TruckandTrackSummer2020

www.truckandtrack.com Summer 2020 Truck and Track 69 RAILFREIGHT GB Railfreight (GBRf) has announced a new three-year deal with fellow rail freight company DB Cargo UK to undertake the maintenance of ten Class 60 locomotives as well as providing technical in-field support. The agreement will see GBRf’s engineering team work closely with DB Cargo UK to drive locomotive performance and provide professional engineering support. The focus of the contract will be undertaking regular maintenance in line with contracted KPIs whilst driving reliability improvements. The Class 60 locomotives which have entered service will allow heavier and longer trains to run. This brings environmental benefits as longer trains are more efficient. The main duties of the locomotives will be hauling biomass to power stations. This announcement demonstrates a willingness of the rail freight sector to continue investing and working together through this difficult time in light of the Covid-19 crisis. John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said: “I am thrilled to be unveiling this new partnership with DB Cargo UK. At this time of economic uncertainty, it is important for the rail freight sector to work together to deliver investment to support its growth. “Most importantly, the economic recovery needs to be green and sustainable and by maintaining these locos we will ensure fewer carbon emissions in the long run. I am pleased that rail freight is playing its part in the economic recovery driven by environmentally sustainable investment.” Hans-Georg Werner, CEO at DB Cargo UK, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with our colleagues at GB Railfreight providing high quality maintenance services for their Class 60 locomotives. At DB Cargo UK we pride ourselves on the quality of our engineering, with our key focus being on cost- effective locomotive availability and reliability.” GB Railfreight announce deal with DB Cargo for Class 60maintenance GB Railfreight (GBRf) is set to start operations at its new intermodal sidings at Peterborough. The investment provides GBRf with much needed track capacity – which will be doubled – in order to facilitate the business’ growing intermodal sector. This is the first of four phases of works to have been completed on this site. GBRf are looking to develop this site further by completing alterations to existing sidings and install additional infrastructure to provide improved access to the East Coast Main Line, allowing GBRf to further increase the capacity of the site. Other works planned at this location in the near future include a purpose-built wagon maintenance facility in order to support high levels of asset utilisation. The move will provide GB Railfreight with an improved and more efficient wagon maintenance capability alongwith improved facilities for theirmaintainers to operate from. This follows the announcement of a new multi million contract for the lease of an additional 52 Ecofret2® Intermodal wagons from VTG, Rail UK Ltd, the UK’s largest private wagon hire company. Tomeet increasing demand for rail freight, GBRf are also expanding operations by investing in new offices and training facilities. GBRf recently broke ground for their new office in Peterborough, with the work involving the demolition of existing temporary office buildings and construction of a new building to house a control room, three classrooms, a board room and staff welfare facilities. The training school will support GBRf’s state-of-the-art class 66 simulators, which were unveiled in 2019. The new intermodal sidings at Peterborough, were completed by MLP Railway Maintenance Ltd which enabled GBRf to finish them ahead of schedule and also within budget. This announcement demonstrates the company’s commitment to investing in the rail freight sector and the UK economy as a whole at this time of uncertainty in light of the Covid-19 crisis. John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said: “I am absolutely delighted to be able to unveil the new intermodal sidings at Peterborough. The growth in Intermodal is demonstrative of GBRf’s commitment to leading the way in what is one of the biggest changes in the freight industry’s history, offering flexible and innovative door-to-door solutions that meet our customer’s needs. “In 2019 GBRf delivered not only growth but also consumer choice in the market with a further four Intermodal services from major deep-sea UK ports, bringing the total to 17 Intermodal services. Despite the current disruption due to Covid-19 we are committed to delivering investment to support the growth of the rail freight sector, ensuring that rail freight can play its part in the economic recovery driven by environmentally sustainable investment.” GB Railfreight unveils new sidings at Peterborough Photo Ken Short 01543 420 121 www.deker.co.uk VEHICLE FINANCE AND LEASING