Investment pumped into rail freight infrastructure and facilities

Global building materials solutions supplier CEMEX has made another strategic investment for growth into its Selby Asphalt Plant and Depot to enhance its overall operation efficiency.

The Selby site supplies aggregates and asphalt across the Yorkshire region.

Together with Bowker, its logistics partner at Selby, and the business park owner and operator, Potter Space, more than £200,000 has been invested into new rail freight infrastructure and facilities.

It is intended to ensure the ongoing reliability of the service from this site and enabling the team to increase the number of trains that can run each week.

Improvements have been made to the track that travels off the main line and into the Selby depot.

Around 70% of the track has been completely replaced, with other upgrades such as concrete sleepers made to enhance the condition of the track further, along with installation of new loading bays.

Additionally, Bowker has made significant investment in its stone discharge facilities at Selby; upgrading safety features to go beyond legislative requirements.

It has also made improvements to equipment and critical components in order to increase reliability.

Neil Bowker, Bowker’s commercial director, said: “The features, including new guards and fencing, are focused on operator safety; and in general, the improvements will deliver reductions in down time during critical discharge periods.

“The investment demonstrates the commitment Bowker have made to the CEMEX partnership.”

As a result, the team has been able to increase the number of rail services run from this depot to three a week.

This means an extra 90,000 tonnes of material can be moved by train, taking trucks off the road and maximising the use of rail as a sustainable mode of transport.

Dave Hart, CEMEX’s supply chain director for UK and France, said: “We continue to invest heavily into our rail operations across the country, as this allows us to grow volumes and increase the services we offer.

“The works at Selby were the latest part of our development programme and it was fantastic to partner with Bowker and Potter Space on the many improvements that have been made – improvements that will enable us to support our customers better and more safely.

“Enhancing the sustainability of our business is a key priority and the use of rail forms an important part of this – as every rail freight service removes trucks from the road and achieves additional carbon savings.”

Jason Rockett, managing director of Potter Space, added: “Potter Space has a proven track record of working together with customers, so we were pleased to work with both CEMEX and Bowker at our Potter Space Selby business park.”

The improvements come as part of a wider investment into Selby, with £500,000 planned for three new bitumen tanks and a reprocessed asphalt system.

These will help to achieve further operating efficiencies and minimise waste while improving safety and customer service.