The train is the first regular rail freight service to use the High Speed 1 rail route, the only European sized railway in the United Kingdom. As a result, the train can be loaded with European-sized curtain sided swap bodies, opening up a new freight and logistics market.
The train operates once a week leaving Wroclaw in Poland late on a Tuesday evening, arriving into Barking, London, early on Friday morning the same week. The service delivers a range of manufactured parts and components for the automotive sector and an extensive range of goods for the food and retail markets.
“The arrival of the first train in Barking this morning will be the first many new connections across Europe,” said Alain Thauvette, chief executive of DB Schenker Rail U.K., in a statement. “We will work with our customers in the U.K. to demonstrate the benefits of using the High Speed 1 rail route to trade with mainland Europe and expect to introduce a number of additional trains using this route during 2012.”
