Three new freight flows from DB Cargo
DB CARGO andTransfesa have launched a new 72-hour rail service to transport hygiene, medical and food products from Spain to London via the Channel Tunnel and High Speed 1.
The train originates from terminals in Valencia and Murcia, and is formed of European loading-gauge intermodal wagons carrying 'high-cube' refrigerated containers.
It has been introduced at short notice in response to the Covid-19 crisis with co-operation from Network Rail, HS1 and operators in Spain and France.
Transfesa is also part of the giant DB Cargo group.
Once in the UK, the train is unloaded at DB Cargo's Barking lntermodal Terminal in east London, which is linked to HS1.
Medical supplies are being distributed to the NHS while the food products are destined for supermarkets. DBC andTransfesa hope to expand the operation into a daily service in due course.
Spain's Valencia and Murcia regions are major suppliers of fresh produce to the UK.
A second new international flow via the Channel Tunnel is also now running in the opposite direction, transporting steel products from South Wales to Belgium.
The train was introduced on
May 5 to move steel from Tata's PortTalbot and Llanwern plants for the Belgian manufacturing sector.
DBC has also launched a new weekly aggregates flow from Peak Forest, near Buxton, to Birmingham for CEMEX. The inaugural train ran on April 20, formed of 22 MMA bogie box wagons, loaded to 1,684 tonnes. Even with many construction projects suspended during the nationwide lockdown, DBC regards the new service as a hopeful sign ofcontinuing demand for rail haulage of construction materia Is.