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August delivery for new Liebherr cranes for Freightliner at Southampton Maritime

Freightliner Ltd has made a significant investment in new replacement cranes at Southampton Maritime Terminal to boost reliability and support the forthcoming berth enhancements at the port.

Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd, the leading manufacturer of container cranes in Europe, have recently completed production of two rail head gantry cranes in Ireland which are currently being shipped to Southampton Port and due for installation in August 2012. The enhancement follows complementary additional schemes for new cranes at Birmingham and Manchester.

The new cranes will improve the lift rate with the capability to span 13 roads in comparison to the 7 roads that the existing cranes can facilitate. The crane design also allows for substantial additional height to provide access for the day-to-day integrated and unique Freightliner/DP World operation of double and now triple high straddle carriers directly into the Freightliner terminal. The cranes also replace the existing requirement of ancillary machines to support the overhead cranes.

It is envisaged that the cranes will eventually increase lift capacity by up to 80%, although the overall capacity will be increased in stages. The initial increase will meet the new demand driven by the recent gauge enhancements that has allowed 9’6 high cube containers to be hauled on standard wagons to the Midlands, Northwest and Scotland.

Further infrastructure improvements are also planned for the rail terminal, specifically to add more roads and increase track length to coincide with the Southampton Port’s scheme to upgrade 201/2 berth. The new cranes will provide the opportunity to completely overhaul and improve the operations in Southampton and generate enhanced working methods with DP World Southampton.

Freightliner currently operates 14 daily round trip services from Southampton to 10 inland terminals throughout the UK, seven of which are owned and operated by Freightliner.

Adam Cunliffe, managing director, Freightliner Ltd commented: “Freightliner remains the only rail freight operator to provide and continually invest within its supporting port and terminal network. The replacement cranes at Southampton represent the largest and most efficient port or terminal rail cranes in the UK. The cranes again confirm Freightliner’s unparalleled capital commitment to support its unique service offering, further enhancing the ability of our customers to reliably use rail as the preferred mode of choice for inland distribution.”