New ‘Northern UK gateway’ rail freight service launches

A new rail freight service between the North East and Yorkshire has been launched by PD Ports to meet growing demand.

Launched in partnership with GB Railfreight for multimodal transport firm Containerships and end customer IKEA Transport & Logistics Services, the twice-daily service between Teesport and Doncaster will remove 120 daily road movements from the UK road network.

PD Ports’ key accounts and rail development manager, Patti Burt, commented: “We’re delighted to be working with one of our longest serving customers, Containerships and GB Railfreight in creating a solution that not only delivers exceptional and reliable service, but which offers considerable economic benefits.”

Jari Lepistö, chief commercial officer at Containerships, added: “We were looking for reliable partners to move large amounts of cargo with increased volumes coming from the Baltics in a sustainable way.

“We needed an effective daily plan to move containers to Doncaster when satisfying one of our major customers, IKEA Transport & Logistics Services’ environmental targets.”

The service, which can carry 56 boxes in two trips, has an outward journey going from Doncaster to Darlington then onto Teesport, and returning from Teesport to Yarm, finishing back at Doncaster.

Aiming to alleviate congestion and reduce carbon emissions, the service is also a response to a growing need for access to the ‘Northern UK gateway’ for trade, with the port experiencing year-on-year growth across its container platform.

Geoff Lippitt, group business development director at PD Ports, continued: “Rail is at the forefront of our agenda at Teesport, providing vital UK connections for our customers and delivering significant environmental and cost-saving benefits.

“We continue to see consistent growth in our container volumes at the port, reflecting not only the trust and confidence customers have in our ability to deliver reliable services but also in our capacity to offer frequency and flexibility, which is vital to their supply chain.”