WORK to create the new freight chord linking the East Suffolk rail line with the tracks to the north and west of the town has been gathering pace over the Easter weekend.

Network Rail engineers are now creating the northern link to the mainline – an integral part of the £41million chord that will allow freight trains from Felixstowe to travel direct to the north and west without having to reverse at Ipswich.

The work started in the autumn and the new chord is due to be fully operational during the first half of next year.

The existence of a direct line from Felixstowe to the Midlands and North is expected to contribute to taking more than 750,000 heavy lorries a year off the A14 once it is fully opened.

It should also encourage freight train operators to send more goods cross-country and not down the mainline to London where they compete with passenger trains on the increasingly-congested commuter route.