THE GBP70 million (US$114.6 million) rail route supposed to cut 50,000 truck journeys a year between Southampton and Nuneaton, via Reading, Didcot, Oxford and Banbury, is complete.

    BBC News reported trains can distribute freight more quickly and economically. Network Rail has said much of the traffic on the A34 highway is caused by trucks moving cargo to and from the port.

    The aim is to get 40 per cent of containers going through Southampton Port on rail, rather than road.

    During the work, Southampton tunnel was made deeper and more than 20 bridges were rebuilt, said the BBC report.

    Adam Cunliffe, of Freightliner, which operates the trains, said: "Today we'll be running two extra services. That allows us to take up to 170 boxes, which would have otherwise gone by road. That benefits not just the local community but the entire network."

    But the way the owner of Southampton Port - Associated British Ports (ABP) - plans to recover its share of the cost is causing controversy.

    Shipping companies have complained to the Office of Fair Trading about plans by ABP to levy a surcharge of GBP3 per container for the next eight years.

(Source:http://www.schednet.com)