PORT bosses were today celebrating yet another record for the number of containers handled by the two rail terminals at Felixstowe.The record has been broken twice in the space of three months with volumes reaching an all-time high this month with 8,796 containers handled in a week.
By Richard Cornwell
PORT bosses were today celebrating yet another record for the number of containers handled by the two rail terminals at Felixstowe.
The record has been broken twice in the space of three months with volumes reaching an all-time high this month with 8,796 containers handled in a week. The previous record was 8,754.
Chris Lewis, chief executive officer of Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited, which owns the Port of Felixstowe, said: “We are dedicated to transporting as many containers as possible by rail, thus easing pressure on the country's road network.
“These records have been achieved through better utilisation of trains, and the use of additional wagons on existing services.
“The current very high volumes of rail traffic highlight the need to improve freight capacity on the railway network to enable more traffic to be distributed by sustainable modes.”
Rail volumes are due to remain at high levels for the coming months, and further record-breaking volumes are possible in the busy period running up to Christmas.
There are 50 arrivals or departures per day from the Port of Felixstowe's north and south rail terminals, linking the port to Coatbridge (Glasgow), Trafford Park (Manchester), Liverpool, Leeds, Cleveland, Birmingham, Cardiff, Tilbury, Selby, Wakefield, Hams Hall, Ditton, Daventry and Doncaster.
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