Transport Minister inaugurates new crane at Port of Felixstowe

The Minister of State for Transport, Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, has formally inaugurated the latest new crane to be installed at the Port of Felixstowe’s South Rail Terminal.

The new crane is the latest of a series of investments made by Hutchison Ports at the South Rail Terminal. These have included extending the length of the terminal to accommodate longer trains, replacing older handling equipment and relaying some of the tracks.

Following a meeting with senior managers at the port, the Minister ceremonially loaded a container to a freight train at the South Terminal, one of two rail freight terminals at the UK’s largest container port. 

Paul Davey, Head of Corporate Affairs for Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited, which owns the Port of Felixstowe, commented:

“We are very pleased to welcome the Rt Hon Theresa Villiers, MP, to the Port of Felixstowe. We are continuing to invest heavily in new equipment and infrastructure to increase the port’s capacity to transfer freight to rail. We already put more containers on more trains, to more destinations, than any other UK port, and this latest investment will help provide our customers with further sustainable transport options.”
Theresa Villiers said:

“This new crane will help increase the volume of freight traffic on our railways which will benefit hundreds of businesses across the UK who rely on daily deliveries.

 
"Enabling more containers to be carried by rail will also help to divert freight traffic from our roads, relieving congestion.  It also reflects our commitment to investing in our railways, which are vital to our economic growth."

The rail mounted gantry crane (RMG) is the most modern of its type and was manufactured by the Zhen Hua Port Machinery Company (ZPMC) in Shanghai. It was delivered in 2010, the second of two brand-new cranes for the terminal, and has since undergone a rigorous testing and commissioning process before commencing operations on the South Rail terminal.

After completing the ceremony, the Minister departed the port aboard a scheduled GB Railfreight service from the North Rail Terminal to Hams Hall, one of 17 inland destinations served by rail from Felixstowe.  

The Port of Felixstowe’s latest expansion, Berths 8&9, which will provide an additional 730 metres of deep-water quay capable of accommodating the world’s largest container ships, will come on-line during 2011. As part of the next phase of development the port will construct a third, larger, rail terminal on its Trinity Terminal. The New North Rail Terminal will eventually double the volume of traffic handled by rail.

Daily intermodal rail services at the Port of Felixstowe operate to and from Bristol, Coatbridge (Glasgow), Trafford Park (Manchester), Liverpool, Leeds, Daventry , Barton Dock ,Cleveland, Birmingham, Tilbury, Selby, Wakefield, Hams Hall, Birch Coppice, Ditton, Doncaster and Scunthorpe.
(Source:www.transportweekly.com)