The first freight train, delivering construction materials, has arrived at the site of Sizewell C, Britain’s nuclear power station to be built on the east coast of England. As anticipated by RailFreight.com, the little used Leiston branch was reinstated for the task, to help meet commitments to reducing environmental impacts on the local rural road network.
The power station consortium has called it a major milestone for sustainable construction logistics. All milestones are major, of course. The first freight train carrying building materials marks the beginning of a wider strategy to shift construction materials to rail, easing pressure on rural Suffolk’s roads and cutting carbon emissions.
Ramping up its logistics operations
The inaugural train delivered 960 tonnes of railway ballast — the first load in a planned total of 10,000 tonnes to be transported to the site. The materials were offloaded into dump trucks and transferred to storage within the Ancillary Construction Area (ACA), setting the tone for a streamlined rail operation.
Three additional ballast trains are expected to arrive in the week after Easter. Sizewell C is now ramping up its logistics operations. Rail infrastructure works are being delivered by Balfour Beatty, as part of the Sizewell C wider commitment to sustainable transport.
High-value contracts to businesses in Suffolk
The arrival of these materials is a key step in preparing the site’s new railhead, which will play a central role in managing future deliveries. Sizewell C has pledged that 60 per cent of its construction materials will be delivered by rail or sea. The target is designed to reduce HGV traffic on local roads and minimise the environmental footprint of the project.
“These new contracts demonstrate how committed this project is to delivering high-value contracts to businesses here in Suffolk and across the UK,” Damian Leydon, Sizewell C Site Delivery Director, told RailFreight.com. “It shows that we have an abundance of the kind of skilled people we need right here in this region.”
Earlier reactions
This isn’t the first time rail has played a crucial role in powering up Suffolk. Both earlier reactors at the site, Sizewell A in the 1960s and Sizewell B in the late 1980s and early 1990s, relied heavily on rail freight for construction.
The branch line, which connects to the East Suffolk Line and on to Ipswich, has seen limited regular traffic in recent years, with nuclear fuel trains operated by Direct Rail Services (DRS), the rail arm of Nuclear Transport Solutions, who also maintain a depot at nearby Stowmarket forming the core of current operations in the region. NTS has a contract for the specialist movement of fissile material around the UK rail network.