Port Salford Rail link land deal

[markymark2000]

The Diggle line is the only transpennine route that is gauge cleared for container trains, but only to W8 gauge, which rules out Hi-Cube containers. And the only route from the Chat Moss line to Stalybridge that is gauge cleared is via Guide Bridge, so either across Piccadilly throat (only feasible at night) or via Phillips Park to Ashburys (probably needs double heading up Miles Platting bank).

We really need to invest in east-west gauge clearance to secure more intermodal trains. It's no good making everything go via Lichfield and Burton on Trent to get to the other side of the country. I know the lines are old but surely there is something which can be done to sort out these existing lines so that they can take intermodal containers.

Still don't know where any rail traffic at Port Salford would come from. As someone mentioned up-thread, Peel are hardly going to welcome boxes brought in by rail from their rival ports at Felixstowe or Southampton. Any boxes brought into Port Salford via the Manchester Ship Canal would surely be for local distribution only which means road.

Trafford Park to Scotland is a non starter and with this linking to Chat Moss, could this be Manchesters container terminal up to Mossend? Not for onward shipping but more a train to road intermodal situation. There may not be huge usage here but given that Trafford Park is very popular for intermodal, could there be some usage for Scotland.

 

[mwmbwls]

In terms of what might be going where and the implications for Port Salford it is worth looking at the Network Rail report on the routing of freight trains featuring extensive coverage of possible/probable container routes because of the inherent loading gauge issues. This was issued in August 2020. I still have not got my head around the implications of the recent announcement of Freeports - which I suspect would make Port Salford something like a large bonded warehouse requiring HMC approved exterior fencing.

Routeing of rail freight forecasts (networkrail.co.uk)

(Mods - Please reallocate this to a/the specific thread on the Network Rail report if you feel I am taking us off piste).