New rail freight tunnel brings significant improvements to passenger journeys as part of the East Coast upgrade.

• ground-breaking new tunnel dives under East Coast Main Line unlocking faster, more frequent and reliable journeys
• UK engineering first as 11,000-tonne curved concrete tunnel installed in one go
• opening is a major leap forward for the £1.2 billion East Coast upgrade, which will provide more seats and enable quicker journeys between London, the north of England and Scotland

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris has today (9 December 2021) officially opened the brand-new Werrington Tunnel which carries freight trains underneath the busy East Coast Main Line and ensures that passenger services will no longer be disrupted by freight trains crossing the tracks.

The tunnel will bring significant improvements to passenger journeys on the East Coast Main Line as it passes through Peterborough. By easing congestion on existing tracks, the project will unlock the potential to shave time off journeys, allow more passenger trains through, and will see improved reliability for journeys using the line daily.

This is another successful step in the £1.2 billion East Coast upgrade, which will provide more seats and enable quicker journeys between London, the north of England and Scotland.

The completed project will help pave the way for the massive infrastructure roll out across the north and Midlands recently announced in the Integrated rail plan (IRP). The IRP sets out £96 billion worth of investment into the railways that will deliver real and meaningful improvements to communities, supporting economic growth by transforming both east–west and north–south links. The IRP will bring benefits more quickly to more places, many of which would have gained little under previous plans.

Rail Minister, Chris Heaton-Harris said:

“This country’s railways have long been home to marvels of engineering and the new Werrington Tunnel shows that we are continuing that proud tradition.

Opening this new section of railway marks the end of a project which saw Network Rail engineers deliver an incredible feat installing an 11,000-tonne concrete tunnel, freeing up tracks and unlocking new opportunities for rail freight.

Our investment in the railways, including the unprecedented £96 billion we are spending through the integrated rail plan, means there are even more opportunities to move goods by rails, taking HGVs off the road.”

The engineering needed to install the tunnel saw a UK-first, as the 11,000-tonne curved concrete tunnel, 1,000 tonnes heavier than the Eiffel Tower, was slid into place under the existing railway in January this year. The ‘curved box’ was built next to the East Coast Main Line in 9, interconnected sections. The structure is 155 metres long, 9.5 metres wide and 5.1 metres high, with 1 metre thick walls.

In July, the new track installed inside the tunnel was connected to the existing lines. Work continued to install the signalling system which was commissioned over a single weekend in September. Vital testing of the new tunnel then took place to enable trains to start using the infrastructure.

Rob McIntosh, Managing Director for Network Rail’s Eastern region, said:

“From building the huge concrete tunnel onsite next to the East Coast Main Line, to pushing it into place in a UK first for engineering, to installing new track and signalling equipment to connect it to the existing lines – it’s been amazing to see the progress our teams have made on this ground-breaking project.

Passengers travelling between London, Peterborough, the north of England and Scotland will benefit from faster, more reliable journeys as longer freight trains can now dive underneath the famous passenger route.

I’m proud of our team’s brilliant response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and how they reached major milestones on the project when it was at its peak. Using innovative methods, we’ve also been able to avoid major disruption for passengers, as services have continued running throughout the majority of the work. We want to thank passengers as well as people in the community for their continued patience.”

The reforms in the Williams-Shapps plan for rail will set up rail freight for the future, investing in projects which boost capacity, improve performance and cut carbon emissions, as the government levels up the country and builds back greener.

Rail freight offers real benefits to the economy and environment – adding £2.5 billion to the UK economy per annum, removing over 7 million lorry journeys from our roads each year and emitting a quarter of the carbon dioxide of lorries per tonne kilometre travelled.

John Smith, CEO of GB Railfreight said:

“The Werrington tunnel is a win for both consumers and the rail freight industry. It will not only improve passenger journeys, but also crucially unlock much-needed extra capacity on the network for freight services. This is an important investment by the government and furthers our industry’s efforts to create a more efficient supply chain across the UK, whilst making crucial environmental and regional investment progress at the same time.”

David Horne, Managing Director at LNER said:

“This unique project has seen huge cross-industry collaboration, with Network Rail working together with train operators and project partners to deliver this essential part of the East Coast upgrade. The completion of this project will reduce delays and create capacity to enable more LNER services to be launched in our new timetable.”

Simon Smith, Managing Director for Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, principal contractor on the project said:

“We’re incredibly proud to have worked closely with Network Rail and our supply chain to deliver the UK’s first curved portal push on the East Coast Main Line upgrade at Werrington. The portal is a great example of the UK’s leading engineering and innovation expertise, harnessing these skills to enhance passengers’ experiences between London and the north of England.”

As the country continues to struggle with supply chain issues, GB Railfreight (GBRf) are excited to share that they have successfully operated a series of intermodal services from the Port of Tyne to strategic rail hubs in Yorkshire and the Midlands.

