GBRf restarts Felixstowe – Daventry connection

GB Railfreight (GBRf), one of the UK’s younger rail freight providers, is restarting a daily service between the Port of Felixstowe and Daventry Intermodal Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT). The container train is scheduled to recommence operations from Monday 11 November 2024.

After a hiatus which saw the year-old service suspended, GBRf is re-establishing a five-day-a-week link. Monday to Friday, Britain’s biggest container port will be linked to Daventry, at the heart of the so-called Logistics Golden Triangle.

A three-way collaboration

GBRf is already a frequent visitor to Felixstowe. The Peterborough headquartered operator now has 17 daily services from the Suffolk port. The revitalised service will run Monday to Friday. GBRf has committed itself to growing its intermodal network. The Felixstowe – Daventry run is now their fifty-fourth service nationally.

“We’re delighted to be re-introducing this new service to Daventry,” said Julie Garn, GBRf Intermodal Director. “GB Railfreight piloted this service in October 2023. However, after collaborating with an innovative and proactive customer, we are extremely confident of success and delivering a long-term connection between Felixstowe and Daventry.”

Relieve road congestion – a little

Despite the well-reported rail capacity constraints on the approach to Felixstowe, an existing path has been reactivated to accommodate the service. With road traffic heavy, particularly on the east-west A14 highway, the prospect of removing 100 heavy goods vehicle movements from local roads has been welcomed.

“We already offer more rail freight services to more destinations than any other UK port,” said Paul Davey, Head of Corporate Affairs at Hutchison Ports. “The new GB Railfreight service to Daventry further increases the options for shippers using the Port of Felixstowe to take carbon out of their supply chains.”

The re-established service is good news for the ambitious rail freight operator and also for DIRFT. “We welcome a new daily Intermodal service into our terminal from Felixstowe,” said Andrew Malcolm, CEO of WH Malcolm, who manage the terminal. “We look forward to working with and supporting GB Railfreight on this new initiative.”