The government has given the go-ahead for a £60.4m scheme of rail improvements at the Port of Felixstowe - jointly funded by Network Rail and the port’s owner Hutchison Ports – to allow up to 47 freight trains to run per day in each direction between Ipswich and Felixstowe. Clemence Cheng, CEO of the port, said: “This scheme complements the investment we have made in rail capacity at the port and will allow us to offer an even greater range of sustainable distribution option to our customers. Over 100 million HGV miles per year are already saved by using rail freight from Felixstowe and we look forward to that figure increasing significantly in future.”
John Smith, managing director of GB Railfreight, added:“Great news, GB Railfreight see this as a huge milestone in the development of a fit for purpose UK intermodal rail freight network. The Felixstowe Branch Line is part of a key strategic freight route through to the Midlands and Northwest. This new capacity connecting the Port of Felixstowe will result in increased modal shift and radically reduce the impact of road vehicles on our environment and public health.”
...whilst business stays brisk at region’s ports
ABP’s three East Anglian ports in Ipswich, Lowestoft and King’s Lynn handled more than half, or 56 per cent of total UK barley exports in July. The Port of Ipswich remained the UK’s number one port for agricultural products, handling 40 per cent of UK barley exports, with 46,173 out of a total UK export tonnage of 113,000 tonnes. It was followed by King’s Lynn, which handled 10,002 tonnes and Lowestoft which processed 7,000 tonnes. The three ports combined handled more than 2 million tonnes of agribulks and 170,000 tonnes of timber in 2016 and play a key role in connecting businesses in the region to ports across the North Sea and beyond. Andrew Harston, ABP’s short sea ports director, said: “We are determined to build on this success and continue growing our capacity for additional cargo flows in the agribulk sector so that we can keep Britain trading.”
Photo: ABP’s Port of Ipswich has hosted the Department for International Trade’s export hub truck, which is part of the government’s Exporting is GREAT campaign to promote business growth in the UK.
