The investment will lift rail capacity at London Gateway by 50% to meet growing demand for rail connections.

The cranes will be used in the automated handling of containers and will be operational in time for next year’s opening of the new, £350m fourth berth that will increase the smart logistics hub’s capacity by a third.

Andrew Bowen, port operations director at London Gateway, said: “We are delighted to be making a further investment in our rail capability and rail capacity with two new RMG cranes, which will arrive in the same year that we open a new fourth berth.

“After the disruption of recent years, shipping lines and cargo owners are looking for capacity, reliability and growth opportunities and DP World will deliver on all three fronts.”

DP World runs the UK’s London Gateway and Southampton logistics hubs – two deep-water ports with access to freight rail terminals. Between them they moved a record volume of cargo in the first half of last year, with a combined total of 1.93 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).

The company has earmarked a further £1bn of investment in the UK over the next ten years.

Bowen added: “This is the latest step forward in our journey to becoming an end-to-end logistics provider. In November, we launched a new intermodal train service connecting our container terminals at London Gateway and Southampton, which will enable customers to switch volumes quickly and easily between the two UK locations.”

“The DP World-operated round service carries cargo including fresh fruit, beverages and consumer goods in less than five hours, taking up to 120 lorries a week off the roads. We estimate that the emphasis on rail across both ports takes a total of 300,000 trucks off UK roads each year and we are committed to playing our part in helping the UK meet its Net Zero 2050 policy.”

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