Work to shortly commence on a new rail hub extension at the P&O Ferries terminal in Europoort
Work will shortly commence on a new rail hub extension at the P&O Ferries terminal in Europoort to meet the increasing demand for rail freight services at the Dutch port, the company said in its press release.
In 2013 rail RoRo and container volumes rose by 43 per cent compared with 2012, in 2014 there was growth of 78 per cent over the previous year and in 2015 the predicted growth is in the region of 80 per cent. Much of this additional traffic has been generated in Poland by the rail operator ERS Railways and is destined for the UK. It is shipped by P&O Ferries to either Hull or Teesport and by Stena Line, which occupies an adjacent terminal, to either Harwich or Killingholme.
P&O Ferries, Stena Line, ERS Railways and the Port of Rotterdam, have agreed that additional rail capacity is required. The existing railway track on the P&O Ferries terminal will be extended to 690 metres to allow complete trains to be handled, whereas at present each arriving train has to be split in two, due to the lack of sufficient track length and that operation is costly and time-consuming.
Currently 26 trains per week (in and out) are being handled. The additional capacity, which should be operational by early March, will allow the partners to handle an anticipated 32 trains per week during 2015 and will allow room for further growth. The terminal also has sufficient space for even further rail expansion if required in the future.