GB Railfreight Limited
IndustryRail
Founded2 April 1999[1]
FounderGB Railways
Headquarters
London
,
England
Key people
John Smith (Managing Director)
ServicesFreight operating company
OwnerInfracapital
Websitewww.gbrailfreight.com

GB Railfreight (GBRf) is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is owned by the global investment company Infracapital.

GB Railfreight was established in April 1999 as the rail freight operating subsidiary of the train operating company GB Railways. It was granted an operator's licence in June 2000, and started running Intermodal container trains in February 2002; the haulage of other freight traffic commenced later that year. GBRf acquired numerous Class 66 locomotives to haul its trains; another early type would be the Class 20 and Class 73 locomotives. In August 2003, GBRf, via its parent company GB Railways, was acquired by FirstGroup; it was later rebranded as First GBRf. In 2005, it began running services for Royal Mail and Metronet; two years later, First GBRf ran its first coal trains. In 2009, it was granted a passenger license, after which it operated such services under contract to First Great Western.

In June 2010, the company was acquired by Europorte, after which the GB Railfreight branding and livery were promptly reinstated. Following this purchase, it took on Europorte's fleet of Class 92 electric locomotives, as well as buying additional Class 66s and Class 56s amongst other types to expand its inventory as service volume rose. Contracts to haul new-build rolling stock for operators and operate rail traffic at multiple steelworks were awarded during the early 2010s; GBRf also begun operations on hauling the Caledonian Sleeper service in April 2015. During October 2016, the company was bought by EQT Partners, and was partly integrated with Hector Rail. In September 2019, GBRf's ownership changed hands again, this time to Infracapitial.

History

Formation and launch

GBRf Class 66, "Pride of GB Railfeight" in rainbow livery, with a full load from Arcow Quarry, Ribblesdale
Class 66 in First GBRf livery at Doncaster station in September 2007
First GBRf logo

The origins of GB Railfreight can be traced back to early 1999, when the privately-owned train operating company GB Railways decided to form its own dedicated rail freight subsidiary.[2] Accordingly, unlike the majority of private rail freight companies that emerged in the British market during the 1990s, such as DB Cargo UK and Freightliner, GB Railfreight was not formed from any element of the privatised British Rail freight sectors.

During April 2000, following the awarding of an eight-year contract to operate infrastructure trains on behalf of British railway infrastructure owner Railtrack, the company ordered seven Class 66 locomotives.[3][4] In June 2000, GB Railfreight was granted an operator's licence, permitted it to run trains on the British rail network.[5] On 1 April 2000, it commenced operations.[6] During February 2002, GBRf commenced operating its first Intermodal container contract from the Port of Felixstowe for MSC Mendite.[7] Also that same year, GBRf began its first bulk freight contract for British Gypsum.[8]

FirstGroup era

During August 2003, GB Railways was purchased by the British transport conglomerate FirstGroup; subsequently, GB Railfreight was rebranded as First GBRf.[9][10][11] In April 2004, GB Railfreight commenced operating a five year contract for Network Rail; it also expanded its fleet through the acquisition of four former Gatwick Express Class 73 locomotives and numerous additional wagons to work the new contract.[12]

In May 2005, First GBRf began operating Royal Mail services using Class 325 electric multiple-units (EMUs).[13][14] The company's arrangement with Royal Mail was subsequently extended through to 2010.[15][16] Also in 2005, GBRf commenced operating London Underground infrastructure trains for Metronet.[8][17] During March 2007, First GBRf commenced operating its first coal trains, on behalf of both Drax Group and EDF Energy.[18][19][20][21]

In June 2007, the business was renamed First GBRf.[22][23]

During summer 2009, First GBRf was granted a passenger licence, allowing it to operate charter services.[24] Between December 2009 and July 2010, First GBRf operated passenger services under contract to the train operating company First Great Western. These services, running from Cardiff Central to Taunton, consisted of hired Virgin Trains Class 57/3 locomotives hauling rakes of Mark 2 carriages.[25][26][27]

Europorte era

Logo while under Europorte ownership

During May 2010, FirstGroup announced that it was putting the business up for sale; various companies, including Europorte, Freightliner and SNCF, were reportedly interested in acquiring First GBRf.[28] On 1 June 2010, it was announced that it had been purchased by Europorte.[29][30] Following the acquisition by Europorte, the company reverted to its original name and a revised version of the original livery.

