As the country emerges from one of its greatest challenges, GB Railfreight are thrilled to announce some positive news. A new Intermodal service from the rail terminal operated by Solent Stevedores at the Port of Southampton, to East Midlands Gateway, Derby has commenced. This will be its fourth daily service from one of the UK’s leading deep-sea container ports and will offer the market an additional rail destination.

This new service marks GBRf’s continued expansion in the intermodal market and underlines the vital role rail freight plays in delivering goods around the country. The new Southampton to East Midlands service will run 5 days a week and represents GBRf’s 20^th intermodal service to date.

SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway (SLPEMG) is a 700-acre development with planning consent for up to 6,000,000 square ft of logistics accommodation. The 50-acre intermodal terminal, managed by Maritime Transport, operates 24/7 and is able to accommodate up to sixteen 775m freight trains per day. It also provides storage capacity for over 5,000 TEU – which is equal to approximately 45,000 pallets of cargo.

GBRf are able to offer both loaded and empty storage and final-mile delivery, in order to provide a seamless ‘door to door’ opportunity with a combination of rail and road resources. This new service offers the market an additional rail destination and cost-effective transport solution.

Today’s news follows GBRf’s recent announcement that the company 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.

GBRf are committed to increasing the amount of goods and materials transported via rail freight, reducing emissions and delivering a more sustainable logistics solution. An average freight train removes a minimum of 70 HGV journeys from the roads while reducing carbon emissions by about 75% compared to transport by road.

When combined with rail’s advantageous performance in terms of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter emissions, rail freight demonstrates a clear contribution to the challenge of meeting the UK’s net zero carbon targets.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“I am thrilled to see the beginning of this new service. Our growth in intermodal shows GBRf’s dedication to innovation, offering flexible door-to-door solutions that meet our customers’ needs, as well as a consistently reliable service. We are very proud of the hard work that has been put in to be the industry’s trusted intermodal carrier.

 “Today’s announcement also reconfirms GBRf as the rail freight company leading the way to grow the sector at a time of unprecedented economic challenge. In light of the COVID-19 crisis we are redoubling our efforts to put the UK back on track, while also doing our bit to decarbonise our economy.”

 Stuart Cullen Executive Chairman of Solent Stevedores said:

“Our rail terminal at the Port of Southampton was significantly upgraded last year increasing our capacity and efficiency and we are delighted to welcome an additional service from GBRf. Now with eight daily intermodal services from the Port of Southampton, this news further strengthens our position as a UK leading rail terminal operator.

John Bailey, Managing Director – Intermodal and Terminals at Maritime Transport, said:

“We are thrilled to be kicking off the next chapter of our intermodal journey; extending our offering at EMG to provide UK businesses with even more ways of moving their goods from A to B at a time when the country begins its return to a new normal. We are incredibly proud of what our drivers and staff have achieved in such a short space of time; meeting our customers’ needs and unique requirements is at the very heart of what we do, and we look forward to providing additional services in the near future.”

GBRf Announce New Southampton to Manchester Intermodal Service

GB Railfreight are delighted to announce the start (Monday 2 September) of another new intermodal service, this time from Solent Stevedores, Southampton, to Maritimes Terminal in Trafford, Manchester. This will be the third daily service GBRf offer from one of the UK’s leading deep-sea container ports.

This new service marks GBRf’s continued expansion into the intermodal market and the vital role rail freight plays in delivering goods around the country.

GBRf continues to prioritise converting volume from road to rail in the intermodal market and this new service demonstrates the success of our service delivery and expertise being provided to customers across the network.

The new service will run five days a week, and represents GBRf’s 17^th intermodal service to date, following unprecedented growth in this market over the last two years. Intermodal traffic now accounts for approximately 36% of all rail freight industry wide.

GBRf are committed to increasing the amount of goods and materials transported via rail freight, reducing emissions and delivering a more sustainable logistics solution. An average freight train removes 80 HGV journeys from roads every day.

When combined with rail’s advantageous performance in terms of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter emissions, rail freight demonstrates a clear contribution to the challenge of meeting the UK’s carbon-cutting targets.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“I am thrilled to see the beginning of this new service. Our growth in intermodal shows GBRf’s dedication to innovation, offering flexible door-to-door solutions that meet our customer’s needs, as well as a consistently reliable service. We are very proud of the hard work that has been put in to be the industry’s trusted intermodal carrier.”

Stuart Cullen, CEO of Solent Stevedores, said:

“We are delighted that GB Railfreight has started a new service from Solent Stevedores to Manchester. We have a strong working relationship and are thrilled that our partnership is flourishing through their new intermodal services from our terminal”.

GB Railfreight has assisted in the reopening of a rail site at Link Park Heathrow, just to the north of Heathrow Airport by taking part in a test run which has shown the recreated sidings as suitable for use for the transportation of aggregates to the site.

The test run was successful and site occupier Ashville Aggregates is developing plans to use the site to transport aggregates from the Midlands to their Park Link site.

The site was last used as a railhead in 2013 but since then use has been discontinued and the rail lines had been covered over. Rail consultant, Intermodality, led on the work to uncover and reinstate the lines, and ensure that the sidings were again suitable to for freight train unloading.

