Road loses out to rail in limestone contract
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• Environmental uproar and a price cutting exercise by British Rail has removed any chance of hauliers being able to bid to move 350,000 tonnes of limestone a year in North Yorkshire.
After months of speculation British Steel has decided that it will continue to use rail to bring the limestone into its Redcar works on Teesside.
This follows an attempt by British Steel earlier in the year to use road transport when BR threatened to increase rates on the 35km line between Redcar and the quarry at Redmire (CM 28 May-3 June).
Instead, British Steel has decided to use limestone from Shapfell quarry in Cumbria and, following a competitive quote from BR, to move it by rail.
"An agreement with British Rail on transport rates means that the delivered cost of limestone from Shapfell to Teesside is much more competitive than it was for the route from Redmire," says a spokesman for British Steel.