Transformer units travel via canal barge to Eggborough

The units are being transported from the Port of Goole to Eggborough via inland waterways, following their arrival by sea.

They are being transported using the MB Off-Roader barge, which is owned and operated by Humber-based Casper River and Canal Transport Limited.

Sean Taylor, operations manager at the company said: “This project demonstrates exactly why we established Casper River and Canal Transport.

“These transformers have arrived into Goole by sea and, rather than immediately placing two units weighing more than 180 tonnes each onto the road network, we have been able to transfer them onto MB Off-Roader and continue their journey by water to Eggborough.”

A temporary pontoon has been installed at Eggborough to allow the transformers to be safely offloaded from the barge for the final leg of their journey by land.

Mr Taylor said: “The installation of the temporary pontoon at Eggborough is an especially important part of the project because it demonstrates that we are not necessarily limited to established facilities.

“Where the waterway, engineering and site conditions allow, project-specific loading and discharge solutions can open up many more locations to waterborne freight.”

The Aire & Calder Navigation, used for the inland leg of the journey, is part of a historic industrial transport network that once carried millions of tonnes of freight across Yorkshire and the Humber.

Casper River and Canal Transport Limited, established in 2024, aims to revive commercial freight transport on the region’s inland waterways.