Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve rail freight access between PD Teesport and London Gateway.

Network Rail have taken steps to increase port connectivity by increasing the number of paths from both Teesport and London Gateway. Collaborative working between Network Rail, DP World and freight operators has led to capacity out of London Gateway more than doubling in the past year, increasing from 10 to 22 available paths.

Launched in Summer 2024, Network Rail’s Access Charges Discount Policy offers timebound 6-month discounts on track access charges for new freight flows, whilst volumes on new services build up and become financially sustainable.

In April of this year, under the Discounts Policy, a new daily service between Teesport and Doncaster was approved, releasing more capacity from the North East to South Yorkshire. In the same month, a new service from London Gateway to Tinsley commenced, running six additional trains per week.