News - Gb railfreight
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GB Railfreight (GBRf) opened new sidings on the north side of its Peterborough yard which will connect its newly opened £5.75 million Maintenance Hub to the national railway network.
The opening has been a culmination of three years of work between GBRf, Network Rail and railway contractors KGJ Price. Several new points have been installed, slewing the existing track to create five intermodal length sidings accessible from both north and south, as well as additional capacity for spare wagons. (Permalink) GB Railfreight Maintenance hub Peterborough Railfreight |
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Today, GB Railfreight (GBRf) announces a successful four-week test of an innovative new solution for monitoring wheel and brake issues. Developed in collaboration with Icomera, DG8 and SENSEi, this world-first system enables battery-powered sensors to remotely share status and out-of-tolerance alerts with drivers and operational control centres, whilst they perform vehicle pre-checks.
(Permalink) Brake monitoring GB Railfreight Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight has opened its state-of-the-art Maintenance Hub. Located alongside the East Coast Mainline, the £5.75m facility, represents one of the most substantial investments in the rail freight sector this year.
(Permalink) GB Railfreight Maintenance Peterborough |
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On Saturday 15 July, GB Railfreight celebrated a lifetime in the railway, by naming its Class 66 locomotives (no. 66785) John Ellis. A surprise naming event was put on at Moreton-in-Marsh station for John, who has worked over 60 years in the railway.
(Permalink) 66785 Class 66 GB Railfreight John Ellis |
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Newly nationalised Caledonian Sleeper has confirmed the continuation of its partnership with GB Railfreight until 2030. [Another article in the same issue of RAIIL suggests Class 99s may not be used for the sleeper.]
(Permalink) Caledonian Sleeper Class 99 GB Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight (GBRf) has agreed on a seven-year deal with Caledonian Sleeper Ltd to continue hauling the Caledonian Sleeper coaches. The contract, effective from 25 June, comes into effect following the service entering into public sector control by the Scottish Government.
(Permalink) Caledonian Sleeper GB Railfreight  Aberdour: Caledonian Sleeper 73968 and 73970 drop down into Aberdour with a Craigentinny to the Fife circle and return trip on 24 March 2021.
 Cardross: The first northbound Caledonian Sleeper for a few weeks passes Cardross on 28 June 2021 with 66738 and 73967 leading the rake of coaches to Fort William.  Aberdeen: Aberdeen station on 10 January 2017. The Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston awaits its departure time behind 66736 Wolverhampton Wanderers doing the hard work and 73936 taking it easy. On the ... |
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GB Railfreight has confirmed that it has temporarily withdrawn its entire fleet of Class 69 locomotives in order to investigate faults being reported by drivers.
(Permalink) Class 69 GB Railfreight GBRf |
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GB Railfreight (GBRf) is proud to announce a new 10-year locomotive leasing deal with Akiem, a leading European rolling stock leasing company. The agreement will see £25 million invested to increase the number of locomotives across GBRf's operations. This investment has been made possible by GBRf's recent wins in the intermodal sector and continuing growth across a number of key markets.
(Permalink) Akiem GB Railfreight |
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Today, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) announced its decision to use railway track capacity between Wrexham and Bidston for Transport for Wales Rail Limited (TfWRL) and GB Railfreight Limited (GBRf). This decision will see both more passenger services and greater certainty for freight trains on the line.
(Permalink) Bidston Dee and Birkenhead Committee GB Railfreight Hawarden Loop (Wrexham Mold and Connah's Quay Railway) Transport for Wales Wrexham Wrexham Mold and Connah's Quay Railway  Shotton (High Level): A 150 enters Shotton High Level on a Bidston to Wrexham Central service. 21st June 2017.  Hawarden Bridge: View from the level crossing at Hawarden Bridge looking south over the River Dee at a train stopped at Shotton. |
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GB Railfreight (GBRf), operator of Rail Freight Services across the UK and employer of over 1,000 staff, is pleased to announce the investment of £4.7m into new maintenance depot in Peterborough alongside the East Coast Mainline.
