SOUTHAMPTON CITY Council has rejected plans from Network Rail to build two additional sidings at Redbridge to serve the Port of Southampton.
NR submitted the application in early 2015, which sought to return the land at Redbridge Wharf Park to operational railway use. The sidings would have provided increased freight capacity for intermodal services from the Port to the West Midlands and beyond, accommodating 775-metre trains, rather than the maximum 520 metres which can presently be handled. NR said the sidings would also increase the number of manoeuvres possible to the port, increasing capacity and reliability. The work would have formed part of a wider project to resignal the access to the port, providing increased flexibility.
