DFDS has announced that it will double capacity on its weekly intermodal rail service from Waterford Port to Ballina commencing on the March 2016. As the pioneers of containerised rail freight in Ireland, DFDS now feels that the time is right to offer this increased intermodal service to its customers.
The new capacity will benefit customers in the west and north west of Ireland in particular, providing them with a cost effective alternative when compared with a road based shipping option. Coupled with this, the customer also reduces their carbon footprint.
The train timetable is optimised to meet the DFDS sailing schedules from Waterford Port to Rotterdam, which allows for onward delivery into Europe. Customers can now load in the west of Ireland on Tuesday morning and deliver in Holland on Friday. Rotterdam also provides access to DFDS sailings to Norway, and rail connections to Italy and Turkey, allowing for a rail-sea-rail connection from Ballina to Milan and Istanbul.
Importers into Ireland will also benefit from this extra capacity, with the rail solution particularly suitable for bulk tank operators and also shippers of large volume to the west and north of Ireland.
This is an important addition to the DFDS services in Ireland, and they are now the only truly multimodal operator on the island.
DFDS is also working with Irish Rail to further develop its rail capacity by offering longer trains. Trials are currently in progress.
From
http://www.multimodal.org.uk/news/dfds-doubles-rail-capacity-ireland