A KENT port is hoping for a record-breaking year after launching a new rail link to the East Midlands.

Thamesport, which employs 300 staff on the Isle of Grain, near Rochester, now has a container handling rail link to Daventry, Northants, to boost existing rail links to the North and West Midlands.

Spokeswoman Rachael Jackson said the port now hoped to beat a previous record in 2007, when 50,000 containers passed through the port's rail terminal.

She said: "It is important we offer shippers a rail option so they can transport their goods via a range of modes.

"Rail is becoming increasingly attractive to use because on long distances it is financially viable.

"In addition, the UK's road network is busy and any initiative, which encourages shippers to use the rail network instead of roads has to be welcomed. It is a greener more sustainable mode of transport."

The port is owned by Hutchison Ports and was built in the early nineties, where the River Medway meets the estuary of the River Thames. The new five-day a week rail link will be operated by EWS Railway.

Chris Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Hutchison Ports (UK) Ltd, said: “This new service provides a boost to the range of destinations that are served by rail from Thamesport. We are committed to increasing the share of freight transported by rail through the port.”

Thamesport claims to be one of the most technologically advanced ports in the world, using high-speed ship-to-shore robotic cranes and modern warehousing.

Other improvement work is due to start in September this year, when the rail terminal’s sidings will be extended to allow 24-wagon-length trains to be handled without separating them.