6,100m of New Crane Rails Part of Liverpool Port Project

Construction is underway on landmark container terminal Liverpool2, Peel Ports‘ £300 million in-river container terminal which will enable post-Panamax vessels of up to 13,500 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) to call directly at the Port of Liverpool, UK.

The project will involve the installation of 6,100m of new crane rails with eight ship-to-shore cranes and 27 rail-mounted gantry (RMG) cranes part of the development.

A dredging operation to remove one million cubic metres of material from the seabed was launched today (June 6, 2013) by former footballers Sir Bobby Charlton and Kenny Dalglish MBE at a groundbreaking event which saw over 300 commercial industry guests visit the port to celebrate Liverpool2’s launch.

Due to open in 2015, Liverpool2 will revolutionise UK logistics by attracting some of the world’s largest container vessels to a centrally-located UK distribution hub and a population of 35 million consumers within a radius of 150 miles. Liverpool2 will enable container ships from around the world to connect directly with the northern half of the UK and Ireland, and so serve a market estimated at around 4 million TEUs a year.

LHI reported last year that the Port of Liverpool was named Port Authority of the Year at the Containerisation International Awards in London, following a series of investments in new facilities. At that time, investment in cranes and lifting equipment included the purchase of a Liebherr and five Terex diesel-electric straddle carriers.

The manufacturers of the cranes to run on the new 6,100m rails at Liverpool2 were unknown at the time of publishing this story.