Image Credit: Sam Dixon
A new rail service launched by Direct Rail Services (DRS) is set to significantly reduce carbon emissions and support the safe disposal of nuclear waste. The initiative will see over 46,000 tonnes of aggregate transported by rail to the Low Level Waste (LLW) Repository site near Drigg, Cumbria.
DRS, the rail division of Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), will operate two trains daily, four days a week, delivering aggregate for the Southern Trench Interim Membrane (STIM) project. This project is crucial for replacing a protective barrier over legacy disposal trenches at the LLW Repository, managed by Nuclear Waste Services (NWS).
The use of rail transport offers a substantial environmental advantage, producing up to 76% less CO2 than road transport. This initial phase of rail services is projected to save approximately 100,000kg in CO2 emissions, equivalent to taking hundreds of lorries off the road.
This marks the debut of DRS’s JNA-Z box wagons, each train carrying over 750 tonnes of material – the equivalent of 36 heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). The current phase of the project will utilise 64 trains, saving an estimated 2,320 lorry journeys and eliminating over 150,000 road miles.
The aggregate originates from Shap quarry and will be transported to the LLW Repository over the project’s three-year duration. Further train movements are planned for subsequent phases.
Gottfried Eymer, NTS Rail Managing Director, said: “Rail is the obvious choice for bulk movements like these, taking many thousands of lorries off the road, reducing congestion, and improving the environment.
“This is the first of many movements for our box wagons, and I look forward to seeing them running across the country.”
