OOCL and Freightliner sign 10-year dedicated train deal for the UK

Canadian shippers doing business in the United Kingdom can look forward to enhanced service from Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) thanks to a long-term agreement the ocean liner has inked with a rail freight operator.

OOCL and UK rail freight operator Freightliner have signed a deal that provides OOCL with a dedicated round trip train for the next ten years.

The contract, which begins Sept. 3, is the first of its type to be signed between Freightliner and a global container transportation and logistics provider for such a length of time.

The train will run five days a week round trip between Southhampton and Manchester. Southhampton is called upon by OOCL’s deep-sea vessels to and from Asia and the US, while Manchester is a natural inland rail hub for OOCL’s extensive customer base in the north of the UK.

Freightliner says it will operate this service using a dedicated class 66 locomotive.