East Midlands Gateway

The East Midlands Gateway is a 700-acre (280 ha) rail freight terminal and intermodal freight centre situated to the west of the village of Kegworth in the English East Midlands. It is operated by SEGRO and officially known as the SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway (SLPEMG). It is located within the triangle formed by the cities of Derby (15 km or 9.3 mi), Nottingham (17 km or 11 mi) and Leicester (24 km or 15 mi). It has rail access from the Castle Donington line, road access from junction 24 of the M1 motorway, and lies immediately to the north of East Midlands Airport. It thus unites air, road, and rail freight in a central location.^[1][2][3][4]

East Midlands Gateway
SLPEMG entrance sign
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Location
Location	Kegworth, Leicestershire
Coordinates	52.833889°N 1.300806°W / 52.833889; -1.300806
Details
Built	2019
Operated by	SEGRO
Size	700 acres (280 ha)

The rail terminal under construction

The gateway comprises purpose-built rail freight terminal, access roads and a number of warehouses and distribution centres, making this distribution hub one of the UK's first inland ports. The rail terminal within the gateway is capable of handling up to 16 trains/day of up to 775 metres (2,543 ft) in length, and has space to store more than 5,000 TEU of shipping containers. It is linked to the railway network by a specially built 3.5-kilometre (2.2 mi) branch line, with trains linking other rail freight interchanges, the Channel Tunnel, and ports such as Southampton, Felixstowe and London Gateway.^[3][5]

As of 2021^[update], ten of the eleven warehouse plots on the site were let, with tenants including Amazon, Arvato, DHL, Games Workshop, Kuehne + Nagel, Shop Direct and XPO, Inc..^[3][6][7]

From a local government perspective, the terminal spreads across the civil parishes of Kegworth, Lockington-Hemington and Long Whatton and Diseworth, all of which are in the district of North West Leicestershire and the county of Leicestershire.^[4]

History

In 2011, the UK government announced a policy to encourage the development of strategic rail freight interchanges in order to support longer-term development of efficient rail freight distribution logistics. Such SRFIs would be key components in national and international networks, facilitating links between UK regions and the European Union. Plans for the development of a strategic rail freight interchange at East Midlands Gateway were first submitted in 2014, and planning hearings commenced the following year.^[8][9]

There were local objections to the proposal leading to the formation of the "J24 Action Group".^[10] The main reason for the objections was that the site was green countryside and that other brownfield sites were available. Indeed there was support for what was seen as the positive environmental impact of moving freight from road to rail if it adopted such a site. The objections included a petition to the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, which attained 1,331 signatures.^[11]

Permission to proceed with the proposal was granted on 2 February 2016, with the introduction of the UK Statutory Instrument, The East Midlands Gateway Rail Freight Interchange and Highway Order 2016.^[12] Construction was largely completed in 2019, and the first freight train served the interchange on 7 January 2020.^[13]

References

1. "East Midlands Gateway". www.slp-emg.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
2. "East Midlands Gateway - Masterplan". www.slp-emg.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
3. "East Midlands Gateway". Heart of the Midlands. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
4. Election Maps (Map). Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
5. "Eastern Gateway". NSC Magazine. 27 No 1 (January 2019). www.newsteelconstruction.com: 22–24. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021.
6. Helps, Liza (7 December 2021). "One plot left at SEGRO's East Midlands Gateway scheme". Logistics Manager. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
7. "XPO Logistics and Nestlé unveil warehouse of the future in Leicestershire". East Midlands Business Link. 30 March 2021. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
8. Greening, Justine (29 November 2011). "Strategic rail freight interchanges - Written statement to Parliament". Department for Transport. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
9. Rush, Andy (15 May 2015). "Hearings to take place over huge rail freight plans". Loughborough Echo. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
10. "J24 ACTION GROUP". www.j24actiongroup.org. 22 October 2016. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
11. "Stop the building of the Strategic Rail Freight Interchange at Castle Donington | 38 Degrees". you.38degrees.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
12. "The East Midlands Gateway Rail Freight Interchange and Highway Order 2016". www.legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
13. "First freight train to East Midlands Gateway Terminal". Railway Gazette International. DVV Media International. 15 January 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2022.