The depot which is being built by Cairn Cross Engineering will create around 60 jobs in the local area during construction and a further 20 permanent jobs when the project completes next Summer. This continues GBRfs sustained investment in Peterborough and Eastern England following construction of its new £3 million Peterborough HQ last year. The depot is scheduled to open next summer. (Permalink) Cairn Cross Engineering East Coast Main Line GB Railfreight GBRf Peterborough Railfreight |
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New service to support UKs automotive industry by moving 315kt of aggregate by rail GB Railfreight (GBRf) has this week announced the commencement of a new service to move aggregates from Shap Summit Quarry to Battleship Wharf in North Blyth. The aggregates are being moved for Breedon and will be used for the foundations of a BritishVolt gigaplant, which is strategically important to the UKs automotive industry and a key component in the drive to the UK achieving Net Zero by 2050.
(Permalink) Battleship Wharf Breedon BritishVolt Electric Vehicles GB Railfreight North Blyth Railfreight Shap Summit Quarry |
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Caledonian Sleeper has today named one of the engines which powers its iconic cross border service in honour of the Railway Heritage Trust. Intended as a token of thanks for supporting the company's major restoration project at Perth Station. A listed building that dates back to 1848, Perth Station was designed on a grand scale in keeping with the Tudor Gothic style of the time. However, in 2018 the vast size of the station meant that many rooms were lying empty.
(Permalink) 92033 Caledonian Sleeper GB Railfreight Perth Railway Heritage Trust William Tite  Perth: Spotters nightmare. This Class 40 is at Perth -behind the wall - and there wasn't time to get round the other side to see what it was. This may well have been taken during the 'Douglas Blades G ...  Perth: Perth inside the station extension in July 2003. This area was once the station forecourt and the station proper was beyond the building. The platform seen here is now the main Inverness platform. |
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GB Railfreight is planning to order a fleet of main line electro-diesel locomotives with a modular design which would facilitate future replacement of the diesel engine with a battery or hydrogen fuel cell module.
(Permalink) GB Railfreight |
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Journeo has equipped GB Railfreight's fleet of almost 100 Class 66 locomotives with forward-facing CCTV and a connection to a cloud-based data portal, providing the control room with real-time access to train location, status and condition monitoring data.
(Permalink) CCTV GB Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight (GBRf) has taken delivery of a Class 18 hybrid+ shunting locomotive as part of a three-month trial with Beacon Rail Leasing, marking the latest expansion of its growing fleet. As GBRf looks towards the future of its assets, the shunting locomotive will enable low noise and zero emissions, demonstrating a clear contribution to ...
(Permalink) Beacon Rail Leasing Class 18 GB Railfreight Hydrid |
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GB Railfreight (GBRf), in partnership with Hitachi Rail, is proud to have supported Lumo by delivering its brand-new fleet of Class 803 high-speed electric trains that entered service last month.
Since May, GBRf has provided Hitachi Rail with train planning, haulage, and crews for the testing of these new trains which aim to bring rapid, low-cost, electric travel to the East Coast Main Line, from London to Edinburgh. GBRf will shortly deliver the fifth and final train for the Lumo fleet to Hitachi Rails Edinburgh depot in Craigentinny. (Permalink) GB Railfreight Hitachi Rail Lumo |
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GB Railfreight has named a Class 92 electric locomotive 'Billy Stirling' during a ceremony at Mossend International Railfreight Park (MIRP) as part of COP26 in Glasgow. Located next to the electrified West Coast Main Line, MIRP is Scotland's largest international multi-modal rail freight park and welcomes up to 16 trains per day.
