UK: A freight train operated by DB Cargo UK for Maritime Transport has become the first to use the full length of the Oxford – Bletchley section of the East West Rail route and the first to serve the newly-built Strategic Rail Freight Interchange at SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton.
Maritime said the arrival of the train from the DP World Southampton terminal on June 16 was ‘a milestone for the UK rail freight sector, unlocking new cross-country options for domestic and containerised cargo, and bringing nationally significant infrastructure into operational use to support regional economic growth’.
The service runs five days a week, with a capacity of up to 68 TEU per train. The launch is supported by Network Rail’s Track Access Discount Scheme, which waives fees for an initial six months while new traffic is being established. Two more routes are scheduled to follow, connecting London Gateway and the port of Felixstowe with Northampton.
The SRFI is part of a logistics hub on the Northampton loop of the West Coast Main Line and adjacent to Junction 15 of the M1 motorway. Gary Walsh, Director for Network Rail’s West Coast South route, said the link from the WCML to the terminal has been designed to let trains move in and out at speeds of up to 65 km/h, ‘much faster than usual for freight terminals’, to help minimise the impact on other services.
‘The arrival of our first service via EWR is an important step in expanding UK rail freight capacity, providing businesses with a direct, low-carbon route from Southampton to the heart of the UK’s golden logistics triangle’, said John Bailey, Managing Director Intermodal at Maritime Transport.
Brian Paynter, Capital Delivery track director at Network Rail, said ‘opening up this economically important rail route will give much more flexibility for our freight operators greatly improving connectivity across the country, while benefiting the environment through taking HGVs off roads’.
