A landmark agreement has been struck between the UK’s leading road and rail freight logistics provider and the developers of the £1 billion West Midlands Interchange (WMI) project.
Maritime Transport has been appointed as the strategic rail freight interchange operator at WMI, marking a significant milestone in the progress of the south Staffordshire-based project.
The deal has been secured by Oxford Properties Group and developer Logistics Capital Partners who acquired the 734-acre site in a joint venture in 2021.
The interchange, on the West Coast mainline, will sit alongside 8 million square feet of prime warehouse facilities and is seen as key to the success of what will be the country’s largest intermodal logistics site.
The first phase of development has already commenced, comprising significant infrastructure works including earthworks, highways construction, water installation and the creation of two new community parks.
James Boadle, Senior Vice President at Oxford Properties, said: “This next step to create the leading intermodal logistics facility in the UK’s Golden Triangle is a significant one.
“Maritime are the leaders in their field, and WMI is the leading logistics development in the country – the two coming together will deliver a significant boost to the regional and national economy.”
John Williams, Group Executive Chairman of Maritime, said: “As the leading road and rail freight logistics provider in the UK, West Midlands Interchange is the obvious next addition to our rail network.
“Being the long-term operator of WMI fits exactly with our wider strategy of decarbonising the full load supply chain by moving cargo closer to the end user by rail.”
As part of the process of preparing to operate from WMI Maritime have submitted a planning application for their site offices.
The development of the WMI scheme is taking place at Four Ashes on land west of Junction 12 of the M6 near to Cannock.
It is estimated that up to 8,500 jobs could be created during the construction, development and operation of the UK’s biggest logistics site.
