GB Railfreight celebrates 10,000th delivery to Drax Power Station

GB Railfreight has today completed the delivery of its 10,000th biomass train from Liverpool to Drax Power Station, North Yorkshire. Since 2016, GB Railfreight’s trains have moved over 15m tonnes of sustainable biomass between Peel Ports, Liverpool and Drax Power Station in Selby, Yorkshire. The biomass hauled by these 10,000 train journeys – equivalent to three journeys per day – supports Drax Power Station to provide enough power for up to 4 million homes and businesses.

The Selby site provides around 8% of the UK’s renewable energy and c.4% of the country’s total electricity usage. Sustainable biomass is vital to the UK’s transition to net zero and the decarbonisation of the national grid. Rail freight is also instrumental in reducing emissions throughout UK supply chains.

Goods moved by rail require 76% less carbon per tonne than road freight and each freight train can remove up to 129 HGV movements, helping decongest the road network. John Smith, Chief Executive of GB Railfreight, said: “We’re hugely proud of our partnership with Drax and Peel Ports. As we have seen in recent years, the UK’s long-term energy security is a key component of economic stability and national security.

“The 10,000 journeys we have made over the last eight years have supported Drax and the UK Government to produce low carbon power for us all. This power has provided for families and businesses up and down the country, helping ensure that everybody’s needs are fulfilled – from keeping the central heating on in the winter to powering our electric vehicles.” Mark Gibbens, Head of Logistics at Drax, said: “Drax Power Station’s supply chain partners play a critical role in helping us to keep the lights on for millions of homes and business in the UK no matter the weather.

We have longstanding relationships with both GB Railfreight and Peel Ports and we are delighted to celebrate this incredible milestone with both of them.” Jon Hassett, Deputy Port Director, Peel Ports Mersey Cluster said: “Ports are central to powering the whole country in many ways. Our relationship with Drax and GB Railfreight is a perfect example of how we work with customers to improve our collective environmental performance.

We’re proud to have invested GBP100m at our biomass terminal to make this happen and to see our port rail connections so well used.”