OPERATIONS AT the Anglesey Rail Intermodal Freight Terminal (ARiFT) at Holyhead began on 27 July with the movement of Mk 5a coaches for TransPennine (p85, September issue). Marine and logistics operator Armitt Group is responsible for the terminal’s operation and is hoping to capture other freight traffic.
The 5.5-hectare facility, which can be expanded to 10 hectares, is part of the 213-acre Orthios Logistics Hub & Eco Park site located where the former aluminium smelter closed in 2009. As well having a rail connection the site is adjacent to the A55, close to Anglesey airport and within 2km of Holyhead port.
The terminal can handle up to six trains per day with a maximum length of 750 metres. It has a 700-metre reception siding and two 400-metre handling sidings, with provision for extension to 950 metres in the future. The site provides a storage capacity of 550 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) laden or 950 TEU empty.
