Corridor 12 — the Halgate harvest flow
The only seasonal service on the network. Halgate moves more than three times as much freight in October as it does in March, and the timetable admits it.
| # | Leg | Mode | Distance | Circuity | Running |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Receipt, plan and lift at Halgate | 3h 00m | |||
| 1 | Halgate → Merrow Junction | Rail | 163 km | 1.24 | 2h 38m |
| — | Interchange at Merrow Junction | 1h 30m | |||
| 2 | Merrow Junction → Ashport Deepwater | Rail | 216 km | 1.22 | 3h 29m |
| — | Discharge and release at Ashport Deepwater | 2h 00m | |||
Of that total, 1h 30m is spent standing still under a crane rather than moving — 12% of the door-to-door clock. Cutting a lane's transit almost never means running faster; it means taking a lift out of it.
Corridor 12 runs agricultural export from the eastern arable belt to the deep-sea berths at Ashport, and it is the one service where we publish two timetables instead of pretending there is one.
Between August and November it is daily. Out of season it is three times a week. Halgate’s busiest month moves more than three times what its quietest does, and a flat schedule would mean either a half-empty train for eight months or a queue at the gate for four.
Twenties, not forties
Grain is dense. A 40ft container carrying it hits the 26,730 kg payload limit at around 40% of its cubic capacity — the box is two-fifths full and legally finished. A 20ft unit carries 28,250 kg in half the volume, so the same tonnage travels in fewer, fuller boxes. This is what the load planner on the equipment page means by weighing out, and it is the single most expensive thing a first-time exporter gets wrong.
On-time performance
92.4% is the lowest figure on the network and we publish it rather than quietly leaving this lane out of the average. Harvest volume is weather-bound, arrives in surges, and the Halgate gate closes at 22:00. We would rather show the number and explain it.
Equipment on this service
20ft GP for grain and pulses. Ventilated units on request.