Month: May 2019

GB Railfreight (GBRf) are today delighted to announce the start of a new service from the Port of Felixstowe to iPort Rail in Doncaster, marking the company’s continued expansion into the Intermodal market.

The service will run 5 days a week, and represents GBRf’s 16th intermodal service to date, following rapid expansion into the market over the past 18 months. The service is demonstrative of the highly valued relationships GBRf maintains with its partners. GBRf trains now carry one third of all containerised rail traffic to and from the Port of Felixstowe.

As the latest GBRf service into iPort Rail, it also strengthens a newer relationship which began when GBRf had the honour of being the first commercial service to arrive at the newly opened facility back in September 2018. GBRf are incredibly proud that all freight services currently using the facility are provided by GBRf.

The new service will enable increased diversity in GBRf’s Yorkshire operations, providing customers with more logistical options in the wider Yorkshire area are further afield than ever before.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“I am thrilled to see the beginning of this new service. It is fantastic to be working once again with valued friends and partners. Our growth in intermodal speaks to GBRf’s commitment to innovation, offering flexible and innovative door-to-door solutions that meet our customer’s needs, as well as a consistently reliable service. This is why customers work with us again and again, GBRf are the industry’s trusted intermodal carrier.”

Steve Freeman, Managing Director of iPort Rail, said:

“This new Felixstowe service highlights the growth iPort Rail is experiencing since welcoming its first commercial service late last year, and the increasing significance of our facility to national and international supply chains.”

“Being part of Verdion’s iPort multimodal logistics hub means that 87 per cent of the UK population is within a four-hour drive of our terminal, with easy access to the national motorway network and sea transport links as well as rail freight routes increase.

“The terminal already handles several hundred tonnes of goods daily, and we are excited that our expansion story is set to benefit businesses across the country even further.”

Commenting on the new destination, Clemence Cheng, Chief Executive Officer at the Port of Felixstowe and Executive Director of Hutchison Ports, said:

“More and more companies are looking for sustainable transport options and ways to avoid an increasingly crowded road network. The Port of Felixstowe is uniquely placed to meet those demands and already offers a wide range of intermodal rail freight services to key UK destinations.

“With nearly 1.5 million TEU moving between Felixstowe and locations in the Northern Powerhouse region each year, Felixstowe is already the North’s major gateway for global trade. This new connection provides businesses in this vital region with greater choice of ways to get their goods to market.”

GB Railfreight (GBRf) are delighted to announce that final contracts have been signed with Network Rail for the new Control Period 6 (CP6). In what has been a hugely successful process for GBRf, CP6 will see a 25 per cent growth in the company’s market share with their single largest customer, Network Rail.

The new Control Period will see GBRf continue to run their hugely successful Whitemoor Local Distribution Centre (LDC), one of the best performing LDCs in the country, along with two new sites in Bescot and Eastleigh. These new additions to GBRf’s portfolio will bring with them great opportunities for upskilling current GBRf staff, as well as increased recruitment to support the running of the new depots.

GBRf are also thrilled to have been awarded increased bulk and network services, which will ensure the future modernisation of the railways. GBRf have won 44 per cent of bulk services, which will see them move ballast around the country. Whilst in another major win, GBRf have been awarded 53 per cent of network services, which position fleet around the country in order to carry out railway modernisation. GBRf will operate 16 trains on a daily basis, representing the largest area of growth within this tender.

GBRf will continue to support infrastructure improvements and enhancements across the network with Network Rail possession trains. GBRf have been awarded annual possession hours, along with an enlarged geographical spread. This will open up increased opportunity in areas GBRf has historically had a lesser presence in. One such example is the West of England, where the contract will bring with it yet more opportunities and upskilling of staff, as well as ensuring strong GBRf coverage across the whole of the UK.

Finally, Network Rail has also awarded seasonal services to deal with weather related issues such as leaf fall contamination in Autumn, and snow and ice treatment in Winter. These services are critical to keeping the country moving and passenger trains operating safely during adverse weather conditions. GBRf have strengthened their market position in this area by their fantastic work and high performance in CP5.

GBRf is enthusiastically moving into CP6, which runs through to March 2024. The opportunities it will afford to GBRf, and the role it will enable the company to play in ensuring the future prosperity of the UK rail network, is very exciting.

Mark Wyborn, General Manager at GB Railfreight, stated

“This is great news for GBRf, securing a long-term commitment with Network Rail for the next five years is key, as is the growth we have seen by operating more yards (LDC’s) and more haulage trains than we did in the last Control Period.

The growth and commitment from Network Rail is testament to our performance and reputation that we have built on over the last 5 years. This is another huge step within the infrastructure portfolio for GBRf as we continue to look for more diverse opportunities.”

Rob Morton, Director of Supply Chain Operations, Network Rail, added

“These contracts demonstrate the commercially creative approach Network Rail’s supply chain now adopts. We have applied a more collaborative and forward-thinking style to our sourcing than previously, which aligns not only our goals, but those of our supply partners.

The new contracts provide us with sufficient flexibility to direct our spend to those suppliers who deliver the best service. We have also ensured the deals have appropriate mutual benefit to maximise their longevity and chance of delivering successfully.”