Teesside multimodal specialist, AV Dawson, has signed a strategic deal with Network Rail to give the firm control of the full rail sidings which link its entire 80-acre site to the East Coast Mainline.
The deal means AV Dawson’s customers can use the firm as a single supplier - from mainline rail through to road, sea terminal or warehouse - improving efficiency and cutting costs.
The agreement, to manage the neighbouring seven-acre Middlesbrough Goods Yard, comes as the family-run Teesside firm has completed work on its £12.5m expansion plans. The work has included a new deepwater river Tees quay, the TRIP (rail freight terminal the Tees Riverside Intermodal Park) and a huge, state-of-the-art automotive steel store.
The 99-year lease to manage the goods yard site includes all the operational rail sidings and will form an integral part of the overall intermodal logistics operation at Dawson’s Riverside Park HQ. The firm plans to spend £500,000 on renewals and improvements over the next five years.
AV Dawson M.D Gary Dawson
Gary Dawson, AV Dawson’s managing director, said: “Taking ownership of the Middlesbrough Goods Yard strategically underpins the investments we have made over recent years in building three additional rail served facilities, all of which rely on the goods yard for main line connection.
“It gives our investors and customers increased confidence in our business model and in their rail served supply chains. “Having such a vested interest means that we are committed to improving the integrity of the yard, and plan to expand its capacity.
“Work on these improvements will begin over the next few weeks.”
As a spin-off, AV Dawson has also taken over responsibility for maintaining the point of connection and the private infrastructure of Cobra Middlesbrough Ltd, which operates a dry bulk handling terminal offering processing and packing services.
Gary added: “I’m sure that working closer with Cobra Middlesbrough Ltd will only serve to strengthen the position of both companies within the Teesside rail freight industry and we hope to identify further synergies and business opportunities together in the future.”
Andrew Padley, managing director of Cobra Middlesbrough Ltd, said: “We’ve good relations between our two companies and look forward to cooperating together for many years to come. This is a wonderful opportunity to maximise the utilisation of this Middlesbrough facility.”
The Network Rail deal marks a new model of freight infrastructure ownership, where rail freight end users take direct control of the management and investment in the siding infrastructure which supports their rail business.
Guy Bates, head of freight development, for Network Rail said: “These sidings are a critical holding and marshalling point for traffic originating from and destined to Cobra and Dawson’s railheads.
“The long term programme of revitalisation and enhancement will see this legacy yard’s layout progressively transformed to be capable of handling the growing traffic base of modern length freight trains.”
AV Dawson opened its new £6.5m steel store in February this year.
“This infrastructure will secure the future for AV Dawson and enable us to build greater relationships with the freight operators and grow our support to the rail industry as a whole,” Gary added.
Dawson is a key player in the automotive steel logistics industry across the North-east. More than 270,000 tonnes of steel a year will arrive by rail from Tata Steel in Port Talbot, South Wales before eventually heading by road to Sunderland-based car giant Nissan on the back of Dawson’s specialist steel coil carrying trailers.
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