What does DIRFT do?
In essence DIRFT is a rail-linked logistics park with a Rail Port (the ‘intermodal area’) where goods can arrive or be dispatched by either road or rail. The current facility includes the intermodal area, 390,645 sq m of warehousing (known as DIRFT I) and a further 180,741 sq m of rail-linked warehousing (known as DIRFT II) which is currently under construction.
The site currently employs around 4,000 people with a further 2,000 people anticipated at DIRFT II. Logistics buildings at DIRFT (warehouses for storage and distribution) are either owned or operated by individual occupiers. Many of these are high street retailers and some of these buildings are also directly rail-connected, so goods from trains can be loaded and unloaded directly from rail. Depending on the nature of their business, occupiers will often receive goods from suppliers to this central location and then redistribute them across their own network of regional warehouses or direct to shops.
Logistics parks form an essential part of the supply chain for most of the goods which we all rely on. Most retailers in Europe operate ‘just in time’ stock management systems which means that shops need to be continually resupplied to meet customer demands and keep prices low.
