Trade links between the UK and mainland Europe are set to be bolstered with an extension to the Rail Freight Corridor (RFC) North Sea - Mediterranean. 

Network Rail is joining the RFC North Sea - Med management board as the busy freight corridor will be linked to London with a target completion date of November 2016.

The rail freight industry contributes an estimated £1.6 billion to the UK economy and this is forecast to rise to £23 billion by 2023. 

This growth will be facilitated by the planned extension to the RFC North Sea - Med, as operators will be better able to understand and secure available capacity for freight service growth to and from the UK. 

France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland are among the countries the UK will be linked to with the rail freight extension - all via the Channel Tunnel. 

Network Rail freight director Paul McMahon said: "I now look forward to working with our partners in the corridor and freight operators to support the growth of rail freight between continental Europe and Great Britain."