(Permalink) Billy Stirling COP26 Class 92 GB Railfreight Mossend International Railfreight Park Peter D. Stirling Limited Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight and the Office of Rail and Road has honoured the last Royal Engineer officer to be appointed a HM Railway Inspector, Major John Poyntz, by naming a freight train after him. GB Railfreight's Class 66 train - 66764 ...
(Permalink) GB Railfreight HM Railway Inspector John Poyntz Office of Rail and Road |
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Inside the GBRf Class 69 project. GB Railfreight has announced that testing of the first Class 69s should begin on the Severn Valley Railway in January, with the locomotives entering traffic later in the year.
(Permalink) Class 69 GB Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight (GBRf) and Rail Stone Solutions (RSS) are delighted to unveil two contracts to support construction on the first phase of HS2. The deals, with HS2 contractors EKFB (Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial BAM Nuttall) and BBV (Balfour Beatty VINCI) will see GBRf join forces with RSS to deliver aggregates by rail to the high speed ...
(Permalink) GB Railfreight HS2 Rail Stone Solutions |
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GB Railfreight and Lindum took part in a joint event on 30 July to bury a 'time capsule' at the site of the new office to mark the next phase of construction.
(Permalink) GB Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight (GBRf) and Drax have agreed to extend their contract to transport supplies of sustainable biomass from UK ports to Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire until 2025. Teams at GBRf have worked closely with Drax for the past decade to maintain the supplies of sustainable biomass needed for the UKs largest power station GB Railfreight and Drax Extend Rail Contract to Transport Biomass Until 2025 Read More
(Permalink) Drax Power Station GB Railfreight |
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The train is promising to take the strain of some of the booming market in ecommerce deliveries, after a rail freight operator revealed plans to use old Intercity 125 trains to whisk parcels from Yorkshire to north London.
(Permalink) GB Railfreight |
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Private equity fund EQT Infrastructure II announced on November 15 that it had completed the acquisition of Groupe Eurotunnel’s UK freight operating subsidiary GB Railfreight. The acquisition with an enterprise value of €180m has been made through an indirectly-owned company within Hector Rail Group, Sweden’s largest private freight operator which is active across Scandinavia and Germany. [From Charlie Niven]
(Permalink) GB Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight unveiled the final ever Class 66 to be built for the UK and European markets on May 10.
In a ceremony at the National Railway Museum, 66779 was named Evening Star. It has been painted in lined express Brunswick green in a similar style to that of the last steam locomotive built, 9F 92220, which was also named Evening Star. The two locomotives were displayed together during the ceremony. [From Mark Bartlett] (Permalink) GB Railfreight  Settle: BR Standard class 9F 2-10-0 no 92220 Evening Star storms through Settle on 30 September 1978 with the Bishop Treacy memorial special.  Grosmont: The last steam locomotive to be built by British Railways in 1960, class 9F 2-10-0 92220 Evening Star, pictured leaving Grosmont (and how) in 1986 while operating on the North York Moors Railwa ...  York: BR Standard class 9F 2-10-0 no 92220 'Evening Star' waits on the down centre road in York station on 4 July 1976 prior to taking over the NELPG's 'Scarborough Spa Flyer', which it will work to ... |
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The final batch of seven Class 66 locomotives are on their way to Doncaster, having been unloaded at the Port of Newport over the weekend.
Due to changes in EU emissions standards, these will be last new Class 66 locomotives to be built. It is a significant milestone both for the recipient of the locomotives, GB Railfreight, and the manufacture of diesel locomotives, with a next-generation, diesel locomotive thought to be several years of development away. The seven locomotives are numbered 66773 to 66779. They will take GBRf’s fleet of Class 66s to 78 locomotives. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) GB Railfreight  Oxford: There's no answer to that... Freightliner 66607 looks puzzled as it pulls up with a northbound ballast train at Oxford on 17 May for a crew change.  Tomatin: DB Schenker liveried Class 66 No.66101 at Tomatin on 26 October heading north with a heavily laden ballast train.  Alloa: EWS 66004 passes through Alloa on its way back to Hunterston on 4 March 2009 with Longannet empties, dwarfing the 3-car 170 at the station platform forming the next service to Glasgow Queen Street. |
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BRITISH construction materials supplier Tarmac has awarded five-year contracts to four rail freight operators as it seeks to increase the volume of aggregate and other materials it moves by rail.
