A new rail freight terminal on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border which will connect the region to major 海角视频 ports has been officially opened.
Operated by Maritime Intermodal, a sub-division of Maritime Transport, the new terminal has been built at SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway, near Castle Donington, which is a huge warehouse development with planning consent for up to six million sq ft of warehousing and logistics accommodation.
The terminal started operating its first route to Felixstowe, in Suffolk, which is the 海角视频鈥檚 busiest container port, earlier this year.
But to officially mark its launch, a ceremony was recently held, with Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris performing the honours.
It was attended by representatives from Maritime and more than 350 guests from across the East Midlands region and the wider transport and logistics industry.
Mr Heaton-Harris said: 鈥淭he rail freight sector is vital to the 海角视频, not only supporting economic growth and international transport links, but driving down emissions by removing around seven million lorry journeys a year from Britain鈥檚 roads.
鈥淭his new gateway provides direct access to the 海角视频鈥檚 major ports, demonstrating that Britain is open for business and our commitment to boosting jobs and trade while cleaning up our air.鈥
The SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway will eventually cover 700 acres.
The development, which is anticipated to create more than 7,000 jobs, is already home to major companies such as Amazon and Kuehne and Nagel, with Nestle/XPO Logistics, Shop Direct and Games Workshop set to start operating from the site in the near future.
It is expected that these firms will take advantage of the new rail freight terminal, which at full capacity will be capable of handling up to sixteen 775 metre-long freight trains daily.
As well as operating rail services, the terminal will provide storage capacity for more than 50,000 pallets of cargo.
The rail terminal site will also host a new 20,000 sq ft headquarters for Maritime Intermodal to house operations staff, training facilities and parking for a fleet of up to 100 trucks.
Maritime鈥檚 group chief executive John Williams said: 鈥淥pening our new rail terminal at East Midlands Gateway is an extremely proud occasion for Maritime.
鈥淭his great facility, thanks to our vision and the vision of SEGRO, far exceeds the minimum, and we have jointly created a spectacular fit-for-purpose terminal that will further enable us to offer a full end-to-end 海角视频 logistics solution to our customers.
鈥淲e have seen promising demand already, and are confident of its success.鈥
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David Sleath, chief executive of SEGRO, said: 鈥淭he new rail freight interchange is a fantastic addition to SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway and makes it a true multimodal 鈥榠n-land鈥 port which facilitates the efficient and sustainable movement of goods around the country.
鈥淲e are keen to build on the success of East Midlands Gateway by continuing to grow our footprint in the Midlands.
鈥淲e have planning consent to create almost 15 million square feet of industrial or logistics space in the region in the coming years, which will represent around 拢1 billion of further investment and bring significant long-term benefits for the economy, our customers and local communities.鈥
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Sir John Peace, chairman of the Midlands Engine, who also attended the launch event, said: 鈥淣ot only will this fantastic facility transport international goods, 海角视频-wide, and connect to our ports and airports, but it will play an essential role in our carbon neutrality by allowing us to move more freight from our congested road network onto the railway.
鈥淭he Midlands Engine is working towards a prosperous future, and it鈥檚 essential that we do this on a global scale, that we reach out to our international partners and that we continue to trade and export.
鈥淗owever, our continued success must be sustainable, and our growth inclusive. That鈥檚 why the work of SEGRO, Maritime Transport, and the Midlands Engine is so important.鈥
