GB Railfreight has run the first intermodal train between Birmingham and the Port of Liverpool and port bosses say rail offers “huge potential” for moving freight.

Locomotive 66729 was used to haul eight IFA ‘Q80’ flat wagons from Maritime Transport’s Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal (BIFT) at Birch Coppice to the Seaforth Container Terminal, and back again, just before Christmas.

It was hailed as an “important moment” for Port of Liverpool owner, Peel Ports, GB Railfreight and Maritime Transport, as it demonstrates the potential of running regular container services between Birmingham and Liverpool, providing an alternative to moving containers by road.

The opening of the £300m Liverpool2 container terminal, capable of handling 95% of the world’s biggest ships, is expected to lead to a surge in the volume of freight coming into the Mersey.

There has been concern about the capacity of the existing road network and so moving as much freight as possible by rail eases that burden.

Gary Hodgson, chief operating officer at Peel Ports, said: “The ongoing investments and growth at the port both in quayside and landside infrastructure and in turn onward connectivity further cements Peel Ports’ commitment to our partners and customers in delivering a new multi-modal solution to the UK.”

Earlier this year, Mr Hodgson said Liverpool2 could “revolutionise” the logistics sector in the UK.

A significant chunk of the freight that currently comes in through the southern English ports as destined to be transported to the north of the UK, could instead come in through Liverpool.

John Smith, managing director of GB Railfreight, added: “The running of our special Christmas train demonstrates that there are huge intermodal rail freight opportunities that could arise from the Liverpool2 logistics project, and we will be working with our partners to build awareness amongst existing and new customers.

“The container market is an important source of growth for the industry, and it’s vital that we provide the terminal and network infrastructure that allows us to meet present and future consumer demand.”

And John Williams, group managing director of Maritime Transport, also said: “We look forward to handling a regular service between the Port of Liverpool and BIFT.”

source: Liverpool Echo