ANALYSIS (A longer read, very nerdy, but it does have pictures)
Before nuclear waste is eventually put into a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF), it needs to be transported from its place of creation, to a place where it can be processed into a form which can be managed for transport, and placed in the GDF.
The UK currently has 34 sites where nuclear waste is generated/stored:
The majority of waste comes from nuclear reactors, both those used to generate electricity for domestic energy supply, and those in nuclear submarines. At time of writing there are 21 of the latter floating in basins, 7 at Rosyth and 14 at Devonport awaiting decommisioning (10 in Devonport still have their nuclear fuel rods in place as the facitiy to remove them was declared unsafe in 2003). It is also notable that HMS Dreadnought, which was taken out of servcie in 1980, and currently stored in Rosyth, has spent longer awaiting decommisioning than it spent in service.
All nuclear waste will be placed in flasks and sent to be processed at Sellafield in Cumbria before being moved to the GDF.
The preferred method of transport is by train as it is considered the most secure, with transport by road only across the shortest distance possible. This is to ensure the security of the nuclear waste from 'hostile actors' who could use it for deliberate contamination, and reduce the possibilty of a flask becoming 'stuck' in a populated area. The trains have two engines to ensure if one fails the journey can be completed.
The nuclear waste is transported in secure flasks to avoid leakage in case of a crash. The UK tested the 'survivability' of the flasks in 1984 by crashing an engine and three-carriage train into one at 100mph.
The train was mess, the flask secure.
Between the site where the flask containing nuclear waste is produced/stored (except for Heysham Power Station and HMNB Devonport) it is tranported by lorry to a rail head where it is transferred to a train.
Trains are run by Direct Rail Services (DRS), a dedicated rail company and part of Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS) which itself is part of the Nuclear Decommisioning Authority (NDA). DRS operates as a commercial company and aims to be self-financing by providing services to other rail companies.
Trains run from the rail head to holding sidings at Crewe, and then onto Sellafield, where the wagons are transferred to the plant's internal rail network and the contents of the flasks emptied for processing.
Whilst the majority of the rail journey is in between normal passenger/freight trains, the short spurs to the rail heads are dedicated to flask trains. It is likely that the only reason the lines to Thurso in Scotand, Blaenau in Wales, and the line between Ipswich and Lowestoft survived the Beeching cuts is because the routes were necessary to transport nuclear fuel and waste.
To enusre minimum disruption there are scheduled 'paths' for the trains irrespective of whether they are used. For example the path for a train from the two power stations at Dungeness in Kent currently being decommisioned, will see it pass through London (Kensington) before transiting the West Midlands on its way to Crewe. Sellafield currently recieves 13-14 flasks per week from the power stations around the three countries.
Waste can also be transported by sea. Another NTS company, Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL), has three vessels based at Barrow -in-Furness, Cumbria. PNTL is part owned by the French and Japanese. The vessels have been used to transport and return
nuclear waste which has been processed at Sellafield for other countries.
All transported waste has members of the Civil Nuclear Costabulary in attendence, to prevent interference by 'hostile actors'. It's officers are highly trained and heavily armed.
Transport to a GDF
Transport of processed waste from Sellafield to a GDF will be the reverse of its initial move, albeit the processed waste will now be in protective containers. The high level waste will be fused with glass (vitrified) to add stabilty.
Transport to a GDF in South Holderness
Trains are the only practical means of transporting the processed nuclear waste to South Holderness. Ships would not be appropriate, as not only would a long journey around the top of Scotland at the top speed of 14 knots (the Rotterdam car ferry does 22 knots), take a long time, a very long pier would have to be built on the north bank of the humber where there is currently no deep water channel.
The trains carrying processed nuclear waste from Sellafield would most likely terminate at a rail head in the extensive sidings at Hull docks for transfer, as construting a new line into South Holderness would be more costly and complex. Both rail routes into the East Riding would be designated for the trains as DRS and CNC prefer to have multiple routes in case of disruption.
The train route would pass through the following East Riding Wards on its way towards Hull:
Dale
Goole North
Goole South
Hessle
Howden
Howdenshire
Snaith, Airmyn, Rawcliffe and Marshland
South Hunsley
Because the line from Hessle Junction to Hull Docks is used as ward boundaries within the City, it would also pass through/alongside the following Kingson Upon Hull Wards:
Avenue
Beverley and Newland
Boothferry
Bricknell
Central
Drypool
Marfleet
Newington and Gipsyville
Pickering
Southcoates
The final journey to the GDF surface facility would be by lorry using existing roads, although probably upgraded in parts. The containers would then be transferred to dedicated trains to be taken down the drift into the undergroud level of the GDF itself.
Sources:
NWS/NDA publications (various)
Rail 999 december 2023
Rail Atlas Great Britain and Ireland 13th Edition
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