Posted on: 7 March 2016
P&O Ferries has further increased the attractiveness of its Liverpool – Dublin route to freight customers with a major investment in a redesign of the layout at the port.
The capacity of the safe parking area on the terminal – where drivers can access showers and rest room facilities – is being increased from 35 vehicles to 70.
Crucially, the drivers in this area can now designate the time spent waiting in the terminal as a rest period on their Tachometer – whereas previously they couldn’t until they were physically on the vessel. By law, HGV drivers have to complete a continuous nine hour rest period during each working day.
P&O Ferries’ Port Manager at Liverpool, Brian McFarlane, said: “This is a major improvement for the route as the voyage between Liverpool and Dublin takes eight hours. With an extra hour’s rest while they wait to board the ship, all drivers can continue their onward journeys as soon as they arrive in Dublin.”
“A key part of the attractiveness of the route is the end-to-end journey times for loads which might have originated in central or eastern Europe. With an extra 30 plus drivers able to designate the whole of their time spent with us as a rest period, we are providing a better service to an additional 30 plus customers per sailing. This increase will pretty much ensure that all accompanied freight vehicles travelling to Dublin can be accommodated on the terminal.”
The development works began at the start of the year and are scheduled to be completed shortly after Easter.
P&O Ferries is a leading pan-European ferry operator, sailing on eight major routes between Britain, France, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Holland and Belgium. The company operates 20 vessels which carry more than 10 million passengers, 1.6 million cars and 2.2 million freight units every year.
