British rail freight operators may have been disappointed that high-speed projects in Greater Manchester have been cancelled. However, if abandoning HS2 was meant to blight the regional economy, then clearly, the construction industry didn’t get the memo. The skyline, particularly of Manchester and neighbouring Salford, continues to change rapidly, and its rail freight that’s helping make that happen.
There is a voracious appetite for the raw materials of building. Deliveries are needed with increasing frequency. Step up to the plate, rail freight and, in this case, Freightliner. Another new flow began just last week. Operated by Freightliner, it connects Tarmac’s Tunstead Quarry in the Derbyshire Peaks with the Premier Cement facility at Waeste, in the centre of Salford.
Early start for heavy freight
Manchester’s neighbour is separated only by the width of the River Irwell. Salford is sharing in the regional building boom, with new projects sweeping away its heavy industrial past. Modern Salford is no longer crisscrossed with a loose network of industrial railway infrastructure. The city has pivoted to cater for its services and academic profile. Traditional industrial activity is much more concentrated, and a surviving aspect of that is the tracks at Weaste.
It was still dark on Friday (21 February) when the first Freightliner hauled train arrived at the waterside terminal in Salford’s industrial district of Weaste. As operations support manager Jake Blood remarked, “another early start.” Freight operations are often outwith office hours, when train paths are more plentiful. The terminal branches off from the busy Manchester- Liverpool line. It was not affected by the recently reported incident only a kilometre to the east, where a car crashed onto the main line, blocking passenger services.
Short flow is long on benefits
“[Working] again this morning for a new flow,” said Jake. “Arriving at Weaste for Tarmac/Premier Cement.” In common with many modern freight terminals, the infrastructure on the ground is not spectacular. However, the site came to life with the arrival of a class 66 diesel workhorse, 66623, hauling 18 JGA-designated tank wagons loaded with cement from Tarmac’s Tunstead Quarry site in Derbyshire.
The new run represents another example of the advantages of short trip working by rail freight. The heavy train originated only around thirty miles (58km) from Weaste. However, the eighteen wagons each carry over 60 tonnes of payload, removing dozens of road transfers.
Salford and Manchester developments
Weaste is only a matter of a few minutes walk from the TV glamour of MediaCityUK in the Salford Quays. The Quays, as the redeveloped area is known, is part of that transformation. It was once the industrial heart of the region. It’s now transformed into a creative hub for Britain. Some of the former industrial railways have been adapted into the Metrolink tram network. Weaste however retains a a little-noticed terminal, squeezed in on the north bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. TV executives needed only to have pointed a camera from their tower blocks to cover the events of last Friday.
While operations at Weaste avoid the busy times of the day, pressure on the regional rail network continues to grow during the more sociable hours. Passenger redevelopments will help freight services, which share much of the network locally. In Salford, Central Station is about to be upgraded to improve the passenger experience – albeit, there are no plans to reinstall its disused platforms. Salford Crescent, adjacent to the university, will soon see wholesale redevelopment – which will include adding a platform. Manchester’s Oxford Road station, as reported recently, could close for several years to facilitate improvements, which will go some way to alleviating the notorious mixed traffic bottleneck on the Castlefield Corridor.