The project involves constructing a second track on the 1.8km section between Grimston Lane foot crossing and Trimley station. Infrastructure manager Network Rail says this will increase freight capacity from 33 to 47 trains per day, while also improving the reliability of regional passenger services.

Freight operators have long complained that the lack of capacity on the rail link to Britain’s largest container port is an impediment to growth in the intermodal sector, where additional traffic is needed to help offset the recent sharp decline in bulk markets such as coal and steel