PD Ports has confirmed that the new Trans Pennine rail freight connection between Teesport and Manchester’s Trafford Park has successfully completed its first run.
The new service may see up to 40 heavy vehicle movements eliminated off the congested Trans Pennine road network for each one-way run, to assist customers from both the North East and the North West in lowering carbon emissions and minimising delays.
The five-day-a-week return service is being performed as a pilot, part of a cooperation between Direct Rail Services (DRS) and PD Ports, which operates a specialised rail freight terminal from the heart of Tees Dock.
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For the first time, the service will transport new high-cube containers directly from Teesport and the wider North East to the Manchester Trafford Park rail freight terminal, increasing capacity and improving supply chain efficiency.
Additionally, the service is now using ultra-low IDA wagons, allowing clients to transport high-cube containers (9’6″ in height, compared to the standard 8’6″) on non-gauge upgraded and height-restricted routes across the Pennines.
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Jo Edmenson, PD Ports’ Key Account Manager for rail freight services, said: “There is much anticipation about the Trans Pennine upgrade, which will hopefully remove many of those blockages, but with a completion date of 2030, we felt that was too long to wait when we considered the importance of rail freight as a means of decarbonising the supply chain and removing road movements from congested major routes.
“We’re excited to partner with DRS to offer this new service, direct from the UK’s sixth largest port to the heart of the North West. The route opens up a major new connection between the two regions and offers alternative means of shipping goods into the east coast of the UK and onwards, with the same true for exports.”
