Nuneaton North Chord freight line now open

The new 0.9 mile section of track links the existing cross-country rail route from Felixstowe to Nuneaton with the west coast main line allowing freight trains through Nuneaton station without affecting passenger services, helping reduce disruption and making the railway more reliable.

Britain relies on rail freight. This scheme is crucial because Nuneaton North Chord is a key part of our plans to improve freight capacity on the railway. This chord not only frees up space on the railway, but creates a more reliable railway for passengers and takes hundreds of thousands of lorries off the roads.

A greener method of transport

The Chord means the entire route between the Port of Felixstowe and Nuneaton can be used by freight trains carrying the larger 9’6″ or ‘high-cube’ containers increasingly used by global shipping companies.

These bigger containers can be taken straight from the Port of Felixstowe and transported by rail directly to the economic markets in West Midlands and north-west England without having to travel through north London, which they currently do.

Investing in rail freight

The new line forms an important part of our strategic freight network, and is part of a long-term investment programme on the Felixstowe to Nuneaton route which will help remove up to 750,000 lorries from the roads each year by 2030.

Read more about the Felisxtowe to Nuneaton improvement work.