Trainload Freight (TLF) was created in 1988 as the sector of British Rail responsible for operating unit trains.

The division was subdivided into four sub-sectors according to cargo carried: Coal, Construction, Metals, and Petroleum.

[8] British Rail was able to charge a 45% margin on basic costs in 1989 for coal transport prior to the privatisation of the electricity industry, after which less profitable contracts were negotiated.

Approximately 10 million tonnes of unprofitable freight had been identified, of which 70% was retained under new working conditions and pricing arrangements; the remaining 3 million tonnes was lost, much of it being freight transport for the cement industry.

[3] After the Railways Act 1993, the trainload business was split into regionally based shadow franchises: Load-Haul, Mainline Freight and Trans-Rail.