Mixed Load Transportation

Originally established by British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) Direct Rail Services (DRS) are a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) providing transport of spent nuclear fuel between UK facilities for reprocessing at Sellafield. To this day DRS remain the only rail freight operator to be licenced to carry fissionable material on British rail routes.The transport of sensitive material demands a unique combination of high security, reliability and extreme safety. Working in close partnership with British Transport Police (BTP), the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), the Office of Nuclear Regulation (ONR), Office of Rail and Road (ORR), Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the NDA, DRS has now been transporting nuclear material on the UK rail network for more than twenty years.As a world leading provider of safe, secure and reliable rail logistics solutions for the nuclear industry DRS harness a culture of innovation to provide value for money on behalf of the UK tax payer. Effective transport solutions are often at the heart of successful programme delivery in the nuclear industry, therefore DRS puts the client first, building bespoke transport solutions to meet their specific requirements.This can be evidenced through DRS’ approach to mixed load transport. Mixed load transport is a train consisting of multiple rail wagons containing packages of different categories of radioactive materials and / or having a different consignor or consignee. Previously within the UK nuclear industry due to issues with insurance liability and waste categorisation it was not possible to transport materials from different clients in the same shipments. This meant that the potential time and cost efficiencies offered by rail could not be accessed and that road transport, an option less favoured by stakeholders, was the only alternative.DRS aim to produce a report demonstrating how regulatory, safety and risk concerns were addressed along with a case study of a mixed loads trial service to identify the operational, environmental and financial efficiencies to clients and stakeholders in utilising this approach.