Murphy low carbon concrete at Shipley Depot: mix design notes for civils teams
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Murphy has poured low carbon concrete for permanent works at Shipley Depot on the Transpennine Route Upgrade, using limestone filler and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to cut clinker content and embodied CO₂. The mix replaces a portion of CEM I with SCMs such as fly ash or GGBS and fine limestone, targeting comparable strength and durability to conventional depot slabs while reducing Portland cement usage. For geotechnical and civils teams, this signals growing client acceptance of SCM‑rich mixes in rail infrastructure foundations and depot pavements.
Technical Brief
- Mix was deployed in permanent slabs at Network Rail’s Shipley Depot on the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
- Murphy worked with its concrete supplier to qualify the mix for permanent works rather than trials.
- Approval process involved demonstrating compliance with existing Network Rail concrete specifications and relevant British Standards.
- Trial pours and early-age testing were reportedly carried out before committing to full depot slab placement.
- Contractor emphasised no change to placement methods or plant, enabling standard pumping and finishing operations.
- Low carbon mix is intended to be repeatable on future Transpennine Route Upgrade structures and foundations.
- Wider implication is earlier client sign-off for non‑traditional binders on heavy rail operational assets.
Our Take
Murphy’s use of Ecocem ACT low‑carbon concrete at Shipley Depot sits alongside its recent adoption of battery‑electric Sany SY215E excavators, signalling that its decarbonisation push now spans both construction materials and plant across UK infrastructure work.
In our infrastructure database, Murphy appears more often in relation to major linear schemes such as the Lower Thames Crossing, so applying low‑carbon concrete on the Transpennine Route Upgrade suggests these mixes are being proven on complex, multi‑stakeholder rail corridors rather than just isolated pilot sites.
With 799 Infrastructure stories and 2,240 tag‑matched ‘Projects’/‘Sustainability’ pieces, Murphy’s Shipley Depot pour is one of relatively few items where low‑carbon materials are trialled on live rail maintenance facilities, which could influence future specifications for depots supporting electrified fleets like Northern’s on the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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