New Hub for England
New Telford Rail Terminal opened
Regarding the growing interest in railfreight, last Wednesday's opening of the Telford International Railfreight Park (TIRP), 60km to the west of Birmingham, is good news for the West Midlands. Managed by the specialist railfreight company John G Russell, it provides direct access to the UK rail network as to the whole of Europe via the Channel Tunnel.
Ken Russell, Commercial & Business Development Director, John G Russell (Transport) Ltd, outlined his company’s plans for the new terminal: “Over the years, Telford has established itself as a manufacturing and distribution centre for Japanese multinationals such as Makita, Maxell, Ricoh. Many of these companies are receiving imports such as components and finished goods from Asia and elsewhere by sea via the major UK ports, notably Felixstowe, Southampton and Tilbury.
Therefore we expect the first regular trains will be to and from these ports loaded with deepsea containers. Initially, we will not have sufficient volumes to justify direct trains but we are confident that we will be able to link TIRP with Crewe, already an established hub for block container trains. As volumes build up, as we know they will, we will seek to operate direct services to these three major ports.”
