New rail service boosts trade connections
Shipping and logistics company PD Ports has launched a second rail service connecting Glasgow directly with a port in northern England, opening up further trade connections for Scotland.
The new rail service, operated by DB Cargo, will provide connections for shippers, shipping lines and forwarders looking for efficient routes to and from the European market.
It will run five days a week from the quayside at Teesport, North Yorkshire, to PD Stirling terminal at Mossend in Glasgow, co-ordinated with the timings of P&O Ferries calling daily at the port from Zeebrugge and Rotterdam.
The port now offers more direct daily connections to and from Scotland than any other in the north of England, running ten trains a week and carrying more than 30 shipping containers per journey each way.
Earlier this year, P&O Ferries increased its capacity on the service by 25 per cent in a response to market demand.
Frans Calje, chief executive at PD Ports, said: “Our second rail service to Scotland is a major milestone for Teesport and the wider Tees Valley. It symbolises the tremendous sense of confidence and trust global shippers have in the port to deliver peace of mind, unlikeothercongestedukand European hub ports.”
Calje added the frequency and reliability of the rail service “breeds trust and confidence amongst shippers that they can transport their goods from Europe to Scotland within a 36-hour period, minimising cost and carbon emissions”.