The UK's largest container port, the Port of Felixstowe, has boosted its transport links further with new daily rail service to Maritime Transport's newly opened East Midlands Gateway.
Situated close to East Midlands Airport, East Midlands Gateway is situated at Castle Donington in Leicestershire and is Maritime Transport’s first strategic rail freight interchange. Located alongside the M1 motorway the 17-acre site is well placed to serve as a regional distribution hub. When fully operational it will be capable of handling up to sixteen 775 metre-long freight trains per day.
The new rail link between the port and East Midlands Gateway comes as the Port of Felixstowe is experiencing higher demand for rail, the port operator said. It also follows two new rail services to iPort Rossington and Hams Hill which were introduced from the port in late 2019.
The list of destinations served by rail from the Port of Felixstowe now include:
- Glasgow,
- Manchester,
- Liverpool,
- Leeds,
- Teesport,
- Birmingham,
- Birch Coppice,
- Doncaster,
- Selby,
- Hams Hall,
- Wakefield,
- Ditton (Widnes),
- Rotherham,
- iPort Rossington,
- Cardiff.
“The Port of Felixstowe has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Maritime Transport; initially as a road transport operator and more recently as a fully-fledged multi-modal logistics provider," said Clemence Cheng, Chief Executive Officer at the Port of Felixstowe and Executive Director of Hutchison Ports.
"As one of the largest privately owned transport businesses in the UK it is fitting that they have introduced the first regular service to East Midlands Gateway from the country’s largest container port and intermodal rail hub. Rail is an increasingly important element of the transport mix and through three dedicated rail terminals at the port we offer more rail services to more inland destinations with greater frequency than any other UK port.”
John Williams, Executive Chairman at Maritime Transport added: “We believe this Felixstowe to East Midlands Gateway service will be a huge benefit to our customers. The movement of freight from the Port of Felixstowe continues to increase as does the demand for a greener solution for our customers. This service is the latest to be introduced as part of our intermodal offering and we look forward to announcing further rail services into this new terminal over the coming months.”
In addition to East Midlands Gateway, Maritime Transport operates rail terminals in Tamworth, Tilbury, Wakefield and Trafford Park and has over 30 transport depots throughout the UK to support its customers’ growing demands.
