The Solent Rail Terminal at the Port of Southampton has seen significant increases across all rail and container operations in the first year since its multi-million-pound upgrade completed.
The award-winning terminal operated by Solent Stevedores celebrates one year of operations since the infrastructure upgrade completed. With an additional 12 acres of space, 130m of extended rail loading pad and the potential to handle 12 intermodal daily trains up from 8, the team has reported a 23% increase in rail moves compared to the same period in the previous year.
The 18-acre yard that incorporates a Maintenance and Repair function, laden and empty container storage handling within a single site boundary, has experienced a 122% increase in lifts following the upgrade compared to the same period in the previous year.
Mark Hooper, Director of Rail and Containers at Solent Stevedores, said: “This project was driven by a need to shift cargo movement from road to rail and this newly expanded facility has not only achieved that but allows the capacity for further growth as intermodal rail freight continues to grow.”
The upgrades in the yard have also facilitated an increase in containers handled with the team seeing an increase of 125%. Up to 180,000 containers can now be handled in a year.
As Solent Rail Terminal continues to grow, its offerings have expanded particularly in the Maintenance and Repair function with bespoke conversions, container upgrades and liner bags added to the menu of services available.