GB Railfreight welcomes start of Control Period 5

Today sees the start of Control Period 5, a five-year term during which Network Rail will spend and invest £38bn in our national rail network . It comes on the back of the opening of the Ipswich Chord yesterday, a £59m Government project that will boost operations from the Port of Felixstowe to the West Midlands. In response to these developments, John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said: 

“GB Railfreight welcomes the start of Control Period 5 today. It will bring £38bn of much-needed investment to the national rail network, improving capacity, train journey times and operator reliability. 

“Network Rail has affirmed that removing freight from road onto rail is a central part of its policy over the next five years. Planned signal remodelling and the introduction of the a double-track on the Felixstowe – Nuneaton route is certainly going to facilitate this modal shift, as a result of better coordinated operations and capacity enhancements. 

“GBRf is looking forward to working with Network Rail to ensure that rail infrastructure, and specifically rail freight infrastructure, gets the support it needs to drive growth in the industry, and we will continue to offer innovative solutions to our customers that maximises this growth”