BY THE END of next year, this site will be home to up to 7,000 jobs and five million sq ft of warehousing. Today, railway engineers are beginning an important phase to connect a major new rail freight interchange to the West Coast main line in Northampton.
Construction is under way of the new link to the Strategic Rail Freight Interchange at SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton. The new railway connection, which will be used by freight company Maritime, will see thousands of tonnes of goods switch between rail and road beside Junction 15 of the M1 every day.
Engineers are completing the railway sidings for the already constructed container terminal and work is due to start next month to connect the under-construction interchange to one of Europe’s busiest mixed-use passenger and freight railway lines, by installing new track, points and signalling systems.
Main picture (above): Drone shot of West Coast main line and soon to be built freight connection in Northampton.
Kate Bedson, SEGRO senior director of national logistics, said: “The Strategic Rail Freight Interchange is a central part of the SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton development and we look forward to the connection to the rail network being completed so that the terminal can be operational ahead of the first customer occupying the first warehouse.”
Maritime’s executive chairman John Williams added: “These developments at SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton are important long-term commitments for Maritime to reduce our environmental footprint by developing a network of low-carbon, strategic freight connections across the country to promote modal shift from road to rail for container transport and for domestic distribution, with local distribution by electric-powered trucks.
“Building and operating modern, inland rail freight interchanges, supported by the largest dedicated fleet of vehicles in the country, enables us to deliver terminal to terminal rail solutions and highly efficient rail-to-door and door-to-rail services for our customers who are looking for long-term, supply chain protection and sustainable transport solutions.”
The West Coast Main Line is one of the busiest freight routes in Europe carrying 40% of all UK rail freight traffic.
The new Northampton interchange will handle four freight trains a day initially, with capacity for more in future. Each freight train takes up to 76 heavy goods vehicles off the road.
James Dean, Network Rail’s West Coast South route director, said: “We are delighted to continue working closely with freight partners in delivering this new Strategic Railfreight Interchange at Northampton. This will help deliver better, faster, stronger services to support Britain’s economy and the decarbonisation of transport.”
A section of the West Coast main line is to close for the installation of new track, points and signalling on September 2-10. There will be no direct services between North Wales and London, journeys will take longer on diversionary routes, could involve rail replacement buses and train timetables will be different, says Network Rail.
Ms Bedson said: “We are confident that the short-term disruption while this vital work is undertaken will be far outweighed by the longer-term benefits of the overall development and the rail freight capability at this location.”