Solent Terminal helps take thousands of lorries off roads in its first six months

The enlarged Solent Rail Terminal in Southampton docks has handled 55,000 containers in its first six months of operation.

The terminal completed a £17.5m upgrade in March this year.

It is operated by Solent Stevedores, with GB Railfreight as the largest user.

The terminal is separate from the much larger Freightliner terminal directly opposite the shipping berths.

Together, the two terminals handle one in three boxes passing through the UK’s third-largest container port.

Solent Stevedores says the increase in traffic has taken 16,000 lorries off local roads.

Port owner ABP and container terminal owner DP World have been encouraging shippers to switch from road to rail for inland travel, partly to reduce carbon emissions and partly to reduce traffic on surrounding roads.

The 18-acre site in Southampton’s western docks offers two rail sidings, alongside container storage, maintenance and repair.

Mark Hooper, director of containers and rail at Solent Stevedores, said: “The updated terminal has been a key milestone in responding to the Government’s target to reach Net Zero by 2050. Not only are we meeting current demand for moving cargo by rail but we have the capacity to accommodate future increase in demand.”