LOGISTICS provider DP World, which operates rail-linked deep water port facilities at London Gateway and Southampton, is to offer financial incentives to customers in an attempt to encourage them to use rail rather than road for onward movement of their goods.
The ‘Modal Shift Programme’, which will be trialled at Southampton from September, initially for 12 months, will see a £10 flat fee charged on all import-laden containers. Customers will be reimbursed for containers which are transported more than 140 miles by rail.
For containers moved less than 140 miles by train, customers will receive a £70 incentive.
DP World believes the programme has potential to boost modal shift over shorter distances where the use of rail has been regarded as less economically beneficial and could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30,000 metric tonnes a year.