Rail

Rail services to and from London Gateway will provide regular, easy and efficient movement of goods between major population centres in the UK, while reducing the carbon footprint of the transport of goods around the UK, compared with road movements.

Intermodal rail terminals will be provided within both the port and the park, along with tracks to a number of directly rail served buildings, where specifically required by customers.

The two rail terminals in the Port will primarily handle deep-sea containers. The Park rail terminal will also be equipped to handle European containers and swap bodies for UK domestic and continental European flows, as well as deep-sea containers.

Local rail connections with London Gateway will be enhanced by the double tracking of the Thameshaven branch line, which links the Port to the main rail network at Stanford-le-Hope.

Rail Access to the Channel Tunnel, as well as the West Coast Main Line, for the Midlands, North West England and Scotland, is at W10 Gauge, which allows 9ft 6in Containers to move on Standard wagons.

Most of these destinations are closer to London Gateway than other South/South Eastern ports.

Traffic on the East Coast Main Line, for Doncaster and Leeds, is currently limited to W8 gauge (9ft 6in containers on low-liner wagons), for all freight traffic, by national network limitations.

Intermodal trains of up to 750m long (35 standard wagons) will be able to be loaded and unloaded at the port rail terminals, which will be located immediately alongside the port container handling areas. Equivalent lengths will also be serviced at the Park terminal using receptions sidings.