UK: Maritime Transport’s newly-formed intermodal business division and DB Cargo UK have announced an agreement in principle which will see the road haulier award the rail company a contract to operate four dedicated services from Felixstowe and Southampton, with Maritime taking over responsibility for DB Cargo UK’s existing intermodal customers at the two ports as well as the management of its rail terminals at Trafford Park in Manchester and Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
Announcing the agreement on January 25, Maritime said it was committed to significant investment in equipment and groundworks to improve terminal turnaround times and increase container storage capacity. Both terminals are to remain open-access for intermodal and non-intermodal traffic, and Maritime will retain their existing services and seek additional business from all UK ports and freight operating companies.
Maritime already manages rail terminals at Tilbury and Tamworth.
DB Cargo UK said it was looking to ‘retain and grow’ its remaining intermodal business. ‘This is an exciting new agreement that brings together two of the largest and most successful freight companies in the UK to offer an industry-leading service to customers’, said CEO Hans-Georg Werner. ‘It will enable DB Cargo UK to focus on what it does best – the efficient and reliable running of rail freight services, while giving Maritime the platform to offer its customers further capacity to move its container traffic.
‘Intermodal is the fastest growing freight market, yet our terminals were under-utilised’, Werner explained. ‘Maritime is a very successful logistics business and has the volumes and desire to turn these assets into sustainable and profitable distribution centres.’