The first commercial freight train has arrived at the Sizewell C nuclear power plant construction site in Suffolk, arriving via a new Green Rail Route.
The train arrived in the Temporary Construction Area early on Tuesday (8 September), carrying more than 1,000 tonnes of construction materials from Tunstead Quarry near Buxton in Derbyshire. It was around 270 metres long and comprised box wagons hauled by a Class 66 locomotive.
The new 2.8km rail link connects the upgraded Sizewell branch line directly with the construction area, allowing materials to be transported to the site overnight while bypassing Leiston.
Sizewell C estimates that each freight train will remove the equivalent of around 50 HGV journeys from local roads. It said that around 100,000 tonnes of material are expected to be delivered by rail between now and Christmas, avoiding approximately 5,000 HGV journeys.
Initially, two overnight services will transport construction aggregates to the site, with traffic increasing in phases to as many as four freight trains a day at peak capacity.
Damian Leydon, site delivery director at Sizewell C, said: “By delivering 60% of our materials by rail and sea, we’re significantly reducing the burden on local roads and local communities here in Suffolk.”
Much of the construction work on the Green Rail Route was carried out by Balfour Beatty. The wider rail programme includes renewing 4.5 miles of track, upgrading level crossings and installing new signalling.
The development comes after the government announced a target to increase UK rail freight by at least 40% by 2040, as an interim milestone towards 75% growth by 2050. The government estimates that construction goods moved by rail could increase by 45% by 2040, high-value goods by 65% and critical goods by 7%.
