A 32nd daily rail freight service has been introduced at the Port of Felixstowe, the UK’s largest container port.

The new route, operated by Freightliner, is initially running to Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, but will transfer to nearby Doncaster when work on a terminal there is completed.

Clemence Cheng, chief executive of the Port of Felixstowe and managing director of HPH Europe, of which the port is part, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer an additional rail option with the start of the 32nd daily rail service from the Port of Felixstowe.

“We have invested heavily in rail infrastructure at the port in recent years which has supported continued strong growth in sustainable transport.

“In 2015 we handled 936,000 TEU by rail which saved well over 100 million road miles by HGVs. Since then we have continued to break rail throughput records and this new service will help us achieve even greater environmental savings.”

Adam Cunliffe, managing director of Freightliner, added: “This new Freight-liner service will create much needed additional rail freight capacity to meet the growing demands of customers who are looking for a faster, greener, safer and more efficient means of transporting freight over land.

“It is also another milestone in the Port of Felixstowe’s strategy to increase freight on rail, not only by running additional services, but by lengthening the existing trains.”

During the second week of May this year, the port broke itsrecord for the number of containers handled by rail in a single day with a total of 2,607 containers (4,185 TEU – 20-foot equivalent units, the standard industry measure of container capacity) were handled at its three rail terminals. The previous daily record of 2,505 containers was set during October 2015.