal marks a “huge opportunity” to reinvigorate rail freight. 

“It will boost British businesses by opening new trade links to Europe by delivering a faster and more sustainable way to transport goods to the continent and back,” he commented. 

Image: Google Earth view of Barking Eurohub

Rail Freight Is Expanding

The £15m investment supports the government’s goal to grow rail freight and reform the rail network.

At the same time, the DfT said the resumption of regular rail freight traffic through the Channel Tunnel would reduce pollution, potholes and congestion, particularly in the south east at the Dartford Crossing and M20/M2 corridors, while delivering new jobs across the UK. 

Currently, only a very small proportion of rail freight passes through the Channel Tunnel, and this is limited to bulk, single customer orders.

By establishing a major international logistics hub at Barking Eurohub, businesses would have access to a sustainable alternative to move goods in and out of the UK by shifting freight from trucks to trains. 

The government said the rail freight industry is already growing, with volumes increasing by 5% in 2024 to 2025, compared with the previous year. 

Plus, in July to September last year, intermodal traffic volumes increased by 4% compared with the same quarter in 2024.

“Rail freight is forecast to grow at least 3% per year until 2033, even as freight train movements have almost halved during the last 20 years,” explained Councillor Dominic Twomey, Leader of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. 

“There is huge, untapped potential and we want to be at the heart of that growth.”