DP World in the United Kingdom (UK) has announced that its two deep-water ports at Southampton and London Gateway became the first in the country capable of handling Freightliner’s new 775 metre intermodal container trains.
The longest in use on the national rail network, the new 775 metre trains are 250 metres longer than a typical freight train and carry between 12 and 14 additional containers on each service.
The trains depart the freight rail terminals at Southampton and London Gateway every working day of the week to Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds respectively carrying a range of goods.
“Both ports already have a high degree of rail interconnectivity, with Southampton having the highest proportion of containers moved by train in the UK at more than 30 per cent and London Gateway aiming to achieve similar levels,” commented Ernst Schulze, chief executive of DP World in the UK.
“The emphasis on rail across both ports takes 300,000 trucks off UK roads each year, bringing significant environmental benefits and we expect this number to continue to grow,” he added.
The three daily roundtrip 775 metre intermodal trains that Freightliner is currently running from the Port of Southampton are collectively saving over four million road miles and 9,500 tonnes of carbon emissions (CO2e) per year, according to a statement.
The emissions reduction will contribute to the government’s commitment to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, according to DP World.
“Earlier this year the Government awarded freeport status to DP World Southampton (as part of Solent Freeport) and DP World London Gateway (as part of Thames Freeport), positioning the two smart logistics hubs to continue supporting regional growth across ports, warehousing and manufacturing for decades to come,” noted Eddie Aston, CEO of Freightliner and parent company Genesee & Wyoming’s UK/Europe region.
