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Logistics UK welcomes East-West Rail freight

[ November 15, 2024   //   ]

Logistics UK has welcomed news that the new East-West rail route will allow up to 14 new freight services to operate in each direction between the Felixstowe and the Midlands. It was responding to the launch of a two-month public consultation on the scheme.

East-West Rail is a scheme to create a new rail route for passengers and freight on reopened rail routes and upgraded existing lines between Oxford, Bletchley/Milton Keynes, Bedford and the Cambridge area. Passenger trains are shortly due to use the section between Oxford and Bletchley but in the longer term the route could provide an additional link between East Coast ports and the West Coast Main Line to the Midlands and North, via Milton Keynes.

Trains between Felixstowe and the Midlands and North currently operate either via routes through the London area or via Ely, Peterborough and Nuneaton, both of which have limited capacity.

Logistics UK Senior Policy Advisor, Ellis Shelton said:  “The current freight routes from Felixstowe – one of Britain’s key ports – to the West of England are plagued by delays on the A14 and other roads, so the potential for new freight services on East West Rail should speed up journey times and remove the potential for disruption, improving reliability for customers.  The proposed scheme will enable up to 14 new freight services in each direction which would do the job of an estimated 250,000 lorry journeys every year. The proposed new service will also ease congestion on local roads and improve journey times across the region. “

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