Southampton port offer road to rail port incentives

DP World says the incentives could cut carbon emissions by 33,000 tonnes a year

A major port is offering financial incentives to customers who transport their freight by rail rather than road.

The plan by Southampton port, one of the three largest in the UK, will see customers paid £70 for each container making the change.

It's part of a drive to cut carbon emissions by 30,000 tonnes a year.

The announcement comes as the main rail route from Southampton to the Midlands reopens after a two-month closure of the Nuneham viaduct in Oxfordshire.

DP World, which owns Southampton, will charge a £10 "modal shift" fee on all containers laden with imports.

Customers whose container is moved to a railhead more than 140 miles from the terminal will be reimbursed.

A £70 incentive will be paid to those whose container is moved to a railhead within 140 miles of the terminal.

The ambition is to encourage more containers to move to the large Midlands distribution hubs by rail.

DP World calculated the programme has the potential to prevent 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted each year, or more than three times the total emissions of its logistics operation in Southampton.

Electric vehicles

John Trenchard, UK supply chain director at DP World, said: "Over the last few years there has been a gradual decline in the share of rail.

"Through the Modal Shift Programme, we aim to increase the rail share up towards 40% by the end of 2025."

DP World aims to achieve net zero by 2050 - a difficult challenge when almost everything entering or leaving its terminals by land or sea is powered by oil.

The Southampton terminal has already eliminated fossil fuels from its operations by using electric vehicles and switching others to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), reducing its fleet carbon emissions by 55%.

A £350m fourth berth at London Gateway, that is also owned by DP World, is under construction and will be the first all-electric berth in Britain when it opens next year.

It has launched a Saturday rail freight service between Southampton and London Gateway, largely carrying bananas, which takes 120 lorry journeys a week off the roads and reduces carbon emissions by 80% when comparing rail against road.

The port also sees a daily Freightliner service to Coatbridge near Glasgow, which uses HVO fuel as far as Crewe and electric power further north.

The £10 fee and £70 incentive will apply from 1 September until 31 December, after which the incentive will be variable according to demand.