Cement wagons reduce road traffic

The wagons were introduced to Britain by VTG Rail UK, a subsidiary of VTG Aktiengesellschaft, Europe’s leading wagon hire and rail logistics company. VTG Rail UK’s ten year contract with Hanson marked the return to rail transportation for the cement provider from its Ribblesdale plant, and in the twelve months since they entered service the wagons have already saved the equivalent of around 5,000 lorry journeys Running three times a week from Hanson’s production unit near Clitheroe in Lancashire, to its storage and distribution centre at the Mossend Railhead near Glasgow, the cement trains carry an average of 1,040t compared to just 29t per lorry. With every tonne of freight carried by rail producing at least 80% less carbon dioxide than by road this also represents considerable savings in terms of the amount of C02 released into the atmosphere.

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This complete item is approximately 300 words in length, and appeared in the March/April 2009 issue of Bulk Materials International, on page 4. To access this issue download the PDF here.