TRACK manufactured by British Steel in Scunthorpe, for use in renewal works on Belgium’s railway network, is being transported to its destination by the UK and French divisions of DB Cargo.
The first consignment from British Steel’s Rail & Section Mill left Lincolnshire on its threeday journey to Muizen, north of Brussels, on June 9, hauled by Class 66 No. 66025.
The company has a deal to supply Belgian railway infrastructure management firm Infrabel with 40,000 tonnes of rail made to various profiles and DB Cargo expects to deliver it over the course of the next four years with an average of one train per month.
Produced in 100-metre long sections bound for Infrabel’s rail welding facility, each rail spans four IGA wagons. DB Cargo UK chief sales office Roger Neary said that: “a great deal of collaboration and planning” had gone into the operation, ensuring a “safe and smooth passage” to the company’s international depot at Dollands Moor and onwards through the Channel Tunnel into mainland Europe. DB Cargo UK operates the trains as far as Calais, with DB Cargo France taking responsibility for the remainder of the journey to Muizen.