The Anonymous Widower

Felixstowe v. London Gateway

With London Gateway receiving its first ship in November, the war of words between the port and its rivals is hotting up.

There’s a report here from the Daily Telegraph, which says that Felixstowe will be a cheaper port to use.  But it was produced by the port’s owners, so we should probably add a shovel of sea salt.

As a man of Suffolk, who has seen Felixstowe rise from a small dock to the giant port it is today, London Gateway should probably look at the lessons of history, where Suffolk has a proud record of taking on invaders. Boadicea’s descendents will give London Gateway a very strong and probably dirty fight.

london Gateway makes a lot about having the land for a large logistics park by the port, but then you’ve still got to get the containers to the market and can London’s roads, the M25 and the railways cope with getting the boxes away? The Gospel Oak to Barking line may be being electrified, but will the residents of North London put up with container trains at all hours? Felixstowe is at the end of the line and electrifying the line to Peterborough and beyond, with a certain amount of double-tracking would help that port cut costs further.

We live in interesting times!

August 12, 2013 - Posted by AnonW | World | Felixstowe, Freight, London Gateway, Trains