Breedon Group plc has extended its contract with Freightliner. Freightliner is now operating two five-year heavy haul contracts with one a renewal of an existing cement contract, while the other is a new deal moving aggregates across the country.
Trains run from Dowlow and Shap Quarries to Breedon sites at Ashbury and Walsall as well as to third-party sites across the UK including several Leagrave, Eccles Road and Norwich, claimed Modern Railways.
The cement contract, which has been in place for more than 25 years, covers the transport of cement from Hope Cement Works to Dagenham, Theale, Dewsbury and Walsall. Also included in the contract is the movement of alternative raw materials which are transported from Llandudno and Drax Power Station to the cement works at Hope.
The operator is using Class 70s and ‘66/6s’ for the new contract to allow longer and heavier trains to run, while a fleet of coal wagons converted into aggregate box wagons by WH Davis, leased from Porterbrook, is being used on the contract together with a brand-new fleet of box wagons leased from VTG Rail.
Freightliner has also invested in a maintenance and fuelling facility at Dowlow Quarry. To support the increased traffic from Hope Cement Works, the operator has invested in upgrading sidings there.
