WALKERS Shortbread will be among the first customers to use a new rail freight service between Mossend in Lanarkshire and the quayside at Liverpool, which has been launched by Peel Ports and DB Cargo UK.

Peel Ports, which owns Clydeport, said the service was due to begin on May 8, with goods loaded at the Port of Liverpool and transferred to Mossend terminal, before onward delivery to destinations across Scotland.

It added that the returning service to Liverpool would carry Scottish goods for export, “with a large portion destined for America”.

Peel declared that Scottish family company Walkers Shortbread, which produces 40,000 tons of biscuits annually and exports 700 containers a year to the US, would be one of the first customers to use the service.

The service will comprise up to 30 wagons and is expected to carry more than 40 containers per trip, the ports company noted. It added that the service would run three days a week initially.

Hans-Georg Werner, chief executive of Deutsche Bahn rail freight subsidiary DB Cargo UK, said: “Introducing express rail services between Liverpool and Mossend is a really sustainable solution, significantly reducing the need for HGVs (heavy goods vehicles) to travel thousands of miles on our roads each week.”

Andrew Stokes, head of international sales at Walkers Shortbread, said: “Increasing our logistics efficiency and reducing our road-haulage miles are both key to our export strategy. The new rail service connecting Scotland with Liverpool provides us with direct, regular access to our gateway to America.”