Mendip Rail and VTG Rail UK sign aggregates wagon deal

New rail wagons to transport materials from Aggregate Industries and Hanson superquarries

VTG Rail UK, one of the UK’s leading providers of rail freight wagons, have signed an agreement with Mendip Rail for the hire of 130 new aggregate wagons.

A mixture of hoppers and boxes, the wagons supplied will be used to move products from the Aggregate Industries and Hanson superquarries in Somerset to a range of destinations, many in London and the South East.

Delivery of the wagons is due to start in summer 2016.

According to Ian Shaw, sales and marketing director with VTG, the demand for aggregate wagons is at a high, so much so his company’s wagon fleets are currently fully utilized.

‘There is plenty of evidence suggesting continued growth in the demand for the movement of construction materials by rail,’ he said.

‘The latest ORR figures show the movement by rail rose from 0.97 to 1.04 billion net tonnes/km. That’s a jump of 7.1% compared to the same period in 2014 and there is little, if any, spare wagon capacity available to meet the sector’s needs.’

He added: ‘These state-of-the-art vehicles, with their improved speed of operation, track-friendly bogies and class-leading payload efficiencies, will bring numerous advantages for an important customer of VTG.’

Jason Black, managing director of Mendip Rail, said: ‘I am very pleased that VTG challenged conventional rail industry practices in order to win the tender.

‘The placement of such a large order is an indication of the optimism shown by both Aggregate Industries and Hanson in the continued growth from their current and future rail-supplied depots, coupled with their drive to further reduce road-haulage miles.’