New freight link will take thousands of lorries off A9
inverness rail interchange to be opened by scottish transport minister
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A NEW rail freight interchange, which is expected to take thousands of lorries off the A9, will be formally opened next week by the Scottish Government’s transport minister.
Stewart Stevenson will cut the ribbon on the rail port at Needlefield Yard, Longman Industrial Estate, Inverness, on Tuesday.
The official opening of the terminal comes two-and-a-half months after services, operated by hauliers John G. Russell and Stobart Group, of Coatbridge and Grangemouth respectively, began on November 4.
At present the rail services carry items destined for the three Tesco stores in Inverness, as well as supermarkets at Aviemore, Dingwall, Elgin, Forres, Thurso, Ullapool and Wick. The switch to rail is expected to save more than 13,000 lorry journeys on the A9 between Bridge of Allan and Inverness every year.
Graeme Undy, rail freight operations manager for Stobart Group, said: “The number of fatalities on the road is one of the reasons that Tesco wanted to cut down on the number of its lorries using the road, as well as reducing its carbon footprint.”
Mr Undy said that, while Stobart Group was currently dealing exclusively with Tesco, it would consider offers from any company which wanted to transport goods to the Highlands.
Commenting on the success of the rail link so far, he said: “It’s been fantastic. We haven’t missed a beat and services ran throughout Christmas.” At the opening, Mr Stevenson is expected to speak about Scottish Government efforts to persuade businesses to use more environmentally-friendly modes of transport.
The initiative was made possible after the government awarded £2.1million to John G. Russell and £982,000 to Stobart Group last year.
