A rail freight company launched a new "collect and deliver" intermodal service today (23 March 2011) and promised to develop it to provide a service for "all cargoes" to "all destinations" in Britain and Europe.

GB Railfreight – now part of Eurotunnel – plans to provide a fully integrated road and rail operation to and from all major UK towns, plus trains to Europe.

The new six-days-a-week London Barking to Manchester Trafford Park service is a step on the way to creating a network of rail depots called interhubGB. The network will be based round depots at Barking, Daventry, Manchester, Glasgow and Bristol.

"A year from now we will have a fully integrated network," promised commercial director Tim Robinson. "We can carry various sizes of loads up to 45ft and we are happy to talk about carrying one box although our main task is to trunk-haul boxes on the railway.

"Using GBRf’s acknowledged expertise in rail transport and 4Rail’s logistics expertise, we believe the new service offers the best in road and rail.

"We may co-operate with other operators to service the parts of the country that we don't currently reach."

GB Railfreight will run regular trains to Dourges, near Lille, and also hopes to carry lorry semitrailers from Europe into Barking, using the high-speed link from Folkestone.

Because of the limitations of the British loading gauge, Barking is the furthest point in Britain that lorries can be carried on the backs of trains.

But managing director John Smith believes the Government should agree to enhance rail routes beyond Barking to allow lorries to be carried further into Britain on the backs of trains.

He added: "The Government now seems to accept that investment in rail will kickstart the economy."

GB Railfreight