The largest container port in the UK has seen the introduction of the 32nd daily rail freight service.
Freightliner will operate the new service which is initially running from the Port of Felixstowe to Rotherham, with the ultimate aim of running all the way through to Doncaster after work at the site has been completed.
Managing Director of HPH Europe division and Chief Executive Officer at the Port of Felixstowe, Clemence Cheng, revealed his delight at the new service.
He said that by offering this additional 32nd service this shows their major investment in rail infrastructure at the Port of Felixstowe over the last few years, supporting the strong growth rates in sustainable transport services.
He said that they handled 936,000 TEU by rail in 2015 which resulted in a saving of more than 100 million road miles by heavy goods vehicles.
He added that on top of that they have carried on breaking rail thoroughput records and that the creation of the new rail service will help them in achieving further environmental savings.
Freightliner’s Managing Director, Adam Cunliffe, said that the new service will help in creating more capacity for rail freight, which is much needed in order to comply with customers’ demands who want a more efficient, safer, greener and faster method of freight transportation on land.
He added that the service also represents the next landmark in the strategy of the Port of Felixstowe to increase rail freight, not just by running more services, but by making existing trains longer.
Last month the port broke its record for the amount of containers handled in one day by rail freight when 2,607 containers were handled at the port’s three rail terminals, smashing the 2,505 previous record which was set in October 2015.
The new service will leave the central rail terminal at the port at 01:48, with the inbound service arriving at 20:38 from Rotherham.
