SWD Transport
Sunny Saltcoats
DRS' 88010 'Aurora' and 68004 'Rapid' pass the along the sea wall at Saltcoats with 6M23 from Hunterston to Sellafield. This service is used to move nuclear material from the Hunterston nuclear power stations to Sellafield for processing.
Hunterston in North Ayrshire is home to 2 nuclear power stations - Hunterston A and Hunterston B.
Hunterston A operated between 1964 and 1990 and is in the process of being decommissioned by NDA licensee Magnox Ltd. The decommissioning process is planned to end in 2072 at which point the buildings will be demolished and site cleared.
Hunterston B - operated by EDF Energy - is still active having started operations in 1976. The station has managed to remain operational for longer than initially expected (decommissioning was due to start in 2011), but operations will cease within the next few months with the decommissioning process planned to start no later than the 7th of January 2022.
Within the last decade Hunterston B has gained media attention after it was discovered that the number of fractures in the reactors exceeded the operational limit specified in the safety case. The reactors were shut down while investigations were carried out and a revised safety case submitted to the regulator. Each of the 2 reactors were subsequently restarted in August 2020 and September 2020 respectively.
Sunny Saltcoats
DRS' 88010 'Aurora' and 68004 'Rapid' pass the along the sea wall at Saltcoats with 6M23 from Hunterston to Sellafield. This service is used to move nuclear material from the Hunterston nuclear power stations to Sellafield for processing.
Hunterston in North Ayrshire is home to 2 nuclear power stations - Hunterston A and Hunterston B.
Hunterston A operated between 1964 and 1990 and is in the process of being decommissioned by NDA licensee Magnox Ltd. The decommissioning process is planned to end in 2072 at which point the buildings will be demolished and site cleared.
Hunterston B - operated by EDF Energy - is still active having started operations in 1976. The station has managed to remain operational for longer than initially expected (decommissioning was due to start in 2011), but operations will cease within the next few months with the decommissioning process planned to start no later than the 7th of January 2022.
Within the last decade Hunterston B has gained media attention after it was discovered that the number of fractures in the reactors exceeded the operational limit specified in the safety case. The reactors were shut down while investigations were carried out and a revised safety case submitted to the regulator. Each of the 2 reactors were subsequently restarted in August 2020 and September 2020 respectively.