Plans to boost the movement of goods into and out of Associated British Ports (ABP) Humber Ports without adding to road congestion were announced on 9 March.

A partnership of organisations have been working closely to develop a package of schemes which will improve rail freight access to ABP's ports at Hull and Immingham; bringing substantial economic and environmental benefits to the region.

Dyan Crowther, Route Director for Network Rail said: "The recent Eddington report identified the importance of freight routes in supporting the ports as they expand to meet international demand. This package of improvements will allow the ports at Hull and Immingham to continue to expand in their key market areas through the provision of rail links. Additionally the movement of freight by rail from the ports supports Government objectives for the transfer of freight from road to rail where practicable."

Chris Geldard, ABP's Head of Rail Development, commented: "ABP has invested, and continues to invest, in the development of new terminals and facilities at its Ports of Hull and Immingham. This investment in upgraded rail infrastructure will therefore support the additional handling capacity we have added to our ports by enabling ever-increasing volumes of cargo to be moved efficiently in and out of these ports. This will be integral to facilitating the future growth of trade at the Ports of Hull and Immingham, as well as for the region's economy, for which these ports serve as a major gateway for trade to Europe and the rest of the world."

On the HULL DOCKS BRANCH LINE £13.1million is being spent to improve the infrastructure. Once complete this will increase capacity from ten to 22 trains in each direction per day. Work will start on site in Summer 2007 and will be complete in around nine to 12 months.

John Jarvis, representing the Northern Way and Yorkshire Forward, said: "The Humber Ports contribute over £250 million a year to the regional economy and support over 47,000 jobs. Improved rail access to the Humber Ports is an important priority for the regional economic strategy, for the north and for the country as a whole. The north's ports handle over one third of UK port traffic and in the Humber we have the UK's leading port complex. Today's announcement is therefore very good news for the region. The investment that Yorkshire Forward, the Northern Way and other partners are making in improving rail access will further increase the ports’ economic contribution and support international trade and jobs and businesses in the region and across the north."

South of the Humber, £10million is being invested in the BRIGG LINE to allow the movement of regular scheduled freight. This traffic will be mostly coal to Cottam and West Burton Power stations and using this route will significantly improve productivity for coal trains as it is shorter distance and not slowed by the bottle neck at Doncaster. This work will be entirely funded by Network Rail.

Stephen Taylor, Project Director, The Humber Economic Partnership added: "The Humber is the UK's busiest trading complex with over 88 million tonnes of cargo handled per annum. Investment into the transport links to/from the Humber's hinterland is essential for sustainable economic growth both regionally and nationally. We are delighted that the project team working with Network Rail has secured this substantial new investment in rail freight capacity."