DB Cargo and Cemex UK made history earlier this month when the freight operator’s first “jumbo train” of 34 wagons made its maiden journey from Cardiff.
On September 20, the train transported 2,300 tonnes of building materials from Cemex’s Wenvoe and Taff’s Well quarries, on the outskirts of Cardiff, for use in the production of asphalt and concrete in London and the south east. The first freight train of that size to travel from South Wales.
DB Cargo said that the journey saved the equivalent of 80 truckloads by road.
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In 2016, DB Cargo described the train as the heaviest operating in the UK, with a capacity to carry more than 3,300 tonnes.
DB Cargo UK’s head of major project David Fletcher said: “Using longer trains makes rail an even more efficient and competitive mode of transport.
“DB Cargo UK is pleased to have worked with Network Rail to deliver this new service for Cemex.
“The 660m-long train requires the use of two locomotives because of the inclines in the Severn Tunnel.
“The use of one path to move a longer train also releases capacity for other freight services on a busy network.”
