Freightliner at Ipswich

Freightliner was set up by the British Railways Board in 1968 as part of the Modernisation Plan to haul container traffic which was then becoming the standard for movement of goods by sea and land.

In the 1980s I was responsible for the "sponsorship" of the Freightliner Division of BR at the then Department of Transport, which meant looking at the economic case for investment and the business plans of the division.

In 1995 it was set up as a separate company and in 1996 it was privatised as Freightliner to a management buy out. It has since expanded to be the second largest rail freight carrier in the UK and also now operates in Poland and Australia.

Here we see the Freightliner locomotive depot at Ipswich, which is close to the station. A Class 66 is moving past. Ipswich is strategically placed close to the largest container port in the UK at Felixstowe.