TruckandTrackSummer2019.indd

42 / 76

Truck and Track Summer 2019 42
PORTS
Teesport rail freight investment continues
to drive Tees Valley as engine room of the
Northern Powerhouse
North East-based PD Ports has celebrated the success of its
second daily rail freight connection to Scotland with an official
locomotive naming ceremony at Teesport.
Five years after the launch of the Company’s Intermodal Rail
Terminal at Teesport, the investment has taken the port from
strength to strength, with Teesport now offering more daily
connections to Scotland than any other port in the North, following
a second Scottish service being added to meet customer demand.
The ceremony that took place on Thursday April 25th celebrated
PD Ports’ commitment to rail freight and customer service.
Attended by senior representatives from the service’s key partners
including DB Cargo, ECS Containers and P&O Ferries, the event
saw the unveiling of the newly co-branded PD Ports and DB Cargo
locomotive, which was officially named the ‘Teesport Express’.
Frans Calje, CEO at PD Ports said: “Today’s loco naming is a fantastic
opportunity to celebrate the great progress we’vemade and outline
our plans for the future. Continuing to expand and strengthen our
rail freight offering is important as rail provides vital UK connections
for our customers and delivers environmental and cost-saving
benefits. We’d like to thank our partners who have worked with
us to make this service possible, and we look forward to a strong,
ongoing relationship. These partnerships have laid the foundation
for us to integrate our services, allowing us to offer faster and more
frequent transit between Scotland and the Continent to benefit our
customers.”
Hans-GeorgWerner, CEO fromDB Cargo UK said: “We are delighted
to celebrate such a significant milestone alongside our partners
PD Ports. We originally started out running just one service for PD
Ports to our terminals at Mossend and Grangemouth in Scotland,
however demand was such that in October last year we agreed to
run a second service as well. Today’s loco naming is a celebration of
our successful partnership which I hope will continue to grow and
will ensure the safe, speedy and sustainable delivery of goods to key
markets like Scotland. Together we are stronger, and I look forward
to continuing our positive relationship to support the agenda for
better rail freight connectivity across the North of the UK.”
Pieter Balcaen, chief executive of ECS & 2XL (European Logistics
Group), added: “Our mission is to create sustainable and reliable
logistics, which means that we focus on sustainable transport and
multi-modal solutions to add value to our customers.
“The Teesport Rail initiative started four years ago with a reliable
level of service from day one. Also, the recent creation of additional
rail capacity has enabled us to further develop and strengthen our
rail connections to and from Scotland.”
Nick Pank, P&O Ferries’ Head of Freight - North Sea, said: “Today’s
announcement represents another major step forward in the
service we can offer our customers, for whom Teesport is the most
reliable way to transport goods to or from northern Britain. The 15
hour sailing is more cost efficient than more northerly routes and,
by integrating our timetable with PD Ports’ expanded rail links to
Scotland, we can guarantee an unrivalled service to anyone with
logistics requirements to or fromGlasgow and Edinburgh.”
(L-R) Nick Pank, P&O Ferries’ Head of Freight - North Sea, Hans-GeorgWerner, CEO from
DB Cargo UK, Frans Calje, CEO at PD Ports and Pieter Balcaen, Chief Executive of ECS & 2XL
(European Logistics Group)
The Port’s Cargo team will be showcasing its unrivalled cargo
terminal facilities in Bremen, Germany for the first time next
week, at the world’s largest event for cargo specialists.
Dover Cargo Terminal’s exceptional location, efficiency and
fantastic cross-channel ferry linksmakes it the first choice for many
of Europe’s leading freight carriers. Its pricing is also amongst the
most competitive in the industry.
This year, the Port will be delivering one of the most important
cargo projects inNorthWest Europe, to supply a newmulti-purpose
cargo terminal. This will be followed by a port-centric distribution
facility transforming cargo and logistics operations as part of the
Dover Western Docks Revival project (DWDR).
Currently, the Terminal handles 300,000 tonnes annually, with
around 9,000 container movements per year. Projected increases
in cargo volumes are why the Port is delivering the DWDR project,
which will provide a golden opportunity to develop the cargo
business even further.
Port of Dover Cargo to make its
Breakbulk Europe debut
01543 420 121 VEHICLE
FINANCE AND
LEASING