GB Railfreight (GBRf) has marked it growth in the intermodal market with the launch of a new service from the Port of Felixstowe to iPort Rail in Doncaster. As GBRf’s 16th intermodal service to date, the service will run five days a week.
“I am thrilled to see the beginning of this new service. It is fantastic to be working once again with valued friends and partners. Our growth in intermodal speaks to GBRf’s commitment to innovation, offering flexible and innovative door-to-door solutions that meet our customer’s needs, as well as a consistently reliable service. This is why customers work with us again and again, GBRf are the industry’s trusted intermodal carrier,” said John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight.
GBRf’s expansion in the sector over the past 18 months has been rapid and its trains now carry one third of all containerised rail traffic to and from the Port of Felixstowe. Back in September 2018 when the iPort Rail facility was first opened, GBRf was the first commercial service to arrive there and now all freight services used are provided by GBRf.
According to GB Railfreight, the new service will enable increased diversity in GBRf’s Yorkshire operations, providing customers with more logistical options in the wider Yorkshire area and further afield than ever before.
“This new Felixstowe service highlights the growth iPort Rail is experiencing since welcoming its first commercial service late last year, and the increasing significance of our facility to national and international supply chains,” commented Steve Freeman, Managing Director of iPort Rail.
“Being part of Verdion’s iPort multimodal logistics hub means that 87 per cent of the UK population is within a four-hour drive of our terminal, with easy access to the national motorway network and sea transport links as well as rail freight routes increase. The terminal already handles several hundred tonnes of goods daily, and we are excited that our expansion story is set to benefit businesses across the country even further,” he added.
Commenting on the new destination, Clemence Cheng, Chief Executive Officer at the Port of Felixstowe and Executive Director of Hutchison Ports, said: “More and more companies are looking for sustainable transport options and ways to avoid an increasingly crowded road network. The Port of Felixstowe is uniquely placed to meet those demands and already offers a wide range of intermodal rail freight services to key UK destinations.
“With nearly 1.5 million TEU moving between Felixstowe and locations in the Northern Powerhouse region each year, Felixstowe is already the North’s major gateway for global trade. This new connection provides businesses in this vital region with greater choice of ways to get their goods to market.”
