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Bell Ingram Ayr Office has been instructed by
JST (Rail) Limited to undertake professional
work in relation to the development of a timber
railhead in the Galloway Forest.
This facility will be the first dedicated timber
rail service to operate in the UK. Once
operational, it is proposed to transport over
100,000 tonnes of timber per annum from both
Forestry Commission woodlands and those of
neighbouring private owners directly to
processors at Irvine, Carlisle, Wales and to Ayr
docks for export. Supported by a Scottish
Executive Freight Facilities Grant, the project
is estimated to cost almost £7.4m.
Timber will be extracted utilising the extensive
network of forest roads within the Galloway
forest. It is anticipated that over 500,000
lorry miles will be removed from Ayrshire and
Galloway’s roads each year resulting in
significant reductions in pollution, congestion
and damage to the fragile rural road network.
One of JST Limited’s unique low ground
pressure timber trailers showing the two
four-wheel reciprocating axles which are offset
to have a rolling effect on the road surface.
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Harvested timber from a surrounding radius of
over 20km will be transported to a junction
point with the Ayr to Stranraer mainline railway
located within the Galloway Forest. A
custom-built Freight Multiple Unit train will be
provided with an integral mobile crane to enable
direct loading and unloading at the railside.
Given the extensive use of forest roads, an
innovative transport system will be used between
felling coupes and the railhead to minimise wear
on roads and vehicles. This involves using low
ground pressure tandem trailers, specially
designed and built for JST, and hauled by
powerful tractors capable of moving 40 tonnes
and above. Separate tractor loaders are used
which are also able to carry out ongoing road
maintenance to further minimise deterioration.
This system is now proving to be a cost
effective alternative to traditional haulage
over high maintenance forest roads and Bell
Ingram is considering its use on a number of
private client felling sites where access is
problematic.
Guy Russell BLE MRICS
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