Under the new contracts, Colas Rail will operate cement trains from Oxwellmains cement works, which is situated east of Edinburgh at the northern end of the East Coast Main Line. GB Railfreight will operate aggregate trains from Swinden, Thrislington and Dry Rigg quarries in northern England, while Freightliner has been awarded a contract for aggregates operations from Tunstead in central England. [From Richard Buckby] (Permalink) GB Railfreight  Buxworth: BR Sulzer Type 2 No. 25 100 brings a load of limestone
from Tunstead to Northwich downhill through Buxworth cutting, early on the afternoon of June 11th 1977. The ICI owned bogie hoppers were
alre ...  Skipton: 31319 leads 31202 eastbound through Skipton station in March 1988 with a loaded Tilcon working from Swinden Quarry. 08707 stands in the siding in the centre background.  Welsh^s Bridge Junction: Three Class 24s and a rake of Presflos for Oxwellmains dominate this view of Millburn Yard, Inverness, in Spring 1973. |
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GB Railfreight ran its first train for Drax Power yesterday (October 26), hauling biomass from the Port of Liverpool to Drax Power Station in Selby (North Yorkshire).
The operators only Class 59, 59003 Yeoman Highlander, led the train of 25 wagons, carrying a total of 1,600 tonnes of biomass pellets, with 66706 at the rear. (Permalink) Drax Power Station GB Railfreight  Shand Road Occupational Crossing: At Shand Road Crossing the Liverpool Docks branch divides with the line to the bulk load terminal and Alexandra Dock running off to the left and that to the Seaforth Container Terminal to the right.  Rotherham Masborough: Looking north over the former Rotherham Masborough station on 13 October 2014 as 47815 hauls 59003 Yeoman Highlander south to Eastleigh Works from Immingham docks. The ex-Foster Yeoman class 59 ... |
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This weekend marked the 40th anniversary since the re-opening of the West Somerset Railway and to mark the occasion the GB Railfreight originally called GBRf 66757 was named 'West Somerset Railway'.
The West Somerset Railway runs from Bishops Lydeard for 22.75 miles to the seaside town of Minehead, and is the longest standard gauge heritage railway in the UK. (Permalink) GB Railfreight  Williton: 3850 eastbound shortly after leaving Williton on the West Somerset Railway on 30 May 2010 with a train for Bishops Lydeard.  Minehead: 6960 Raveningham Hall on the tuirntable at Minehead on 2 September 2012.  Bishops Lydeard: Churchward ex-GWR 2-8-0 no 3850 with a train at Bishops Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway on 31 May 2010. |
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GB Railfreight is leasing Class 90s from Freightliner to operate Serco’s Caledonian Sleepers, as the allocated Class 92s are in need of servicing.
“Following a couple of recent failures, we have now decided to temporarily remove the Class 92s from front line service on the Caledonian Sleeper to enable GBRf and its maintenance partners to tackle the issues that have been causing concernâ€, said David Simpson, Serco production and safety director for the Caledonian Sleeper. [From Mark Bartlett] (Permalink) Caledonian Sleeper GB Railfreight  Euston: Locomotive 90021, still in EWS ScotRail livery, stands at Euston platform 15 on 10th February 2015 just after bringing in the empty stock of the Lowland Caledonian Sleeper.  Preston: During April 2015 the Caledonian Sleeper produced 87002 on the front on several occasions when Class 92 locomotives were not available. At just before 0100 hrs on the 20th it appeared at Preston once ...  Edinburgh Waverley: 92018 in the simple and elegant Caledonian Sleeper livery stabled in the siding opposite Platform 7 at Edinburgh Waverley on 18 May 2015.  |
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Rail sleeper services between Scotland and London are to be handled by a freight specialist firm as part of the new franchise.
