FELIXSTOWE: Britain’s biggest container port has set a new record for the amount of cargo moved by rail in a week.

The Port of Felixstowe handled 10,764 containers on its rail freight line last week – beating the previous record of 10,582 boxes, which was achieved in the same week last year.

David Gledhill, chief executive officer of port owners Hutchison Ports (UK), said: “In a world where shippers are looking to reduce carbon footprints, the use of intermodal rail freight offers one of the best ways to make substantial carbon savings, and there are more rail services, to more inland destinations, more often, from Felixstowe than any other UK port.

“The scale of operations at Felixstowe means we are able to offer a unique range of intermodal and coastal feeder services which, together with the reductions we continue to make in our own carbon emissions, makes the Port of Felixstowe the low-carbon option.

“In 2009 we saw two new services introduced from Felixstowe to Hams Hall and Birch Coppice, both near Birmingham, bringing the total number of daily services to 28, and in 2010 we have seen the first trials of 30-wagon trains from our North Terminal.

“The new volume record, however, represents increased volumes across all services, and not just the recent additions”

The increase follow a number of track and equipment improvements made over the past two years, including a 39-metre extension of the South Rail Terminal to accommodate 22-wagon trains, a major line refurbishment of the same terminal, and the additipn of a second brand new rail-mounted gantry crane.

Earlier this month, HPUK was officially certified by the Carbon Trust Standard for reducing its carbon emissions by 8.2 per cent over the past two years.