Harwich, the sister port to Felixstowe and partner in the Freeport East bid, has had its rail access upgraded to cope with growing demand. Reliability improvements have been made on the port branch line, following track renewals and maintenance carried out by Network Rail. Harwich and Felixstowe respectively sit on the south and north banks of the confluence of the rivers Stour and Orwell. Felixstowe has grown as a container port because of its deeper berths; Harwich benefits from a more sheltered bay, which favoured its ferry operations.