The campaign saw GBRf operate intermodal services from Port of Tyne to Yorkshire twice-a-week in addition to services to the Midlands once-a-week.

This series of intermodal services comes as the Port of Tyne welcomes intermodal traffic to help ease the strains caused by simultaneous increased consumer demand and supply chain challenges, ensuring the delivery of goods across the UK.

John Smith, CEO of GB Railfreight, said:

 “As import volume levels grow, this campaign of services demonstrates how rail freight can offer a real solution to the current issues facing our busiest deep sea ports.

“We’re proud to work with the Port of Tyne to operate this intermodal service. By unlocking extra capacity, this new flow can play a key role to ensure the timely and sustainable delivery of goods around the country.”

 Richard Newton, Commercial Director – Logistics at the Port of Tyne said:

 “We’re delighted to work with GBRf to enhance our service and provide another route to market, in addition to our own haulage, port centric warehouse operations and transshipment to other UK ports.  This boost to our offering demonstrates our capability to provide flexible and bespoke, solutions to our customers.”

GB Railfreight receives new wagons from VTG as it looks to expand its intermodal business

GB Railfreight officially received the delivery of its first operational Ecofret2® triple-container flat wagon sets from VTG Rail, which will be used to support GBRf’s growing demand for intermodal services.

The wagons arrived at GBRf’s new headquarters in Peterborough following successful prototype testing and approvals. The Ecofret2® is the latest innovation in maritime container transport and a revolutionary addition to VTG Rail’s fleet. These state-of-the-art wagons remove empty spaces that are often present in other wagons, but which are inefficient and cause turbulence during the journey, thus reducing fleet efficiency.

Today’s announcement is another remarkable achievement in GBRf’s intermodal journey. The company already has 21 intermodal services running across the country, and the new Ecofret2® wagons will only help the business remain at the cutting edge of the industry in this field.

The investment, worth £50m, also shows GBRf’s resilience in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and its willingness to stride forward as restrictions are eased.

In addition, with climate change at the forefront of the political agenda, GBRf is delighted to be contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions by expanding its intermodal fleet: an intermodal train only emits 5.4 pounds of carbon emissions per every 100-ton miles. Therefore, not only will GBRf increase the amount of goods and materials transported by rail, the business will ensure that their carbon output remains low in the process.

Julie Garn, Head of Intermodal at GB Railfreight said:

“I am delighted to be receiving this shipment of Ecofret2® wagons from VTG Rail. Growing the intermodal side of our business will be crucial to us to ensure we bounce back from COVID-19. In addition, there are huge benefits to moving more freight by rail including carbon emissions, which will be vital if we are to reach net zero emissions by 2050.”

David Golding, Asset Director at GB Railfreight, added:

“I couldn’t be more pleased to see the Ecofret2® wagons arrive and join our service. They are at the forefront of innovation in the intermodal sector and will make GBRf more and more competitive as we look to grow our business in the months and years to come”.

GB Railfreight (GBRf), one of the largest rail freight operators in the UK, has been working on a project to renew the signalling system and overhead line equipment in the King’s Cross area, followed by major work to install a new simplified track design at London King’s Cross station.

This work is part of Network Rail’s  East Coast Upgrade programme, marking £1.2 billion worth of investment into significant improvements to the East Coast Main Line, which will transform journeys between London, Cambridgeshire, the North of England and Scotland.

Between February and May 2021, over 100 trains will be running from Doncaster and Whitemoor LDCs, making this the largest possession site that GBRf will have contributed to at any one time.  The peak will see more than 25 GB Railfreight locos on site and is scheduled for Monday 1 March. The quick turnaround demonstrates GBRf’s ability to accommodate the varying needs of its customers and is a sign of the company’s overall resilience at a time of economic and business uncertainty.

Work began on 26 February, with several very intense weeks for GBRf’s engineering trains, followed by extended support that will be delivered by the company until the end of May 2021.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“This is another example of GB Railfreight stepping up to support a huge bespoke project. It required a tailored solution, which we will be able to deliver thanks to the effective collaboration that is consistently shown across our team.

“We are proud to have demonstrated to Network Rail, and the wider rail industry, that GBRf can rise to a challenge and deliver a solution to support major infrastructure projects. This puts us in a strong position to accept similar campaigns in the future.”

Ed Akers, Principal Programme Sponsor for Network Rail, said:

“We’re extremely grateful to all of our contractors, who are together making the King’s Cross improvements possible. GBRf are playing a key role this work which, when complete in June, will see a new simplified track layout, two additional new tracks and the replacement of overhead line equipment and new signalling.

“For the next few months we will be fully focused on the successful delivery of the work and bring improved reliability and punctuality while also ensuring we have the capacity to transport more passengers in the future.”