GB Railfreight has been signed up by Serco to provide locomotives and drivers when it takes over the Caledonian Sleeper service from April. The trains run between London Euston and five Scottish destinations. The contract, to run in both directions six nights a week, is worth around £100m spread over 15 years. (Permalink) Caledonian Sleeper GB Railfreight  Glasgow Central: 92036 departs from Platform 1 for Polmadie with the empty Glasgow Central portion of the Caledonian Sleeper on 4 July 2008.  Loughborough Central: GBRf electro-diesel no 73961 (ex-73209, 73120, E6026) converted to Class 73/9 by Brush Traction during 2014, standing in the GCR sidings at Loughborough on 2 October. The locomotive is currently under ...  St Rollox Works: A Caledonian Sleeper Lounge Car emerging from the car park area at St. Rollox by road on 16 April 2013. The shiny new red springs suggest it has been receiving attention at RailCare. |
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UK freight operator GB Railfreight ran its first service through the Channel Tunnel on the night of November 3, hauling a Dourges - London intermodal service between Calais-Frthun and Barking International Rail Freight Terminal.
The train was operated under a 'hook-and-haul' agreement with sister Groupe Eurotunnel company Europorte France, which has a contract to move containers from Dourges to Barking for logistics company John G Russell Ltd. GBRf used two of the 16 Class 92 electric locomotives which it had purchased from Europorte earlier this year. (Permalink) GB Railfreight |
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A new £45 million railway line north of Doncaster has opened.
GB Railfreight was the first operator to officially use the newly-constructed North Doncaster Chord, which was recently completed by Network Rail. The 3.2km double track chord links the Skellow and Askern lines and allows freight trains to travel over the East Coast Main Line, instead of crossing it on the level and reducing capacity. It also prevents them from conflicting with passenger services. (Permalink) GB Railfreight Network Rail |
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Following a recent increase in business, GB Rail Freight approached us recently regarding the hire of 55 022 for use on a freight working [From Richard Buckby]
(Permalink) GB Railfreight  York: Deltic 55022 Royal Scots Grey departs York on 24 July bound for Scarborough with a private charter.  St Leonards Bridge Junction: The Autumn Highlander, Kings Cross to Inverness arriving at Perth. Loco 55022 Royal Scots Grey.  Darlington [Bank Top]: 55022 Royal Scots Grey with an Edinburgh - Kings Cross service about to leave Darlington Bank Top on 22 June 1981. |
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UK - FRANCE – Europorte, a wholly owned subsidiary of Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel, have purchased First GBRf, formerly GB Railfreight and the third largest rail freight company in the country, from previous owners First Group plc.
(Permalink) First Group GB Railfreight  Dalgety Bay: GBRf 66726 with Aberdeen - Harwich tanks passing through Dalgety Bay on 11 June 2008. This can best be described as an occasional service.  Cardross: GBRf 66728 and a practise load of two class 325 mail trains returning east towards Glasgow along the banks of the Clyde having been on a driver training run to Fort William.  Wansbeck Viaduct: GBRf 66714 Cromer Lifeboat takes a southbound freight over the Wansbeck Viaduct on the Blyth & Tyne between North Seaton and Marchey's House on 2 September 2009.
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The company that runs the Channel Tunnel between the UK and France will today take a step forward in its efforts to boost cross-Channel rail freight when it announces it is buying the UK's third-largest operator.
