GB Railfreight and Maritime Transport have introduced a new daily rail service at the Port of Felixstowe, connecting to Birch Coppice in the Midlands.
This announcement marks the 38th daily rail service introduced at Hutchinson Ports Port of Felixstowe. It is also the 15th service operated by GB Railfreight and the 12th daily rail connection from the port to destinations in the midlands.
“Increasing the proportion of traffic moving by rail is an important part of our strategy to offer the widest possible range of sustainable transport options through the Port of Felixstowe,” said Robert Ashton, Operations Director at the Port of Felixstowe.
“We are investing in new plant and equipment as part of our own drive towards net-zero and are working with partners, including GB Railfreight and Maritime Transport to help others remove carbon from their supply chains.
“With three dedicated rail terminals at the port, we offer more rail services to more inland destinations with greater frequency than any other UK port.”
Julie Garn, General Manager for Intermodal at GB Railfreight, added “Working closely with Maritime Transport and the Port of Felixstowe, this new service will play an important part in alleviating some of the pressure facing the UK supply chain.
“Increasing the number of services from Felixstowe is an efficient and environmentally friendly way to meet growing consumer demand, with an average freight train removing up to 76 HGVs from the road.”
John Bailey, Managing Director for Intermodal and Terminals at Maritime Transport, also commented “We are thrilled to launch this new service with GB Railfreight. Our investment in new routes, new equipment, and our terminals enable us to provide the most advanced logistics solutions and reflects our drive to deliver increased resources at a time when the industry is facing huge challenges.
“We have achieved unrivalled succeed in the intermodal sector in a very short period of time, but we are only at the start of a journey that will continue to see us challenge the industry norms and accelerate the modal shift.”
Destinations currently served by rail from Felixstowe include Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Teesport, Birmingham, Birch Coppice, Doncaster, East Midlands Gateway, Hams Hall, Wakefield, and Cardiff to name just a few.
GB Railfreight also recently announced that it successfully operated a series of intermodal services from the Port of Tyne to strategic hubs in Yorkshire and the Midlands.
The campaign saw the rail company operate intermodal services from the port to Yorkshire twice a week in addition to services to the Midlands once a week.