GB Railfreight has started a rail freight service run from Felixstowe to the Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal (BIFT) at Birch Coppice – taking its number of train slots at the port to seven.
It is the first train to serve this route out of the port, meaning it will be actively switching freight from road to rail.
Trains will run to and from the port once a day, five days a week over the next five years.
John Smith, managing director of GB Railfreight, said: “The winning of our seventh slot is an important milestone as it enables us to further expand our capacity, helping us to continue to meet the demand from our customers and support the growth of the intermodal rail freight market and its potential to take freight off the roads.”
The Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal is owned by Maritime Transport. Group managing director John Williams said: “BIFT is an important strategic freight interchange in the West Midlands and we are delighted that GBRf has chosen our rail terminal for their new service.”
