MP backs rail freight to deliver local homes and jobs
Hazel Grove MP, Lisa Smart, has shown her support for increasing the volume of rail freight to minimise the number of HGVs on local roads.
On a visit to Tarmac and its rail freight operations in Bredbury, the MP was shown a freight train unloading materials carried by rail from Tarmac’s Tunstead quarry in the Peak District. The MP heard how a delivery by just this one freight train can provide the materials to deliver up to 30 new local homes and remove around 60 HGV movements from the A6 and local approach roads and residential streets.
The MP’s visit came on the day when Tarmac received its first rail delivery from its quarry in South Wales. Construction materials are also delivered to Bredbury from North Yorkshire, meaning a daily freight service comes into the site on average.
From the railway, the train’s cargo is used to manufacture materials such as Asphalt or Ready Mix Concrete and then moved by road for the last remaining miles to local construction and road building projects.
In addition to minimising the impact on local roads from HGVs, Tarmac’s site is minimising its quarrying impact by reusing asphalt plainings removed from roads during resurfacing. The current site is able to repurpose and reuse material, but Tarmac plans to modernise the site, which will mean that this recycling rate will increase further into the future.
Speaking after the visit, Lisa said: “I am a huge supporter of rail, so it’s great to see it being used to carry the materials needed to construct the new schools, homes and road improvements we need in the area. We need to make more use of rail for freight. It’s good for the environment and we have real issues with local road congestion – the more we can move freight onto rail, the better it is for everyone.
“It was great to hear that Tarmac is developing the plant to increase the volume of material which is recycled and reused from road resurfacing.”
During the visit, the team from Tarmac explained the challenges of quarrying the vital building materials which deliver the new homes, transport improvements and the developments and create new jobs and local economic growth. Forthcoming rail legislation, and ensuring that any changes enable more rail freight rather than reduce it, were also discussed.
Chris Swan, Tarmac’s Head of Rail for UK and Europe, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome our local MP to the site and show Lisa how we sustainably deliver the materials needed to help grow the local economy and provide homes for local people, while minimising the impact on residents in and around the area. We believe that Bredbury and sites like it will enable us to support the Government's house building targets over the coming years.”
Huw Merriman, representing the Rail Freight Group, added: “It was great to meet Lisa and demonstrate the benefits of rail freight; from the reduction in pollution, road damage and congestion to the public good which Tarmac’s products deliver to help provide new homes and jobs for local people. In the UK, we only deliver 7% of freight by rail and we can do much more. We are pleased that Lisa shares our ambition that proposed reforms of the railway must retain the legal certainty and pricing incentives and encourage freight growth on the railway.”