Timber to make full time return to Welshpool railway

The railway through Welshpool is set to become a lot busier following confirmation that the timber trains will become a permanent addition.

Following the successful April trial runs, Colas Rail has agreed a permanent contract to move raw timber logs from Aberystwyth to the Kronospan processing plant at Chirk, south of Wrexham, via Welshpool.

The company described the addition of a new service as “environmentally friendly” and has been made possible with support from Network Rail. It is the first regular locomotive-hauled freight service to utilise the scenic Cambrian rail route in over 25 years.

A series of trials – hauled by Network Rail locomotives – took 800 tonnes of round logs, the industry term for freshly felled timber, on the 100-mile (160km) trip to Chirk. The success of those trials has led to a permanent contract being agreed between Colas and the timber processing company.

“The service removes 16 heavy goods vehicles from the road, saving a quarter of a tonne in carbon,” says a Colas statement. “After a successful trial in late April, with Network Rail’s Class 97 fleet operated by our Freight team along with support from our Class 37s, the service was rolled out a to haul of timber from Aberystwyth through to the Kronospan manufacturing plant in Chirk, North Wales on a weekly basis.”

There are calls from all over Britain to relieve rural roads of timber trucks, and replace them with rail freight transportation. Other successful trials have been made.

“This is a great opportunity to expand our freight business”, said Simon Ball, Colas Rail UK freight director said during the April trials. “We lead the field in the transportation of timber by rail. We provide a sustainable alternative by operating on rail, reducing the number of HGVs on the road, especially during the shortage of drivers. Working with the client and Network Rail, I’m convinced that we can move forward and build on the success of the trial.”