Britain’s newest inland rail freight hub, the 337-acre iPort Rail in north east England, has welcomed its first train. With storage capacity for 1,500 TEUs and a reach stacker operation with a 115-tonne front axle load, the hub is capable of handling the UK’s longest trains up to six times a day.

Capacity

The interchange’s location near Doncaster puts it close to the national rail network, local airports and within two hours of several deep water river and sea ports. iPort Rail is also a Security Approved Channel Tunnel Freight Forwarder, ensuring it is a designated secure facility for international transports.

Michael Hughes, CEO of port operator Verdion, said: “iPort Rail has been years in the making but it is now open and fully operational. Sitting within the wider iPort logistics hub, iPort Rail is a state-of-the-art rail terminal designed to serve the Yorkshire region with excellent road, rail and air connections for national and international freight transport.

‘Overwhelming’

“We have an experienced team already in place and everything is designed to help companies move goods quickly and minimise supply chain downtime.

“The demand we are seeing, even at this early stage, is already proving that the case for more integrated rail freight is overwhelming. Our next milestone will be welcoming the first commercial train, which we are anticipating will be later this quarter.”