BERKELEY nuclear power station is planning to move more waste by rail in a bid to reduce the number of lorries on the roads and cut carbon emissions.

Low level waste (LLW) like paper and wood, with a low risk of contamination, is currently transported to Sellafield, in Cumbria, by lorry.

However in a study that started this week, the company that owns Berkeley power station, Magnox Electric, is looking at transporting it by train.

Magnox would become the first company in Britain to transport low level waste over such a large distance by rail.

Spent fuel from the majority of the UK's nuclear power stations has been safely transported by rail since 1962. However, most low level waste is still moved by lorries.

A Magnox spokesman said: "What we are doing this week is looking at the possibility of taking some of the low level waste and transporting it by rail.

"It would be a significant environmental benefit because fewer lorries on the road will mean fewer carbon emissions.

"We are just testing to see if it is physically possible to do at the moment.

"It is our commitment to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to think of more innovative ways of working and this will have an environmental impact."

The company started the scheme by doing a trial lift, using empty containers, at Berkeley railhead on Tuesday.

They will later test it with loaded containers and publish the findings of their study.

Berkeley Town Mayor, Valerie Watts, said she did not believe that Berkeley residents would see any benefits because the lorries would still travel through the town to get to the railhead.

She said: "It is not going to make a great deal to the people in Berkeley. However, I applaud the power station for this idea.

"In my view it is a good thing they are trying to do and fewer lorries means less carbon dioxide."