Kent's massive container port on the Isle of Grain is letting the train take more of the strain.

Up to one-in-four of the thousands of containers now go to or from the London Thamesport site by rail rather than road, according to figures just released.

The 25 per cent figure, hit in July, represented a new record for the port, one of the UK's biggest.

Rail movements that month were the highest handled at Thamesport since 2008.

The port anticipates its rail traffic will remaining high and says further record-breaking volumes are possible in the busy pre-Christmas period.

Although it will not divulge detailed statistics for throughput, the company has revealed that last year more than 40,000 lorry journeys were saved by using rail.

David Gledhill, chief executive of Thamesport owners Hutchison Ports (UK) Ltd, said: "We are dedicated to transporting as many containers as possible by rail, thus easing pressure on the country's road network and reducing both our carbon footprint and that of our customers."