Speedlink
| State owner subsidiary | |
| Industry | Rail freight |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Defunct | 1991 |
| Services | wagonload freight |
| Parent |
(after 1984) Railfreight Distribution (RfD) British Rail |
Speedlink was a wagonload freight service operated by British Rail from 1977 to 1991 using air-braked wagons
In the late 1960s British Rail (BR) was loss making and government supported; government and British Rail management sought solutions and remedies to the problem of the declining wagonload business; in 1968 a 'Freight Plan' committed the company to continuing wagonload traffic; the possibility of reducing the scope of the freight network was investigated, and computer modelling and computer route planning introduced to seek increased efficiency. Additionally BR began operating a relatively high speed freight service (Bristol to Glasgow) using air braked wagons in 1972; a forerunner of the Speedlink service. Further air braked freight services were introduced in the early 1970s, and an investment in 650 wagons sought.
During the 1970s BR substantially reduced its rolling stock and infrastructure for wagonload traffic, total wagon numbers were reduced to 137,000 in 1979 from over 400,000 in 1968; from 1973 to 79 a third of the system's marshalling yards were closed, and freight depots were reduced by nearly one fifth; in the same period total air braked wagons nearly doubled in number.
By 1977, the 1972 air-braked train service pilot had increased to 29 trains per day. The Speedlink service was formally launched in September 1977.
The Speedlink system was more restrictive than a traditional wagonload service utilising marshalling yards, but used fixed timetables between a more limited number of destinations - the resulting service was faster, with higher reliability on delivery times. In 1984 Speedlink was running 150 trunk services per day, with a peak 8 million tonnes carried per year, with two dozen main and secondary distribution sites with around 800 potential sidings as destinations - it was claimed (1983) that the service was profitable.
In 1988 the Speedlink service became part of a new BR operating sector Railfreight Distribution (RfD) together with Freightliners Ltd., BR's intermodal container carrying rail freight subsidiary. The merger was hoped to bring in further business through business synergies between the two subsidiaries, minor differences in the braking systems used by the two companies prevented train operating economies being realised.
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