Port of Felixstowe aims to improve branch line

Port of Felixstowe aims to improve branch line    The Hutchison-operated port of Felixstowe today applied to the United Kingdom’s Department for Transport to upgrade the existing single track Felixstowe branch line between Trimley St. Mary and Levington.
   The planned improvements include the dual tracking a 4.25-mile section of the branch line, and construction of three additional 24-wagon sidings within the existing Ipswich marshalling yard.
   “We are committed to increasing the amount of freight leaving the port by rail, and these improvements meet government objectives to reduce pressure on the region’s roads. In conjunction with the third rail terminal planned as part of the Felixstowe South Reconfiguration, this will remove up to 500,000 lorries from our roads,” said Richard Pearson, managing director of Hutchison Ports (UK) Ltd.
   The Felixstowe South Reconfiguration is a project designed to convert the area previously used by P&O North Sea Ferries, into a new deep-sea container terminal with an annual capacity of 1.5 million TEUs.
   Subject to the necessary approvals, it is expected that the improved Felixstowe Branch Line would be fully operational by the end of 2009.