Rail freight hub opens within 337-acre iPort logistics hub

iPort Rail in Doncaster, the UK’s newest intermodal inland rail freight hub, has opened and is fully operational.

Located on a 30-acre site within the 337-acre iPort logistics hub, iPort Rail is a state-of-the-art rail freight facility able to accommodate the UK’s longest trains up to six times a day. It has storage capacity for 1,500 TEUs and a reach stacker operation with a 115-tonne front axle load.

The site, developed by Verdion, connects to the East Coast Main Line and is located next to the M18, close to Doncaster Sheffield Airport and within two hours of the East Coast’s deep water ports.  It is the first of its kind for ten years.

John Clements, European development director at Verdion, said: “This is an enormous milestone for iPort. Demand for rail freight is increasing and having a dedicated rail terminal on site is an important asset for our occupiers.

“iPort Rail’s opening means we can offer even better connectivity to and from the Yorkshire region for national and international freight transport

“We are also seeing a great deal of interest from businesses in the region not located at iPort wanting to take advantage of this rail connection to move and store their goods.”

iPort itself also offers up to 6m sq ft of logistics warehousing, with Amazon, CEVA, Fellowes and Lidl already operating on site. Amazon’s 1.1m sq ft mega-shed was completed last year.

Verdion is a European real estate investor and developer of logistics warehousing.