The modal shift incentive at the Port of Southampton has contributed to improvements in intermodal cargo handling numbers. The operators of the Solent Rail Terminal say that more than 55,000 containers have been handled since opening. The terminal recently underwent a multi-million-pound upgrade. The container handling figure is for the six months since that project was completed.
Terminal operator Solent Stevedores has seen a significant increase in containers entering and leaving the port via rail. The operator compared traffic year on year. They say the figures include a modal shift to rail, which has taken approximately 16,000 lorries off the road in the last six months. That performance has been improved by a scheme managed by the port’s owners, DP World, to encourage hauliers to opt for rail forwarding.
Busy integrated facility
The rail freight terminal underwent a significant upgrade in partnership with port management Associated British Ports (ABP). That upgrade was completed in March, earlier this year. “The project was driven by a need to encourage cargo off the road and onto rail, contributing towards improving the local air quality and the Department for Transport’s target to be Net Zero by 2050,” said Solent Stevedores in a company statement.
The newly expanded 18-acre (site is linked to the existing intermodal rail site. It provides laden and empty container handling, storage, maintenance and repair in a single-site boundary. The onsite maintenance and repair facility has been busy. In the same period, engineers completed over 8,000 repairs to conventional and refrigerated (reefer) containers.
Rail connections across the UK
In preparation for the development of the intermodal terminal at Southampton, the UK government’s infrastructure agency, Network Rail, undertook an extensive programme of capacity enhancements to the railway infrastructure on the approaches to the port. Rail freight operators in the UK have been quick to respond. Several new intermodal flows have been introduced at the port, taking container traffic to hubs in the UK, including Cardiff, Birmingham and London Gateway.
“The updated Solent Rail Terminal has been a key milestone in responding to the Government’s target to reach Net Zero by 2050,” said Mark Hooper, Director of Containers and Rail at Solent Stevedores. “Not only are we meeting current demand for moving cargo by rail, but we have the capacity to accommodate future increases in demand. We’re really pleased with the high levels of performance we’re seeing from the Solent Rail Terminal in the six months since it opened.”
Modal Shift Programme extended
This is all good news for the overall owners of the Port of Southampton. In a week where DP World has never been out of the headlines, the rise in rail freighted container traffic is a vindication of their financial incentive programme. A year ago, DP World introduced an ambitious ‘Modal Shift Programme’ to encourage customers to choose rail transportation over road for their imported goods. A fee levied on import containers is more than offset by an incentive if the containers are moved on by rail.
The program includes financial incentives designed to make intermodal rail more appealing to customers. According to DP World, the program was under trial at the Southampton hub for twelve months. However, although originally scheduled to end in September, that programme has since been extended until the end of 2025. The incentive has been improved from £50 to £70 (€per container until 31 March 2025. The scheme is funded by a relatively small charge of £10) on all import laden containers coming through Southampton. DP World says revised incentive levels for their Modal Shift Programme from 1 April 2025 to 30 September 2025 will be announced by 28 February 2025.
