A new daily rail service has been introduced at Hutchison Ports Port of Felixstowe. The new connection, the 36th daily rail service from the UK’s largest container port, runs to Maritime Transport’s newly opened East Midlands Gateway.
The new service caters for ever-growing demand for rail at Felixstowe and follows hot on the heels of two new rail services to iPort Rossington and Hams Hall introduced from the port in the latter part of 2019.
Commenting on the latest development, Clemence Cheng, Chief Executive Officer at the Port of Felixstowe and Executive Director of Hutchison Ports, said: “The Port of Felixstowe has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Maritime Transport; initially as a road transport operator and more recently as a fully-fledged multi-modal logistics provider. As one of the largest privately owned transport businesses in the UK it is fitting that they have introduced the first regular service to East Midlands Gateway from the country’s largest container port and intermodal rail hub.
“Rail is an increasingly important element of the transport mix and through three dedicated rail terminals at the port we offer more rail services to more inland destinations with greater frequency than any other UK port.”
“We believe this Felixstowe to East Midlands Gateway service will be a huge benefit to our customers,” said John Williams, Executive Chairman at Maritime Transport Ltd. “The movement of freight from the Port of Felixstowe continues to increase as does the demand for a greener solution for our customers. This service is the latest to be introduced as part of our intermodal offering and we look forward to announcing further rail services into this new terminal over the coming months.”
East Midlands Gateway, situated at Castle Donington in Leicestershire, is Maritime Transport’s first strategic rail freight interchange. Located alongside the M1 motorway the 17-acre site is ideally placed to serve as a regional distribution hub. When fully operational it will be capable of handling up to sixteen 775metre-long freight trains per day. In addition to this state-of-the-art terminal, Maritime also operates rail terminals in Tamworth, Tilbury, Wakefield and Trafford Park and have over 30 transport depots throughout the UK to support their customers’ growing demands.
Other destinations served by rail from the Port of Felixstowe are: Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Teesport, Birmingham, Birch Coppice, Doncaster, Selby, Hams Hall, Wakefield, Ditton (Widnes), Rotherham, iPort Rossington and Cardiff.