UK: Building materials supplier Cemex has completed a significant investment in its Small Heath depot in Birmingham, enabling it to increase its use of rail as part of its ‘Future in Action — Committed to Net Zero CO2’ strategy.
Aggregates from Cemex’s Dove Holes quarry are delivered to the site by GB Railfreight for onward transport to construction projects in the Birmingham area.
‘The new facilities at Small Health support the use of rail freight to bring construction aggregates close to where they’re needed in the city whilst generating a fraction of the emissions of the equivalent road journeys’, said Martin Reid, Director of bulk materials transport specialist GRS Rail Services, on November 4.
‘The opening of this depot will allow us to increase volume and service provision; we are anticipating four trains per week will pass through’, said Dave Hart, Cemex Supply Chain Director for the UK & France. ’The opening of the Small Heath rail depot will not just allow us to further grow our business; it also offers considerable sustainability benefits as it will enable us to maximise the use of rail as a more efficient means of transport for our products. Potentially, this depot could mean 17 000 fewer trucks on the road each year, with an approximate annual CO2 saving of 2 200 tonnes.’
