Neill & Brown launches sustainable European rail freight service

The company has also launched a trial of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for its pallet delivery fleet, as part of the company’s wider sustainability drive.

The new European rail freight service complements the company’s established European road and sea services and offers customers a lower-carbon alternative on one of the continent’s busiest freight corridors.

Both Neill & Brown and Sogedim have made a “significant” investment in Huckepack trailers to provide intermodal transport to and from Italy.

Six of the specialist reinforced trailers, which are designed for rail and road transport, have been delivered to Neill & Brown to transport customers’ goods bound for Italy.

They will be taken by Neill & Brown’s trucks from the company’s Hessle headquarters via road and then ferry from Hull, before being lifted onto a freight train at Zeebrugge.

Neill & Brown, which already provides daily timed deliveries to and from Italy, said the intermodal upgrade will provide customers with a new, sustainable transport option.

Carl Andrew (pictured), Neill & Brown’s logistics director, commented: “We have a superb relationship with Sogedim and believe this joint venture has great potential.

“It is a major investment in an efficient and reliable mode of transport to and from one of our most popular destinations, and we are thrilled to see the delivery of these striking additions to our fleet.

“By taking advantage of the existing rail freight infrastructure on the UK-Italy route, we can now provide more choice to our customers, who are increasingly looking for less carbon intensive haulage solutions.”

As a shareholder member of Pallex, Neill & Brown provides a daily UK service, including hundreds of deliveries each week in Hull and surrounding areas.

The firm transports products ranging from food ingredients, pharmaceuticals and general cargoes, to chemicals, hazardous and specialist loads.

Neill & Brown also operates warehousing at two strategic Hull and Humber sites, an in-house customs documentation and clearance service, a worldwide sea and air service and an abnormal loads service.

The company has also launched a trial of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for its palletised delivery service.

Andrew said: “Our pallet delivery service is hugely popular, and now each one of those drops could come with a dramatically smaller carbon footprint.

“Although this greener fuel is a higher price than regular diesel, we will be absorbing the cost during the trial period before consulting with customers.

“Renewable diesel offers a minimum 65% lifecycle reduction in emissions and can reach up to 90%. With no engine or fuel system modifications needed, it’s a smooth switch with a big environmental impact.”