English Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS) moved nearly 200 containers through its Guild Street terminal in the first full month after launching new intermodal rail freight services to and from Aberdeen.
The new intermodal services began operating on 11 August 2003 with daily trains to and from Aberdeen, providing businesses in Scotland’s northeast with guaranteed next-day delivery to a range of destinations across Britain.
“The first month of operation has been a spectacular success with a higher than expected initial level of demand from customer,” said David Murray, EWS Regional Sales Manager for Scotland. “It has placed EWS on a firm footing to provide businesses in the northeast with an added value facility, which improves freight delivery times. Our planned goal of moving over 10,000 containers through the Aberdeen terminal in a year firmly indicates the strong customer demand for these new services.”
A complete rail/road service for intermodal customers is provided at Aberdeen. EWS operates all rail services for intermodal customers, with ARR Craib acting as terminal and haulage operator for the reachstaker crane at Guild Street, and providing connecting road services throughout the north-east of Scotland.
Geoff Runcie, Chief Executive of Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Chamber welcomes the news about solid traffic growth through Guild Street following the launch of the new EWS intermodal services. The development of guaranteed next-day services by rail will provide north-east businesses with an alternative for container freight which is time sensitive.”
