Rail freight UK

GB Railfreight are delighted to announce the start of a new intermodal service in partnership with Maritime Transport Ltd, running from the Port of Felixstowe to Maritime Transport’s location at Wakefield Europort. This new service marks GBRf’s continued expansion into the intermodal market and underlines the vital role rail freight plays in delivering goods around the country. The new Felixstowe to Wakefield service represents GBRf’s seventh intermodal into a Maritime facility and will operate on a weekly basis, running Monday to Friday from the UK’s busiest container port. The rake will initially comprise of a mix of wagon types, including two Eco Triples, two Q8s and eleven IKA Twins. The combination of a variety of wagons is significant, as it allows for enhanced flexibility, maximising the number of boxes that can be carried to better satisfy consumer demand and make more effective use of overall capacity. This announcement also re-emphasises GBRf’s strong position as it leads the way to grow the rail freight sector at a time of unprecedented economic challenge. GB Railfreight now operates 21 intermodal services in total and the continued expansion of intermodal services in the UK reaffirms the industry’s commitment to put the UK back on track after COVID-19, while also demonstrating a sustained commitment to the decarbonisation of our economy. John Smith, Managing Director at GB Railfreight, said:

“I am thrilled to see the beginning of this new service. We are extremely proud to be able to continue our work with Maritime to deliver first-class service, which demonstrates sustained growth for our companies and shows an inherent trust in our long-standing partnership. “Our growth in intermodal shows GBRf’s dedication to innovation, offering flexible door-to-door solutions that meet our customer’s needs, as well as a consistently reliable service.”

John Bailey, Managing Director – Intermodal and Terminals at Maritime Transport said:

“Following what has been a year of new challenges for those throughout the industry, it has been incredibly important for us as business to continue to build not just sustainable but robust solutions to ensure the stability of the supply chain. This new service is testament to this and we are very pleased to be working with GB Railfreight to deliver essential intermodal services to our customers.”

Commenting on the latest addition to the port’s roster of rail services, Chris Lewis, Chief Executive Officer at the Port of Felixstowe, said:

“Expanding the number of rail services available to importers and exporters from the port is one of our key objectives. The Port of Felixstowe is the Northern Powerhouse’s major container gateway and approximately 50% of traffic between Felixstowe and the North moves by rail. Increasing the number of services is good for the port, good for our customers and good for the environment. “With three dedicated rail terminals at the port we offer more rail services to more inland destinations with greater frequency than any other UK port.”