The Port of Tyne and the Port of Liverpool have had Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil fuelling facilities installed to service freight trains operated by GB Railfreight. Operated out of Peterborough, England, the rail freight operator has a long-standing contract to move biomass wood pellets from those ports, to serve the Drax power station complex in Yorkshire. End-to-end hauls from the ports are both approximately 100 miles (160km).
GBRf has signed a twelve-month agreement with the energy generating company Drax to use Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) for its rail freight services. GBRf has been running trains to Drax since 2016. It has moved over fifteen million tonnes of biomass in that time, hauled by 10,000 train journeys – an average of three journeys per day, loaded to 1,800 tonnes.
Carbon reduction plan
The credentials of the rail freight operations have never been called into question. However, the cargo delivered by GBRf, characterised as a sustainable fuel by their client, has raised some controversy. Environmental interests, notably the lobby group Greenpeace, have questioned if the wood pellet sources are all from waste materials and not from virgin felling.
“We’ve had a strong relationship with Drax for over twelve years,” said John Smith, the chief executive at GB Railfreight. “I’m delighted that, together, we’ve agreed to use HVO to deliver our services. This is one of many initiatives within GB Railfreight’s carbon reduction plan that will support the UK Government achieve its ambitions to make the UK a clean energy superpower.”
Successful trials elsewhere
The modest installations at Liverpool and Tyne have provided GBRf with a quick win in their own primary emissions targets and a supply chain goal for Drax and the ports. Conceivably, further services, for other clients, could be run using the fuel station. HVO has been used experimentally by other rail freight operators in the UK. Hopes are high that HVO could fuel the EMD-built Class 66 diesels – the workhorse of British rail freight operations, with around 450 units in service.
“This agreement marks an important step in our commitment to sustainability and innovation in transport,” said Mark Gibbens, Head of Logistics at Drax.. “By exclusively using HVO for rail services, we are reducing our supply chain emissions and supporting the transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy solutions. We are proud to continue our long-standing partnership with GB Railfreight, helping drive both energy security and the UK’s decarbonisation goals forward.”