This paper presents an account of the historic trends of coal transportation by rail in Great Britain over the last 50 years. The Re-shaping Britain’s Railways report by the British Railways Board in 1963 highlighted the need to improve the efficiency of rail freight transportation to compete with road haulage. More recently, coal is imported to the UK to coastal ports from Europe and the rest of the World. The movement of trains on the network has changed since the report in 1963. Research has shown that it is not the amount that has increased, only the distance (Vanek and Smith, 2004). udHistoric data and research has been collated using national sources and statistics, and a Transhipment Model has been used to determine the optimisation of the coal locations. The data and the model have supported the statement that coal now accounts for more freight train journeys than ever before although the demise of the coal mines in the North East and the increase of power stations and ports in Yorkshire has altered the pattern of movements. The UK still requires coal for its power stations but has sourced it increasingly from abroad.
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