On Monday 30th September, Freightliner, along with several industry partners, celebrated the launch of the new Tilbury2 to Manchester Trafford Park intermodal rail freight service. This new service, transporting containers arriving from Europe, is particularly significant as it was made possible by the Access Charge Discount scheme, recently launched by Network Rail to support the launch of new services and encourage modal shift to rail.
This service is delivering significant modal shift removing HGVs from some of Britain’s busiest motorways and cutting carbon emissions by 76% compared to road. The launch of the service was made possible by the new Network Rail Access Charge Discount scheme, which provides a period of time where charges are waived, to grow volumes and enable the service to become financially sustainable.
“We have successfully implemented numerous rail corridors across Europe in collaboration with our valued customers. We are pleased that the industry has worked collaboratively to make this new UK service a reality. We expect the roundtrip train to take around 10,000 trucks off busy UK roads annually, enabling us to remove thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions from the supply chains of our customers. Adding a UK rail service to our extensive European Multimodal network has been a key goal for us, and we are delighted that the new Network Rail scheme has made this possible,” said John Freyne, Director Intermodal at P&O Ferrymasters.
The new scheme, announced by Network Rail, offers 6 months free track access charges to support the launch of a new rail services, helping to drive modal shift and incentivise businesses to use rail freight.
This new Freightliner service will depart from Tilbury2, one of London’s major ports, to Manchester Trafford Park running 5 days a week – it is the first service to utilise Network Rail’s new scheme.
“Green rail logistics is transforming our customers’ supply chains and this new service from our rail terminal in Tilbury2 is a prime example. The partnership approach between Freightliner, P&O Ferrymasters and Forth Ports has created a tailored solution that will help drive sustainability up-and-down this important British supply chain,” commented Paul Dale, Chief Operating Officer at Forth Ports.
Freightliner, along with industry partners, are committed to using the development of Network Rail’s new discount scheme as a springboard for a policy framework that delivers growth and drives modal shift into the future.
Share on:
