The first freight trains reached the construction site for Sizewell C, the future nuclear plant being built in Leiston, on the English southeastern coast. “Between now and Christmas alone, around 100,000 tonnes of material will be delivered to the project by rail”, said Sizewell C in a note.
The delivery of aggregates directly to the Sizewell C Temporary Construction Area was made possible by the opening of a new 2.8-km rail link connecting it to the main network, called Green Rail Route (GRR). “Building a brand new railway is a rare undertaking in the UK, and this milestone reflects years of planning, engineering and delivery excellence”, said Tom Emanuel, Project Lead at Balfour Beatty, the company that built the line.
Heavy Haul Rail, the bulk transport rail operator born after CMA CGM acquired the intermodal segment of Freightliner, took care of the service. “The first freight train was around 270 metres long and comprised box wagons hauled by a Class 66 locomotive”, Sizewell C added. The train came from Tunstead Quarry near Buxton, southwest of Manchester, where the aggregates material was mined.
Major role for rail
Initially, two freight trains will reach the construction site every night, but frequency is already scheduled to increase. “The number of trains using the GRR will increase in phases, with up to four freight trains a day running at peak capacity”, Sizewell highlighted.
In addition to the opening of the GRR, a new railhead was built, always by Balfour Beatty, to the Ancillary Construction Area. These upgrades are part of the goal of Sizewell C “to transport at least 60% of construction materials by sea or rail”. In addition, the Saxmundham junction, 12.5 km west of Leiston, will be modernised between 24 October and 1 November to implement a remote-controlled signalling system.
Sizewell C
The Sizewell C nuclear plant will be a replica of the Hinkley Point C facility, currently under construction on England’s southwestern coast. The one in Hinkley will commence operations in 2030, while the one in Leiston is expected to be completed in the mid-to-late 2030-s. When at full capacity, each plant will use two European Pressurised Reactors to power six million homes.
