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 GBRf’s 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

The depot’s construction formally began this morning at 9am with a  ground breaking event taking place at the GBRf House, Peterborough. Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald (Leader of Peterborough City Council) was in attendance, in addition to  John Smith (Chief Executive Officer, GB Railfreight) and Phil Williamson (Managing Director, Cairn Cross Engineering).

The state-of-art maintenance hub will play a vital role in GBRf’s ambitions to improve safety and reliability across its wagon fleet, using smart sensor technology to quickly analyse wagon conditions and identify faults much earlier quickly and accurately. Through this work, the new Peterborough maintenance hub will support GB Railfreight’s ambitious growth plans as it works up to running 75 intermodal services a day by 2025.

John Smith, CEO of GB Railfreight, said:

“We are delighted to be strengthening our presence in Peterborough with the construction of our new maintenance hub. Peterborough was a natural choice of location following the opening of our headquarters – GBRf House – here last year. The city is also one of the most important points on the East Coast Mainline and has a long and illustrious connection to the country’s railways.

“We hope that the hub will provide the local community with new opportunities through high quality jobs and training schemes. This in turn will help bring through a new generation of talent in the rail freight industry, which will be vital to delivering the sector’s continued success.”

Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald, Leader of Peterborough City Council, said:

“This is a welcome investment to Peterborough and one which will create many new jobs for our residents and improve the flow of goods on the city’s rail-line. It also proves – once again – that Peterborough is the ideal place for investment.”

David Golding, Asset Director, GB Railfreight, said:

“The Peterborough maintenance hub is a major investment into the sector and will form an integral part of our infrastructure long into the future. Our ability to service wagons quickly will also allow us to deliver an even more reliable service to our customers, and support GB Railfreight’s growth aspirations.”

Phil Williamson, Managing Director, Cairn Cross Engineering Ltd, said:

“Cairn Cross is delighted to have secured this project in partnership with GBRf at the Peterborough maintenance hub. The project will significantly improve the efficiency of rail freight maintenance in Eastern England.”