Port Salford is proposed to be the UK’s first tri-modal inland waterway port which will be served by ship, rail and road. This ground-breaking development is to include an inland port, rail link, container terminal facility and 1.5m sq ft of logistics floor space. It will support 16 trains a day and has the capacity to support full European 775m-long trains. It will have good rail access to the Port of Liverpool and to the West Coast Main Line north and south.
Ocean Gateway: A redevelopment strategy for the North West
Port Salford forms part of Ocean Gateway, a redevelopment strategy for the North West focusing on opportunities across the Peel Group portfolio in the corridor between Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Planning permission for Port Salford, including 154,500 square metres of distribution warehousing, highways works, new rail link and wharf was granted by Salford City Council in 2009.
£48m investment
The highway works are known as the Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme (WGIS) and include works within the boundaries of both Salford City Council and Trafford Borough Council. To date the first phase of WGIS works have been completed and constitute a £48m investment, these improvement works to key junctions at Jct 10 & 11 of the M60, new dual carriageway lifting bridge and Bridgewater Circle improvements in Trafford have significantly improved traffic flows in the area, whilst connecting the Port of Salford, TraffordCity, MediaCityUK, Manchester Waters into the heart of Manchester City Centre.
We currently have the first 26,300 sq m warehouse built and operated by Great Bear distribution. This is operating at full capacity and providing 220 jobs.
£60m rail freight terminal
The next crucial stage of delivering Port Salford is the 28-acre £60m rail freight terminal which will be linked to the Chat Moss line then onto the West Coast Main Line and beyond. Now that the viability gap funding has been sourced from the Getting Building Fund this project can progress through into more technical approvals for the rail permission with Network Rail and work with their scheduling team in Milton Keynes to agree train access/egress to Port Salford. The early enablement package (funded by the grant package) will allow for works on the rail freight terminal to progress at pace once the institutional funding for the wider terminal is agreed in the coming months. It is anticipated that the Port Salford terminal will commence operations in 2023.
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Supported by Salford City Council, Regional Growth Fund, Department for Transport and Trafford Borough Council