Middlesbrough, UK headquartered PD Ports has launched a second rail service connecting Teesport direct with Scotland opening up further opportunities to connect global importers and exporters with the north of the UK.
The new service, operated by DB Cargo, will run five days a week from the quayside at Teesport to PD Stirling Terminal at Mossend in Glasgow. The timings of the service operate in direct connection with the P&O Ferries service calling daily at Teesport from Zeebrugge and Rotterdam; providing a vital connection for shippers, shipping lines and forwarders looking for frequent, flexible and efficient routes to market.
Having launched the first Scottish rail connection from Teesport in August 2015, the Port now offers more direct daily connections to and from Scotland than any other port in the north of England, running 10 trains a week and carrying over 30 containers per journey each way laden with a variety of goods including food, drinks and furniture.
A substantial proportion of containers travelling on this service will be volume from the daily P&O Ferries service from Zeebrugge. Earlier this year P&O Ferries increased its capacity on this service by 25% in a response to market demand for Teesport as the port of choice to connect shippers with Scotland.
Frans Calje, CEO 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, unlike other congested UK and European hub ports.
“Frequency and reliability is fundamental to the success of our customers’ existence. We have vessels arriving at Teesport from the Baltics every 30 hours and every 48 hours from Poland with direct rail connections from the quayside to Scotland twice a day, five days a week.
“This frequency 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.”