DP World’s deep-water ports at Southampton and London Gateway have become the first two in the UK to handle Freightliner’s new 775m intermodal container trains.
The longest in use on the national rail network, the trains are 250m longer than a typical freight train.
The trains will carry an additional 12 to 14 containers on each service, and will depart freight terminals Monday to Friday to Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds.
Ernst Schulze, Chief Executive of DP World in the UK, said, “I am delighted that our customers at both Southampton and London Gateway will be the first in the country to benefit from the increased productivity and efficiency of these new 775m trains.
“Both ports already have a high degree of rail interconnectivity, with Southampton having the highest proportion of containers moved by train in the UK at more than 30% and London Gateway aiming to achieve similar levels.”
The trains – which are the length of more than seven football pitches – generate significant cost and environmental benefits for customers transporting goods to and from the ports.
The three daily roundtrip 775m intermodal trains that Freightliner is currently running from the Port of Southampton are collectively saving over 4 million road miles and 9,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions (CO2e) per year.
Eddie Aston, Chief Executive Officer for Freightliner and parent company Genesee & Wyoming’s UK/Europe Region, added, “We very much welcome the capability to run 775m services from DP World’s deep-water ports at Southampton and London Gateway.”
Earlier this year the UK Government awarded freeport status to DP World Southampton as part of Solent Freeport and DP World London Gateway.
