GB Railfreight launches new UK service

The rail freight provider commenced a new service between the Port of Felixstowe and the Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal in Birch Coppice, Birmingham.    GB Railfreight launched a new service today between the Port of Felixstowe and the Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal in Birch Coppice, Birmingham. Birch Coppice is located in the center of the United Kingdom, 133 miles north west of Felixstowe.
   Trains will run between the port once a day, Monday through Friday, over the next five years, GB Railfreight said.
   The Port of Felixstowe said the new service is the port’s 31st daily rail service and GB Railfreight’s seventh service. Regular rail services are also offered from Felixstowe to Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Teesport, Birmingham, Doncaster, Tilbury, Selby, Hams Hall, Daventry, Wakefield, Ditton (Widnes), Burton, Scunthorpe and Bristol (Felixstowe).
   In addition to GB Railfreight, rail freight providers DB Schenker and Freightliner offer rail services from the port.
   “As well as being the busiest container port in the UK, Felixstowe also operates the country’s biggest intermodal rail facility,” Port of Felixstowe CEO and HPH Europe division Managing Director Clemence Cheng said in a statement. “In 2014 we handled close to 900,000 TEU by rail. This record volume was achieved by the investment we made in our newest terminal, the North Rail Terminal, and the dedicated employees in our rail team working closely with our customers and Network Rail to improve on our efficiency and the handling of longer trains. The 30+ wagon trains that run from there are the longest intermodal trains in the UK.”