The owners of one of the UK’s newest seaport rail terminals are pushing for an improved national infrastructure to enable it to accommodate more cargo and protect its future development. Two years after Teesport Intermodal Rail Terminal welcomed the arrival of its first train, the north east port’s rapid growth means its wider rail connections are struggling to keep pace.

Built in 2014, the intermodal rail terminal was established with connections to PD Ports’ southern ports of Felixstowe and Southampton through rail freight operator Freightliner. DB Cargo UK was then brought in a few months later to collaborate on another connection to Mossend and Grangemouth ports in Scotland.

Key customers

Shipping firms, retailers, petro-chemical manufactures and shipping lines are among the port’s key customers, all using the rail freight terminal as part of their portcentric operations and eliminating road miles, cutting C02 emissions and reducing supply chain costs.

The rail terminal is part of PD Ports’ wider growth strategy at Teesport which, over the past 10 years, has enjoyed around one billion Pounds of investment to develop and upgrade capacity to meet the demands of its customers and position Teesport as the northern gateway for containerised goods destined for the north of the UK.

Strength to strength

Geoff Lippitt, PD Ports’ Business Development Director, said: “Since its construction, the rail terminal services at Teesport have gone from strength to strength. We are nearing capacity on most routes supported by customers using the portcentric logistics model and boosted by this success there are plans to establish further routes to the midlands and the north west in line with market demand.

Future progress

“We’ve successfully built a strong rail operation at Teesport and there is a clear appetite for increased frequency of services, but as an industry we still face significant challenges that could potentially hold back future progress if existing issues of inadequate UK rail infrastructure and limited capacity aren’t tackled.

“We are committed to continuing our work with the likes of Transport for North, the Department for Transport and Network Rail to tackle these issues and ensure greater efficiencies in UK freight movements to deliver long-term economic success for the north.”