HS2 has announced that moving material by rail to construction sites near Aylesbury will remove the equivalent of 28,500 lorries from the road.
By removing this traffic from Buckinghamshire’s roads this decision will save 9,680 tonnes of carbon emissions.
This move from HS2 will also help to minimise disruption for communities as work continues on the new high speed rail line.
More than 500 freight trains have already run into HS2’s site at Calvert since it opened in December 2020.
By opening the new facility on the Prince’s Risborough line south Aylesbury more capacity will be provided to deliver more construction materials.
A further 285,000 tonnes of aggregate which is needed for construction will be delivered over the next four months.
Paul Marshall, HS2 Ltd’s Senior Project Manager spoke on the importance of increased freight capacity.
Mr Marshall said: “HS2 will… release capacity for more freight and local trains on our existing mainlines.
“It’s also important that we cut the amount of embedded carbon in construction and work to reduce the number of lorries on local roads.
“That’s why I’m really pleased by the progress we have made.
“Working closely with Network Rail, EKFB and the Rail Freight Operators – to deliver more material by rail to our construction sites across Bucks.”
EKFB is HS2’s main works contractor and is made up of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall.
EKFB are set to create 3,000 jobs as they look to build 17 viaducts, 81 bridges and three cut and cover ‘green tunnels’ over the next two years.
Ignacio Chicharro, EKFB’s Project Director commented on how the contractor is looking to minimise its carbon output.
Mr Chicharro said: “EKFB is committed to using carbon-reducing methods within our construction programme to… make our earthworks as efficient as possible.
“The additional rail head operation will remove more than 28,000 HGVs from the roads in Buckinghamshire.”
As work continues on HS2 15,000 will be used to haul 10 million tonnes of aggregate to construction sites.
The equivalent of 1.5 million HGV’s will be taken off the road through the commitment HS2 is making to freight.
