With a shortage of more than 100,000 lorry drivers in the UK causing disruption to supply chains, a new service launched by Maritime Transport Ltd and hauled by GB Railfreight (GBRf) provides additional capacity to ensure goods can continue to move across Britain.
The new intermodal service connects Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal (BIFT) with the Port of Felixstowe.
Maritime’s third train to run from the Port of Felixstowe to BIFT commenced on Monday 10th January. The new service, which has increased Maritime’s Felixstowe to West Midlands capacity by 40%, runs five days per week from Tuesday to Saturday, with a total transport capacity of 87 TEU in each direction.
Maritime has invested more than €5 million in container handling equipment at BIFT since acquiring the terminal back in 2014, and to facilitate growing container volumes across its intermodal network, Maritime has ordered additional container handling machinery due to arrive throughout 2022.
“We are thrilled to launch this new service with GBRf,” said John Bailey, Managing Director – Intermodal and Terminals at Maritime Transport. “Our investment in new routes, new equipment, and our terminals enables us to provide the most advanced logistics solutions, and reflects our drive to deliver increased resource at a time when the industry is facing huge challenges.”
John Smith, Managing Director at GB Railfreight added: “We are delighted to be expanding our relationship with Maritime with this new service. The shift to rail freight has a fundamental part to play in tackling carbon emissions and climate change, and it’s great to see businesses choosing rail as a greener alternative, without compromising on operational efficiency and reliability. We are very proud of the hard work that has been put in to being the industry’s most trusted intermodal carrier.’
Image credit: Maritime Transport Ltd
