New Northampton freight station enhances cargo transport

Train engineers are getting ready to connect a new rail freight station to the main train line in Northampton.

On Wednesday, August 9th, a drone showed where they will build the link to the SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton’s Strategic Rail Freight Interchange.

By next year, when it’s finished, the centre will cover 5 million sq ft for warehousing and could provide jobs for as many as 7,000 individuals.

This new rail link will serve Maritime, a freight firm, allowing tons of goods to transition between trains and trucks near Junction 15 of the M1 motorway every day.

Most of the track work has happened without affecting the current trains, but the next step will impact some passenger services. Next month, the railway teams will connect the new interchange they’re building to one of the busiest train lines in Europe.

This involves putting in new tracks, points, and signals. To do this, a part of the main train line between Milton Keynes and Northampton will be closed from Saturday, September 2nd, to Sunday, September 10th.

During this time, there won’t be direct trains between North Wales and London, and travel will take longer using different routes, possibly with buses replacing trains. The schedules for trains will also change.

Kate Bedson, SEGRO senior director of national logistics, said: “The Strategic Rail Freight Interchange is a central part of the SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton development and we look forward to the connection to the rail network being completed so that the terminal can be operational ahead of the first customer occupying the first warehouse.

“We are confident that the short term disruption while this vital work is undertaken will be far outweighed by the longer term benefits of the overall development and the rail freight capability at this location.”