(Permalink) GB Railfreight  Kensington Olympia: 92016 Brahms with the 03.37 Trafford Park - Dollands Moor (ultimate destination Bari, Italy) heads south through Kensington Olympia on the West London Line on 20 July 2005. Standing in the bay ...  Harwich Town: Before the Channel Tunnel was opened, Harwich Town station saw considerable train ferry activity, as seen here in April 1978 with 08 460 (the regular engine) drawing out the traffic from Zeebrugge. Us ... |
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First Group, seeking to pay down debt, has appointed KPMG to look for buyers for GB Railfreight, the company's freight operating unit. First Group acquired GBRf in 2003 as part of its takeover of GB Railways, but the freight unit remains an anomaly in the company's otherwise passenger-only portfolio. Freightliner, French state railway SNCF and Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel have all been touted as potential buyers. [Modern Railways]
(Permalink) First Group GB Railfreight  Woodhorn Junction: GBRf 66714 Cromer Lifeboat with a freight ex-Lynemouth heading towards Ashington on the Blyth & Tyne. Photographed near Woodhorn on 2 September 2009.  Rhu: GBRf Class 66 No 66714 Cromer Lifeboat takes Alcan tanks north at Rhu on the West Highland Line on 9 April 2010. It will shortly pass the returning southbound tanks at Garelochhead around 19.30 ...  Camden Road: Westbound containers from Felixstowe destined for the Midlands rumble across the bridge spanning the A503 and through Camden Road station in July 2005. The route is part of the heavily used inter-regi ... |
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John Smith, managing director at First GBRf has named a First GBRf class 66 locomotive Drax Power Station.
(Permalink) Drax Power Station GB Railfreight |
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John Smith, managing director at First GBRf has named a First GBRf class 66 locomotive Drax Power Station.
(Permalink) Drax Power Station GB Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight (GBRf) has won a three-year contract with Eurailscout GB Limited to provide driving services for the UFM160 infrastructure inspection unit.
(Permalink) GB Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight has unveiled the first of a fleet of coal hopper wagons being built for its recently won coal contracts.
(Permalink) GB Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight (GBRf) has won a contract with Mendip Rail to move recycled rail ballast from London to East Anglia.
(Permalink) GB Railfreight |
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Royal Mail has extended its contract with GB Railfreight
(GBRf) to move mail by rail between London and Scotland (Permalink) GB Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight and Drax Power Limited have signed 'Heads of Terms' for the movement of imported coal from the Port of Tyne to Drax Power station near Selby, North Yorkshire
(Permalink) Drax Power Station GB Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight (GBRf) has opened a new train crew base at Bristol as it prepares to establish a larger presence in the South West, South Wales and South Midlands.
(Permalink) GB Railfreight |
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GB Railfreight and Drax Power Limited have signed a contract for the movement of imported coal to Drax Power station
(Permalink) Drax Power Station GB Railfreight |
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Royal Mail has extended its contract with GB Railfreight (GBRf) to move mail by rail.
The company took up the option to extend its agreement with GBRf to move around a million letters a day between London and Scotland by another year following a very successful 12 months of operations. GBRf will continue to run two trains a day between Willesden, Warrington and Shieldmuir in Scotland, using Royal Mail’s class 325 units. John Smith, GBRf’s Managing Director, is delighted at the extension. He said that it was his company’s reliability and flexibility that satisfied Royal Mail and led to the option to extend being taken up. “Our arrangement allows Royal Mail to increase or reduce the number of services they run on a night-by-night basis. We also put on specials at times of peak volumes, such as Christmas when we help them move some of the 120 million items a day they have to deal with. "We recognize that Royal Mail needs a multi modal distribution network that is robust, flexible and provides a high quality of service. We will work hard to make sure we remain part of that network by continuing to offer Royal Mail a reliable and commercially viable rail option." Paul Tolhurst, Network Director for Royal Mail Letters, said: “Royal Mail’s number one priority is delivering excellent quality of service to its customers. One of our key requirements is to ensure we get high quality service from our suppliers and GB Railfreight has been very flexible in meeting Royal Mail’s needs. We’re very happy, therefore, to extend our contract for a further year.” (Permalink) GB Railfreight |
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