Hams Hall Railfreight Terminal defiant in the face of recession
Hams Hall, the Birmingham railfreight terminal and logistics hub owned and operated by Associated British Ports (ABP), has had its most successful year to date. Despite the downturn in the global economy, business has excelled at the Midlands premier intermodal facility with 15 new weekly train services added.
ABP acquired the 11-ha terminal in 2002 and has invested in an ongoing expansion programme, which has seen operational capacity treble. At peak times, Hams Hall can now handle up to 1,000 containers a day.
ABP’s Manager of Inland Operations, Martin Philpott, said: “At a time when much of the country is still feeling the effects of the recession it is encouraging for the rail industry that we are able to successfully grow our business, improve service levels to our customers and contribute to carbon reduction.”
Mediterranean Shipping Company introduced a second daily service from Felixstowe from March.
In June Norfolk Line also started a bi-weekly service from Hams Hall to Novara via the Channel Tunnel which, in September, signalled the first temperature controlled railfreight cargo for some years.
In August DB Schenker began a daily service daily service to Mossend in Scotland. They also began a three weekly Channel Tunnel service to Novara in Italy in November enabling Channel Tunnel product to transfer at Hams Hall for onward movement to Scotland or vice versa.
The continued service improvements and sustained performance in the last year has been recognised by the prestigious HSBC Rail Business Awards. At the award ceremony on 11 February Hams Hall won the category for Supplier Excellence of the Year. The facility also received a highly commended in the Railfreight Excellence of the Year category and was a finalist for the Environmental Innovation of the Year award.
This success for Hams Hall follows on from the 2009 Rail Freight Group Awards when the facility won the Environmental Innovation Award.
Martin added: “It’s all about service at ABP Hams Hall and we are extremely pleased that our dedication to providing the best possible service has been recognised by the Rail Awards.”
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