Do freight trains have to give way to passenger trains?
Some do, some don’t. Here in the UK, freight often runs at up to 75mph. This can be slower than passenger services but the freight isn’t stopping as often as, say, a commuter service, so the freight wouldn’t necessarily be holding up the passenger service. While the majority of freight runs at night, you can actually run the two types of traffic together during the day. All trains run to a schedule, even empty passenger trains on their way back to the depot. There will be a certain number of “paths” available at different locations in which you can run a train. Freight will often get “looped” (held in a siding or passing loop) to allow passenger services to pass, but this is normally in their schedule. Then again, some slow passenger trains will also be “looped” in a station platform to allow a faster passenger train to pass. On the routes I drive, this is scheduled to happen at Broxbourne with trains running to and from Stratford in East London to allow a faster Stansted Express train
