Cemex UK have awarded a six-year contract to rail freight firm EWS Construction for the transportation of over 2Mt of aggregates and coal per annum.

The new partnership will allow Cemex UK, who have doubled their use of rail freight in the last five years, to optimize efficiency and accommodate further rail growth as part of their commitment to sustainable development.

A key element of the new contract is the replacement of Cemex’s existing traditional rolling stock of 89 freight wagons with EWS Construction’s new, high-capacity, track-friendly wagons, which will be painted in CEMEX liveries. This increase in wagon capacity will allow CEMEX to move more material using fewer trains, thereby reducing fuel consumption and the number of journeys made.

CEMEX say they are committed to rail transportation and plan further investment in their already extensive network of railheads and depots, which currently extends from Selby in the north to Acton in the south and as far east as Norwich.

Additional loading capacity will be provided at Doveholes Quarry in Derbyshire and new depots will be built during the course of 2007 and 2008, further endorsing rail as a key element of the company’s logistics strategy.

In addition, a new operational solution for coal freight haulage will be implemented by autumn 2007, which will see larger, higher-capacity trains operating between Immingham and Rugby, again reducing the overall number of rail movements.

Under the new EWS Construction contract it is anticipated that the first batch of 48 Cemex wagons will be fully operational on the rail network by early autumn 2007. The balance of the new wagons – a further 34 units – will be brought into service during the first half of 2008.