The DP World operated service – which ran for the first-time last weekend – is scheduled to run every Saturday carrying cargo including fresh fruit, beverages and consumer goods in less than five hours. The train will take up to 120 lorries a week off the roads and cut carbon emissions by up to 80%, DP World said.
DP World plans to increase the frequency of the train next year. Alongside other recent and ongoing investments in rail connectivity at both ports, DP World said this will ease motorway congestion, with a total of 300,000 trucks taken off UK roads each year.
John Trenchard, UK Commercial & Supply Chain Director of DP World, said: “DP World is unique in offering customers a choice of deep-water entry and exit points to and from the UK. This new rail service will make it even easier for our customers to switch volumes quickly and easily between the two locations, which means greater flexibility and choice.”
“After the disruption of recent years, shipping lines and cargo owners are looking for capacity, reliability and growth opportunities. We are providing it, enabling customers to move goods smoothly and efficiently in and out of the UK and across their supply chains,” Trenchard added.
DP World – which operates ports, terminals and logistics businesses across six continents – runs logistics hubs at both London Gateway and Southampton: two deep water ports with access to freight rail terminals, and a rapidly expanding logistics park close to the capital. Together both ports moved a record volume of cargo in the first half of the year, with a combined total of 1.93m TEU.
Last month, DP World announced the start of construction at London Gateway’s new £350 million fourth berth, which will lift capacity by a third when it opens in 2024. The construction project is already supporting 1,000 jobs and the port-centric logistics park is expected to employ a further 12,000 people when it is completed in five years’ time.
The company said it has earmarked a further £1 billion of investment in the UK over the next decade.