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Protesters hijack coal train bound for Drax

Protesters hit Drax Power Station on Friday, bringing a 21-wagon freight train full of coal to a standstill.

Around 30 members of Camp for Climate Change, the group which organised the mass demonstration at the power station in 2006, hijacked the train, which was heading for the plant on Friday as it tried to deliver hundreds of tonnes of coal.

The activists, dressed in fluorescent safety jackets and waving red flags, stopped the engine and its 21 wagons using official emergency procedures.

When the train came to a halt on the bridge over the river Aire south of West Bank, near Carlton at around 9am, they climbed onto it and began shovelling coal onto the tracks below. They erected a pink tent on top of the engine and draped a 15 foot-long banner over the train stating 'Leave it in the ground!'.

One protester, Natalie Whelan, said: "We are doing this this morning because we can't see a return to using coal in the UK. We must focus on renewable energy sources rather than coal."

She said the action was partly in response to plans by energy company Eon to build Kingsnorth, a brand new coal-fired power station in Kent, and also to the fact that Drax continues to emit the most CO2 of any individual power station in Europe.

"The Government and energy companies are not taking this issue seriously enough," added Natalie, as she warned that more protests and demonstrations would take place around the country over the coming months: "This is part of a massive movement against coal in the UK."

Shortly after midnight all the activists. who were mainly from London, the South East and Manchester, including some who had chained themselves in position, had been removed and arrested.

A BTP spokesperson said: "Following the protest involving a coal train just south of Drax power station, 29 people have been arrested.

"This was a complex operation as many of those arrested had to be cut free having attached themselves to rail vehicles and the overbridge. All were removed in safety and there have been no reported injuries amongst the police personnel involved in the operation."

By 6am the following morning the train had been moved and the coal was removed from the tracks and handed back to the rail operators.

Melanie Wedgbury, head of external affairs at Drax, said the incident did not disrupt output. She emphasised that the station was the cleanest, most efficient coal-fired generator in Europe, producing the least CO2 per unit of electricity.

She said: "It is simply our size that makes us the single largest source of CO2 emissions.

"We are investing £180 million in reducing our emissions of CO2, through improving our thermal efficiency and co-firing renewable biomass materials.

"Together, those two initiatives will reduce our carbon footprint by 15 per cent, or over three million tonnes."

The 29 people arrested have now been released on police bail, pending police inquiries.

Published on 19th June 2008 in News.

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