Quote:
Originally Posted by klordger1900
I wouldnt be surprised if they have closed it down. Most block trains to/from the ports go direct to inland depots which are economical for trainloads. There isnt any need to marshall the contrs through London as such because the docks are served by road locally.
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Since coming into being in 1994, Willesden Euroterminal prime purpose has never been as a terminal to cater for maritime traffic to/from the ports. Formerly a Freightliner terminal, handling both the intra-Britain and European traffic shipped in Freightliner units, the re-born Euroterminal was originally there just to handle Channel Tunnel intermodal trains.
Following the demise of all common-user Channel Tunnel intermodal services in 2006, due in large part to the problems stemming from recurring French rail strikes and UK/French customs checks, Euroterminal has been disused, apart from a brief spell spent handling maritime containers to/from Thamesport.
I doubt very much if anyone will see the yellow cranes moving there again.
Firstly, of the four cranes on site, the largest pair, the Morris units, are not as operationally efficient as present-day designs, and as such, it would probably not be worth the time, money and effort rehabilitating them. It’s no surprise that Freightliner chose to decommission the two pairs of Morris cranes of the same design, in use at Landor Street and Trafford Park respectively, during the last 12-18 months or so. They were barely 15 years old.
Secondly, Willesden is, as it has always been, an awful terminal in terms of road access. So, even in the unlikely scenario whereby DB Schenker were to offer the same kind of multi-user services that were begun in 1994, I can’t see many logistics companies being that enthusiastic about running their traffic through Willesden, due in large part to the risk of delays and costs caused by road traffic congestion.
In essence, I would say that although Willesden Euroterminal still exists in the physical sense, in the commercial sense, it is already dead.
It’s only a matter of time, I think, before DB Schenker hires in contractors to take the Morris cranes away to a scrap yard somewhere. Perhaps the one that EMR operates at Willesden!
As for other two cranes at Willesden, made by the now-defunct Armund, these, I think, will have a future elsewhere in Britain. They are probably worth rehabilitating, and could find a home at an existing intermodal terminal that operates with reach stackers only at the moment, such as Daventry, or at an as yet un-built terminal, such as the Goodmans-proposed terminal in Slough.
The latter, incidentally, has the potential to be a far larger and busier London terminal than the Prologis proposal at Howbury, which, despite the media hype, can only ever be a small operation.