Rail freight UK

As the country emerges from one of its greatest challenges, GB Railfreight are thrilled to announce some positive news. A new Intermodal service from the rail terminal operated by Solent Stevedores at the Port of Southampton, to East Midlands Gateway, Derby has commenced. This will be its fourth daily service from one of the UK’s leading deep-sea container ports and will offer the market an additional rail destination. This new service marks GBRf’s continued expansion in the intermodal market and underlines the vital role rail freight plays in delivering goods around the country. The new Southampton to East Midlands service will run 5 days a week and represents GBRf’s 20^th intermodal service to date. SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway (SLPEMG) is a 700-acre development with planning consent for up to 6,000,000 square ft of logistics accommodation. The 50-acre intermodal terminal, managed by Maritime Transport, operates 24/7 and is able to accommodate up to sixteen 775m freight trains per day. It also provides storage capacity for over 5,000 TEU - which is equal to approximately 45,000 pallets of cargo. GBRf are able to offer both loaded and empty storage and final-mile delivery, in order to provide a seamless ‘door to door’ opportunity with a combination of rail and road resources. This new service offers the market an additional rail destination and cost-effective transport solution. Today’s news follows GBRf’s recent announcement that the company is set to start operations at its new intermodal sidings at Peterborough. The investment provides GBRf with much needed track capacity – which will be doubled – in order to facilitate the business’ growing intermodal sector. GBRf are committed to increasing the amount of goods and materials transported via rail freight, reducing emissions and delivering a more sustainable logistics solution. An average freight train removes a minimum of 70 HGV journeys from the roads while reducing carbon emissions by about 75% compared to transport by road. When combined with rail’s advantageous performance in terms of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter emissions, rail freight demonstrates a clear contribution to the challenge of meeting the UK’s net zero carbon targets. John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“I am thrilled to see the beginning of this new service. Our growth in intermodal shows GBRf’s dedication to innovation, offering flexible door-to-door solutions that meet our customers’ needs, as well as a consistently reliable service. We are very proud of the hard work that has been put in to be the industry’s trusted intermodal carrier.  “Today’s announcement also reconfirms GBRf as the rail freight company leading the way to grow the sector at a time of unprecedented economic challenge. In light of the COVID-19 crisis we are redoubling our efforts to put the UK back on track, while also doing our bit to decarbonise our economy.”

 Stuart Cullen Executive Chairman of Solent Stevedores said:

“Our rail terminal at the Port of Southampton was significantly upgraded last year increasing our capacity and efficiency and we are delighted to welcome an additional service from GBRf. Now with eight daily intermodal services from the Port of Southampton, this news further strengthens our position as a UK leading rail terminal operator.

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

“We are thrilled to be kicking off the next chapter of our intermodal journey; extending our offering at EMG to provide UK businesses with even more ways of moving their goods from A to B at a time when the country begins its return to a new normal. We are incredibly proud of what our drivers and staff have achieved in such a short space of time; meeting our customers’ needs and unique requirements is at the very heart of what we do, and we look forward to providing additional services in the near future.”