The Anonymous Widower

Network Rail’s Test Track Take Centre Stage As Hydrogen Is Delivered By Rail For The First Time

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from GeoPura.

These three paragraphs introduce the story.

Network Rail, working with rail and energy partners Freightliner and GeoPura, has transported hydrogen for the first time on Britain’s rail network, marking a major step forward for both the rail and energy sectors.

The milestone was achieved yesterday (Wednesday 3 December) at Network Rail’s Test Tracks* site in Tuxford, where freight operator Freightliner hauled a train of gas containers from Doncaster to High Marnham – marking Britain’s first shipment of hydrogen by rail.

It was part of a rail and energy industry innovation event showcasing several hydrogen initiatives. This included the first re-engineered hydrogen-powered shunting locomotive – seen as a step towards replacing diesel – another milestone towards the rail industry’s goal of becoming net zero. The event also demonstrated HPU hydrogen-powered generators, lighting towers and support vehicles.

These two paragraphs describe Network Rail’s test track at Tuxford and GeoPura’s hydrogen production facility at High Marnham.

Network Rail’s site at Tuxford runs all the way to High Marnham, where it sits adjacent to HyMarnham Power, the UK’s largest green hydrogen production facility operated by GeoPura and JG Pears. Built on the site of a former coal-fired power station, HyMarnham Power is one of the world’s first rail-connected hydrogen production facilities, and Network Rail’s Tuxford site will be the world’s first net-zero railway testing facility.

Currently, hydrogen is transported by road. This breakthrough marks a major step towards the rail network becoming a ready-made hydrogen distribution system, a rolling pipeline, with connections to all major industrial and urban centres across Britain – proving the practical capability of rail to transport hydrogen at scale. Hydrogen will also be utilised to decarbonise wider rail operations, from construction to ongoing maintenance and off-grid operations.

This OpenRailwayMap shows Tuxford and High Marnham.

Note.

1. The blue arrow is Tuxford West junction.
2. The North-South red track is the East Coast Main Line. East-West track indicated by the blue arrow is Network Rail’s Test Track
3. The grey area, to the South of the Test Track in the East is the former site of High Marnham power station, where GeoPura have their hydrogen facility.
4. If you continue East on the Test Track it connects to the Sheffield and Lincoln Line at Pye Wipe junction.

Sheffield could be the sort of city, that would need a lot of hydrogen to decarbonise.

Has  Hydrogen Been Transported From ICI’s Former Site At Runcorn By Rail

I ask this question, as I used to work at Runcorn in the 1960s, and I don’t remember seeing any hydrogen railway wagons.

I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section and received this answer.

Hydrogen is typically transported from the INEOS (formerly ICI) site in Runcorn via pipeline or by road in cryogenic liquid tanker trucks or gaseous tube trailers, but it has not been historically transported by rail from that specific site.
The first ever trial shipment of hydrogen by rail on Britain’s network took place only very recently, in December 2025, as part of an industry innovation event. This trial involved transporting hydrogen containers from Doncaster to High Marnham, adjacent to the HyMarnham Power green hydrogen production facility.

It looks like my memory and Google AI agree.

December 5, 2025 - Posted by AnonW | Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | Decarbonisation, East Coast Main Line, Freightliner, GeoPura, High Marnham Hydrogen Facility, High Marnham Substation, High Marnham Test Track, Hydrogen Rail Transport., ICI, INEOS, Lincoln, Network Rail, Sheffield, Sheffield and Lincoln Line, Tuxford