Hutchison Ports’ Port of Felixstowe, the UK’s busiest container port, has become the first port in the UK to handle over 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) by rail in a single year.
The achievement took place as a container was loaded onto the 13:34 Freightliner service to Birmingham on December 13, 2017.
Port of Felixstowe sees a total of 66 freight train movements, making it the UK's busiest intermodal rail freight terminal.
Read a paper by Stephen Abraham, Chief Operating Officer, the Port of Felixstowe, on innovative yard strategies for ports and terminals.
The milestone reflects the continuing recovery of the container shipping industry, as well as increasing demand for intermodal rail freight.
Adam Cunliffe, UK Managing Director, Freightliner Group congratulated Port of Felixstowe on its achievement and remarked that distribution demand for intermodal rail freight continues to grow as a reliable, efficient and sustainable method of distribution.
He said: ”The Port of Felixstowe plays a vital role in delivering a broad network of rail services to all major UK conurbations.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Felixstowe to further grow the movement of containers by rail."
Clemence Cheng, Executive Director, Hutchison Ports and CEO, Port of Felixstowe, said: "This new milestone for the port reflects the dedication of our workforce and the excellent relationships we have developed with all the rail freight operators at the port.
“We are continuing to invest heavily in rail infrastructure at Felixstowe and are currently working with Network Rail on capacity enhancements to the Felixstowe Branch Line.
“Rail is an increasingly important differentiator for shipping lines as well as importers and exporters and we are able to offer them a greater number of rail services to more destinations, more often, than any other port.”
Discussion about this post