Rail freight UK

GB Railfreight has agreed a new two-year contract extension with DP World to provide staff to prepare all freight trains departing from their London Gateway terminal. These staff provide a critical role in ensuring the safety and reliability of rail freight.

Every year,  more than 5,000 train services depart and arrive at London Gateway, collectively removing around 150,000 HGV movements from the UK’s road network. These services help to significantly reduce the carbon emissions from the UK’s supply chains, as rail freight emits 76% less CO2 per tonne than moving goods by road. In addition, by removing vehicles from our road network, rail freight improves road safety and decreases congestion benefiting us all.

London Gateway is one of the UK’s largest and most important ports, last year 1.8m TEU was moved through the port – containing a huge range of consumable goods – from fridges to frozen food, water to wine, toys to tonic – rail freight moves a wide range of goods that are in all our homes and are significant drivers of our economy.

Julie Garn, Head of Intermodal at GB Railfreight, said: “Extending our contract with DP World is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our staff at London Gateway – I’m delighted that we’ll be preparing all services departing for the next two years. We’ll continue to work with the team at the Port to look at opportunities to drive modal shift and maximise the societal benefits that rail freight offers.”

John Trenchard, Vice President UK Commercial & Supply Chain at DP World, said: “Connecting freight from our ports to the UK rail network is helping us deliver for our customers, enabling them to stay competitive in a fast moving trading environment while increasing the sustainability of their supply chains. Our extended contract with GB Railfreight will help us to keep delivering and developing our freight train services from London Gateway over the next two years.”

(Photo credit – DP World)