Tippermen may lose out
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• Derbyshire County Council's decision last week to investigate the re-opening of a disused railway line could dash tipper operators hopes of transporting more than 300,000 tonnes of limestone by road to PowerGen's Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottingham.
Derby Council is considering applying for a section-eight grant from the Department of Transport to fund the re-opening of the line to move the limestone.
The equivalent of 100 tipper loads of limestone a week is needed for de-sulphurisation at the power station and is expected to come from quarries near Buxton and Wirksworth. But residents are concerned about the volume of large trucks on country roads.
Martin Doughty, leader of the council, says one of the quarries already has a rail connection: "If there are rail facilities at the supply and user end, it makes sense to use them," he says.
A spokesman for PowerGen says Om is to be spent on rail and road access to the plant. "Suppliers have been asked to quote by both means," he says.