News / Rail freight services at Felixstowe back to half-strength after derailment

The UK port of Felixstowe’s rail throughput is back to 50% of normal after last week’s train derailment, but delays in container movements could last until next week.

Felixstowe confirmed last Tuesday that a freight train operated by GB Railfreight derailed on the Trimley branch line, partially blocking intermodal services. The port, GBRf and Network Rail said they wereworking to return services “to normal as soon as possible”.

The Loadstar understands that as of today, rail throughput at the UK’s busiest box port is approximately 50% of pre-derailment levels. On Friday, this sat at 40%, the port informing customers it had handled 959 containers on rail across 24 hours.

And, according to sources, the South and Central rail terminals are working, but access to the North rail terminal remains blocked. Network Rail estimated the work would take one week, potentially allowing the terminal to fully re-open in week 27.

To help mitigate the impact, the port released additional booking slots for hauliers, which reportedly saw a good take-up.

The derailed wagons were cleared at the weekend and repair work on the Trimley Branch Line by Network Rail will happen this week. A customer notice from the port on Friday said that, while preparation of replacement track parts, set-up activities and removal of unaffected wagons had already begun, the full assessment of required repairs would commence today.

On its website, Kuehne + Nagel UK warned that the earliest date for reopening the railway for traffic was estimated to be Wednesday 26 June.

According to reports from National Rail, the incident impacted all train services serving the port, including those by Freightliner and GB Railfreight and trucking company Maritime Transport.

Meanwhile, London Gateway’s rail terminal is completely closed until Wednesday due to infrastructure development.