DB Cargo UK has commissioned a special livery to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of Drax Power Station in Selby, North Yorkshire.
The unveiling of ‘Yorkshire Rose’ took place in front of specially invited guests at a naming ceremony at York Station on Sunday (18th August).
The aptly numbered 66050 locomotive then hauled a special charity charter service from York Station to Wakefield Westgate, taking in a loop of Drax Power Station en route.
DB Cargo UK currently transports around 4.5 million tonnes of biomass pellets to Drax Power Station each year, operating around 60 trains a week.
Drax, the UK’s leading producer of renewable energy, recently announced that as part of its ongoing efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, every DB train serving its Selby power station is now powered using Hydro-treated Vegetable Oil (HVO).
The switch from traditional red diesel to HVO will reduce rail freight carbon emissions by up to 90%, saving Drax 12,000 tonnes of carbon each year.
DB Cargo UK’s Chief Sales Officer Roger Neary said it was honour to be part of Drax’s 50th anniversary celebrations and mark it with the naming of the newly-liveried Class 66 locomotive.
“We are an integral part of Drax’s supply chain and have a long-standing relationship with the company that continues to go from strength to strength. We started way back running coal services and now run almost 3000 trains a year carrying biomass to the plant which produces around 11% of all the UK’s renewable energy,” said Roger.
“The unveiling of Yorkshire Rose is a fitting way to mark this momentous milestone in Drax’s history and I look forward to seeing it out and about on the network,” he added.
Bruce Heppenstall, Plant Director at Drax Power Station, said the name ‘Yorkshire Rose’ had been chosen by the company’s employees.
“The rail freight industry has played an important role in the development of Drax over the years and will continue to do so as we stand on the brink of our next transformation, becoming one of the first power stations in the world to be fitted with BECCS – Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage,” he said.
“Our plans to convert two of our generating units to BECCS will remove up to 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from the atmosphere, equivalent to cancelling all annual departing flights from Heathrow. It’s a project that can put the UK and Yorkshire at the forefront of the fight against climate change and help position the UK as a world leader in carbon removal technology,” he added.
“None of this would have been possible without DB Cargo UK and our other partners in the rail freight industry who have supplied our fuel, first coal then biomass, from the very beginning,” he said. The special charter service hauled by Yorkshire Rose on its inaugural outing was in aid of Martin House Children’s Hospice, the chosen charity of both Drax and DB Cargo UK. The service raised over £30,000 for the charity.
Image credit: DB Cargo UK
