Sheerness-Liverpool rail link?

News 3 Nov 2014 by WCN Editorial

Peel Ports wants to create a rail freight link between its Northwest and Southeast England ports

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The link would be used for transportation of new motor vehicles and other cargoes for export and import, possibly even as a "minibridge" for containers.

The plan was revealed by Peel Ports as part of a 20-year Master Plan for Sheerness, which it says could see its throughput increasing from 1.3 Mtpa today to 3.1 Mtpa by 2034.

The plan includes reclaiming land from the sea off Garrison Point to create a mixed housing development and a marina, and bringing part of the derelict steel works into port use. A "heritage quarter" would be opened within the port, converting listed and other historic buildings for retail and leisure use.

Peel Ports is also continuing to explore opportunities within the renewable energy sector. Vestas had an option with Peel Ports to develop a plant for manufacturing offshore wind farm components, but pulled out of the project two years ago, citing "commercial reasons." Part of the now designated "heritage quarter" would have been needed for the new plant if it had gone ahead.

Peel Ports has opened the new Liverpool Plywood Terminal, a 7400 m2 temperature-controlled warehouse on the quayside at Seaforth. It says the facility will reduce costs and increase efficiency for construction firms operating in the north of the UK. No plywood is manufactured in the UK and demand from builders and merchants is met entirely from imports, predominantly from the Far East via the Port of Tilbury. The product is then distributed nationally by road or rail, adding cost and contributing to carbon emissions. Peel Ports has an agreement with Westfal-Larsen Shipping to bring combined shipments of steel and plywood into the Port of Liverpool on a new Far East service.