Tarmac, the aggregates and building materials specialist, has officially opened a new rail depot at Hunters Lane in Rugby. It’s transformed a previously disused siding into an operational site supporting the delivery of construction materials to local markets, avoiding long-distance truck movements. The new railhead is commercially advantageous for local infrastructure and commercial developments.
The depot at Hunters Lane in Rugby is being leased from the UK government’s national infrastructure agency, Network Rail. It will enable materials to be transported into Rugby (in the English Midlands) by rail before being distributed locally by road. This shift supports a more efficient and sustainable supply chain, helping to reduce long-distance road haulage and better serve local construction projects. The terminal is adjacent to a critical part of the West Coast Main Line, Europe’s busiest mixed-traffic route.
Materials now on hand for local projects
The depot will play an important role in strengthening local supply resilience. The location is just north of Rugby passenger station, on the north side of the four-track mainline. The convenient city-centre location attracted Tarmac to the commercial advantages of the site. Reactivating Hunters Lane in its new capacity will ensure that materials are available closer to where they are needed for housing, infrastructure, and commercial developments.
“Bringing disused commercial freight sites back into use is critical to our collective mission to grow rail freight in the short, medium, and long-term future,” said Gregory March, Freight Business Development Manager at Network Rail. “I’m delighted to have worked closely with Tarmac to make the site at Rugby a productive commercial freight reality again.”
Needs of a modern-day terminal
The depot has had many uses over the decades. It has been both a coal terminal and a general merchandise siding. Later, it was a small container terminal. It last saw use as an engineering facility for Network Rail. This new development forms part of Tarmac’s wider strategy to increase the use of rail in its logistics operations, minimising carbon emissions and contributing to the company’s sustainability commitments.
“We’re proud to be opening our new Rugby depot and putting a disused rail site back into action,” said Chris Swan, Head of Rail at Tarmac. “By bringing materials directly into the town, we can reduce the need for long road journeys and provide a more efficient service for our customers. This is another important step in our commitment to making greater use of rail, reducing carbon, and supporting the delivery of local construction projects.”
Bowing out of the project, Gregory March looked towards the future. “The site has been refurbished and rationalised to meet the short, medium and long-term needs of a modern-day rail-connected aggregates terminal. I’m delighted to have worked with industry colleagues to make this site a productive commercial freight reality again. Making the best use of what we have today is critical in the delivery of rail freight growth tomorrow.”