The United Kingdom's first container trains ran between London and Glasgow un the mid 1960s. Freightliner Ltd, although a member of the British Railways board, is a seperate entity, British Rail having traditionally been contracted for haulage.
Originally intended to rationalise wagonload freight in the domestic marketplace, changes in road transport legislation, and also in maritime trade, have resulted in the use of the Freightliner concept primarily for water-going traffic.
The Freightliner vehicles are 60ft long and are semi-permanently coupled into rakes of 5 cars, though these fornations are not always strictly adhered to. The small wheel diameter of 2'8