The first freight train arrived this week at HS2's newest construction hub at Bucks, located on the existing freight line north of Aylesbury.
It is expected to welcome around 1,800 freight trains over the next three years due to the expected intensive works. Delivering construction materials by rail instead of HGV should save 27,903 tCO2e (tonnes of carbon), equivalent to 126 million miles driven by the average petrol car - or 156,408 round journey between London and Edinburgh.
HS2 began delivering construction materials to its other sites in Buckinghamshire by rail two years ago. In that time 655 trains have delivered 1.1 million tonnes of aggregate, removing more than 116,000 truck journeys from the road and saving an estimated 13,000 tonnes co2e.
“We are serious about reducing the impact of construction on the local community and promoting sustainable construction methods. That’s why we started delivering materials by rail two years ago and this new railhead will help us continue to take huge numbers of trucks off local roads,” said Paul Marshall, HS2 Ltd Senior Project Manage.
Once on-site, most of the material, particularly aggregate used in construction, will be stockpiled and then moved along the trace of the new high-speed line to keep the material the material away from local road users.
The railhead was set up by the main contractor for the HS2 works, EKFB - a team made up of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction, and Bam Nuttall. They worked with a team from Network Rail who have completed a series of alterations that will enable freight services to operate in and out of the new railhead at Quainton.
“Our team have worked at pace to complete adjustments on this section of railway which will help our partners at HS2 to reduce carbon by taking lorries off the roads in Buckinghamshire,” commented Simon Winfield, head of the delivery unit for Network Rail.
The railhead will be operated by Fishbone Solutions on behalf of EKFB with trains operated by DB Cargo UK Ltd on behalf of Hanson.