The site is just three miles to the north of Heathrow airport and close to the planned site of the third runway.

GB Railfreight’s test train from the mainline into the sidings to test its operability was successful and the site is now operational.

John Smith Managing Director of GB Railfreight said:

“GB Railfreight is pleased to have been able to help in the reopening of this site. The reopening is a clear sign of increasing demand for rail freight services as business look for reliable and more sustainable ways to move freight.

“With each train carrying the equivalent of 60 lorry loads and while emitting at quarter of the emissions of equivalent road transport, rail freight has an increasingly important role to play. With major new infrastructure projects planned to happen close by, including the Heathrow third runway, the site offers a potentially useful rail head to transport material to the area and potentially spoil away.”

“We hope that our train will be the first of many into the redeveloped site”

GB Railfreight (GBRf) are delighted to announce three Class 66 locomotives are to be leased from Beacon Rail Leasing and introduced to the UK rail network from Sweden.

The locomotives T66 403/4/5 will become 66 790/791/792 and mark GBRf’s continued growth and investment in its fleet. These locomotives are the most widely operated modern freight locomotives in the European market and will further strengthen GBRf’s already reliable fleet.

GBRf have considerable experience bringing locomotives from Europe to the UK. Previous conversions include 66 747/8/9/5/51 from European to UK specification with the assistance of Electro Motive Diesels (EMD).

Prior to entering service, the locomotives will undergo upgrades in Gothenburg before being shipped to Immingham and transferred to EMD’s Longport Facility for conversion to UK specifications.

The locomotives will have Train Bourne safety systems, air conditioning, as well as cab and system specific reliability improvements made. In addition, they will all receive GBRf livery and once fully upgraded, the Class 66s will then enter service.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:
“I am delighted to announce that three Class 66 locomotives are being added to our fleet. These locos are incredibly reliable and will assist us in delivering the best possible service now and into the future.

This move is demonstrative of why GBRf are leading the way in the rail freight sector. It’s a fantastic addition to our offer, enabling us to expand operations, whilst also providing the extra freight capacity the industry really needs.”

GB Railfreight (GBRf) have today confirmed that they are investing in two new state of the art simulators, which will form part of their new training school at Peterborough.

At a total cost of £850,000, they will be the UK’s first and only full cab freight European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) capable simulators. They will be used by new and existing drivers for basic training, advanced training as part of the Driver rules exam, Mentor and Instructor training and post incident reconstruction. They will initially cover the journey from Kings Cross to Peterborough, and are designed with a route building tool which will enable the addition of all other GBRf routes going forward.

The new simulators are being built with the recycled remains of locomotive no. 66734, which was involved in a landslip derailment at Loch Treig back in 2012. Now in the final months of construction, the simulators are being fitted out in France at Corys, having been subject to a fantastic refurbishment by EMD Longport in 2018.

The simulators are due for completion in June 2019.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“GB Railfreight has always been committed to training, both internally and externally- We are training the railway employees of the future. The GBRf training team is currently overseeing the establishment of a?new training school at Peterborough, which will?provide?a state-of-the-art learning environment for all?trainees, including 3 high tech classrooms and the new simulators.

When finished, these simulators will enable us to provide cutting edge training not only to GBRf staff, but the wider rail industry. We are hugely exited for their completion.”

GB Railfreight leads the sector on ERTMS installation

Earlier this month (Wednesday 6th December 2017) GB Railfreight (GBRf), and the other Freight Operating Companies (FOCs), agreed a landmark partnership deal with Network Rail and Siemens leading to the introduction of the European Train Control Systems (ETCS) in the freight sector. This will enable the installation of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) in-cab signalling in all freight sector locomotives, some 800 engines and more than 15 ‘first-in-class’ designs.

ERTMS will allow for the interoperability of trains across the European Union and aims to vastly improve safety and efficiency by introducing a single, new Europe-wide standard for train control and command systems. With this agreement now in place, GBRf will be able to upgrade its locomotives and ensure that it is able to operate and compete with other FOCs across Europe for the foreseeable future.

GBRf’s Strategic Development Director, Duncan Clark, who played a key role in the formation of the agreement, said:

“GBRf has long recognised the importance of this project and has been working with the government for a number of years as it has increased its focus on the digitalisation of transport and infrastructure. This agreement marks a turning point for the rail sector, with ERTMS ensuring that the rail network is used more efficiently, freeing up capacity, which we hope the rail freight industry will benefit from.”

Nigel Jones, board member of the Rail Freight Group and chair of the Freight Stakeholder Group, who oversaw the agreement, said:

“It is a tremendous achievement – the first time the freight sector, and possibly the rail sector, have come together despite such a competitive environment to work with NR in such a way to put an efficient, flexible framework in place.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact:
Westbourne Communications
020 3397 0100
GBRF@westbournecoms.com

About GB Railfreight
Founded in 1999 and headquartered in London, United Kingdom, GB Railfreight is the third largest rail freight operator in the United Kingdom, with a turnover in excess of GBP 120m. GB Railfreight is one of the fastest growing companies in the railway sector and transports goods for a wide range of customers.

For further information, please visit www.gbrailfreight.com