UK makes the last call for coal

UK operator GB Railfreight has made the last scheduled coal delivery on the British rail network. The load was made to a power station in the English East Midlands. In commemoration, the locomotive hauling the historic load was named after the customer. To mark the historic final coal delivery, the class 66 diesel locomotive was named “Ratcliffe Power Station”.

In a landmark moment marking the end of coal on the British network, GB Railfreight has delivered the last scheduled coal train to Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station. The massive cooling towers, a landmark for anyone using Mansfield Parkway passenger station, will become redundant, when the power station is taken offline for the last time, on 30 September.

Defining example of rail freight operations

The transport of coal is the very reason the railways were invented. The cessation of coal trains is more than simply a commodity lost to rail freight. The 1,650-tonne delivery to Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station is the last scheduled example of what was once the defining example of rail freight operations.

The weight of coal in this load, which is expected to be the last in the station’s history, carries enough energy to generate electricity for about half a million homes for around eight hours. That demand is why this coal train was just the last of a long-term partnership between the power station and the rail freight sector. To feed the furnaces, more than six million tonnes of coal were transported from the Port of Immingham. That translates to more than 3,600 trains.

Locomotive naming for zero-carbon future

Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station was first commissioned in 1967. It is now the last operational coal-fired power station in the UK. “Coal and rail have been pivotal in driving British prosperity for centuries,” said John Smith, CEO of GB Railfreight. “We rightly recognise that coal must be phased out for the UK to successfully transition to a modern, zero-carbon economy. Rail freight will continue to play a key role. GBRf is investing heavily in decarbonising the UK’s supply chains and allowing businesses to take full advantage of the environmental benefits that rail offers.”

The power station is operated by Uniper, a multi-national energy company with activities in more than 40 countries “We’re proud that GB Railfreight has chosen to name a locomotive after Ratcliffe power station in honour of its 57 years of electricity generation and our people who have worked there,” said Mike Lockett, Uniper UK Country Chair. “The last coal delivery will be a significant moment. However, it’s not the end for the site, as we look towards a future where it could become a zero-carbon technology and energy hub for the East Midlands.”