The Importance of Rail The site is adjacent to the Felixstowe to Nuneaton railway line, and links the warehouses to the rail network through sidings. Even more importantly, this railway line is strategically very well placed for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the line runs from Felixstowe, one of the UK’s busiest container ports, which is vying with Rotterdam as the major sea freight entry port for Europe. Increasing amounts of freight from China are now entering Europe through this route.

Secondly, it is being upgraded as part of £200 million worth of investment by the government and Network Rail to increase the freight capacity of the railways. This gauge enhancement will mean an extra ten freight trains a day in each direction along the line.

And thirdly, the line is very well linked to the rest of the UK rail network. It joins the East Coast Main Line here at Peterborough and, crucially, joins the West Coast main line at Nuneaton. This avoids a very long and expensive journey south and along the heavily congested commuter routes around London in order to reach the northwest. And this line also provides a link to the Channel Tunnel rail route into Europe.

So, all in all, this makes the site very attractive to companies who wish to move more of their freight by rail.

Alternative sites in the region are not suitable for a development such as ours. Much of the former railway land at March, for example, has now been used, principally for Whitemoor prison and for Network Rail’s Local Distribution Centre, which is now the base for all track renewals in the east of England. In any event, March

does not have the necessary road links and is thus unsuitable for a major distribution location.

Alconbury, conversely, is close to the A1 and has land available, but it has major disadvantages as trains from the Haven Ports (Felixstowe, Harwich) would have to travel via London to reach it, along very congested commuter lines and using the very busy East Coast Main Line. Continue >>