The 31st daily rail service has commenced today (2 September 2015) from the Port of Felixstowe, the Port of Britain.
The new service is operated by GB Railfreight, their 7th daily service from the port. It runs between Felixstowe and Birch Coppice, Birmingham.
Commenting on the new service, Clemence Cheng, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Felixstowe and Managing Director of HPH Europe division, said:
"As well as being the busiest container port in the UK, Felixstowe also operates the country's biggest intermodal rail facility. In 2014 we handled close to 900,000 TEU by rail. This record volume was achieved by the investment we made in our newest terminal, the North Rail Terminal, and the dedicated employees in our rail team working closely with our customers and Network Rail to improve on our efficiency and the handling of longer trains. The 30+ wagon trains that run from there are the longest intermodal trains in the UK.
"Capacity at the North Rail Terminal is being further enhanced by two new Rail-Mounted Gantry Cranes. Together with the new service launched today, this investment further enhances the unique range and frequency of services available at Felixstowe giving port users greater choice and more opportunities to strip carbon from their supply chains."
The new rail cranes at Felixstowe have been co-financed by the European Union Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) programme. They bring to nine the number of gantry cranes serving the port's three rail terminals.
John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, added:
"This is a really exciting day for us. We have worked extremely hard to identify opportunities to increase our capacity to and from the port. As a result, we now run the longest intermodal freight trains on the network with wagons that can accommodate 40-foot containers.
"The winning of our 7th slot is an important milestone as it enables us to further expand our capacity, helping us to continue to meet th
e demand from our customers and support the growth of the intermodal rail freight market and its potential to take freight off the roads."
Regular rail services are also run from Felixstowe to Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Teesport, Birmingham, Doncaster, Tilbury, Selby, Hams Hall, Daventry, Wakefield, Ditton (Widnes), Burton, Scunthorpe and Bristol.