Thames Freeport - Britain's Trading Future

[ 60 ] reaches as far as Romania. The latest addition to this network came at the end of 2020 with the train between the Czech Republic and Rotterdam Europoort, with four departures in each direction per week. This new service is the first to provide a direct multimodal link between the Czech Republic and Britain and the first direct rail link between the Czech Republic and the Netherlands to use mega trailers. Part of the train will stop at Duisburg, the world’s biggest inland port, which will be used as a gateway to connect Lovosice with other European terminals. Customers face complex challenges in transporting goods from A to B across long distances in a context of time-critical, cost- constrained supply chains. Through this new service P&O Ferrymasters will deliver value for customers by driving efficiency and helping them to eliminate waste while reducing CO 2 emissions in their supply chains. The company train network is complemented by shuttle train services from France and Spain as well the railhead at Oradea in Romania, which is operated on a joint venture basis. P&O Ferrymasters has introduced customs clearance services for goods movements between the UK and the EU and these services are expected to launch before the end of 2021. P&O supply chain experts will then ‘package’ all of the above together to create tailor made supply chain solutions for the customer. Automotive, consumer goods, chemicals, steel and retail are some of the key industry verticals served. By combining its assets on road, rail, ports, ferries, bonded warehouses and now Thames Freeport, P&O Ferrymasters will be able to bring Eastern Europe and Asia very close to London and a 30 million-strong population of UK consumers. The above-mentioned train connections at both Tilbury2, as well as P&O’s services at the Port of Zeebrugge, play an important part in improving sustainability performance. Many major customers now require specific, and demonstrable, evidence of CO 2 emissions, sometimes on a ‘per journey’ basis. The freeport itself will create opportunities to raise the bar on sustainability. For example, it will make it easier to import goods into the UK in bulk and package them on arrival. Given that much of the weight and volume of consumer goods in particular is made up of packaging, this should allow much more efficient transportation to the freeport. In addition to 22 local offices in 14 countries across Europe, P&O Ferrymasters underpins its service offer to customers with market leading technology. In this area, P&O benefits from being part of DP World, the leading global provider of smart logistics. The latest development was the introduction of an advanced container track and trace system in September 2020, making P&O Ferrymasters the first major logistics business in P&O Ferrymasters’ integrated European network P & O F E R RY M A S T E R S