In February 2011, GBRf commenced operation of rail traffic at Cardiff Tidal/Tremorfa Works.[31][32] In 2012, GBRf commenced a ten-year contract to operate the 43-mile (69 km) rail network at Sahavirirya Steel Industries Lackenby steelworks, Teesside.[33]

During 2013, GB Railfreight were contracted to deliver Class 700 EMUs, constructed by Siemens in Krefeld, Germany, from the Channel Tunnel; the firm was also contracted to haul Class 800/801s high speed trains. For the latter contract, GBRf provided trains crews during the testing process, as well as hauling the sets.[34][35]

In April 2015, GB Railfreight commenced a contract from Serco to haul the Caledonian Sleeper. Class 92s haul it from London Euston to Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central with rebuilt Class 73/9s to haul it from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William.[36] During early 2019, GBRf worked closely with Wabtec and Serco to prepare for the launch of the new Mark 5 carriages for the Caledonian Sleeper.[37]

In October 2016, the business was purchased by the global investment firm EQT Partners, after which its operations were aligned with its Hector Rail subsidiary internationally.[38] At the time of the acquisition, GB Railfreight reportedly operated in excess of 1,000 trainloads of freight per week, moving roughly 15% of the UK’s rail freight, and had a forecast annual revenue of £125 million.[39]

During September 2019, EQT Partners announced it had agreed to sell GB Railfreight to another investment company, Infracapital; the transaction was completed one month later.[40] At the time of the sale, GBRf was reportedly the third largest freight company operating in the UK, moving roughly 23% of all rail freight, had a turnover of more than £200 million per year and had in excess of 900 employees.[41]

On 9 April 2021, GBRf opened their new office in Peterborough;[42] the building houses the company's Operations departments, its 24-hour control centre, and undertakes training using onsite simulators; in the latter aspect, there are ambitions to become a major provider of training for train drivers and managers across the whole rail sector.[43]

Fleet

To commence operations, seven Class 66/7s were ordered by GB Railfreight in April 2000.[44] The type proved its value to the company, leading to multiple follow-on orders being placed. By the end of 2014, the total number of Class 66s purchased by GBRf had risen to 72;[45] a further seven were delivered in 2016.

During October 2012, three unused Class 66s, previously ordered by Crossrail Benelux and stabled in the Netherlands, were purchased and transported to Britain by GBRf.[46] In the following year, a further two Class 66s that had previously operated in continental Europe were also obtained. These were numbered 66747 to 66751 in the GBRf fleet.

GB Railways initially purchased six former Gatwick Express Class 73s. After GBRf won a contract to operate Network Rail infrastructure trains in the south-east, four were overhauled by Fragonset Railways.[47] Subsequently, additional Class 73s were located and purchased, some from preservation, to give a total fleet, as of July 2018, of 24 locomotives. Of these, eleven were completely re-engineered between 2014 and 2015, being equipped with 1600 hp MTU diesel power units; five were dedicated to Network Rail infrastructure traffic in the south of England while the remaining six being transferred to Scotland for use on the diesel-hauled legs of the Caledonian Sleeper services.

GB Railfreight has a fleet of 16 Class 92 electric locomotives acquired by Europorte prior to the purchase of GB Railfreight.[48]

GBRf has also utilised a number of heritage diesel locomotives. Class 20s are used on London Underground S Stock moves between Derby Litchurch Lane Works, Old Dalby Test Track and London Underground's Neasden Depot. It hires these from various owners, including Harry Needle Railroad Company. During mid-2014, five Class 47s were hired from Riviera Trains for a short period.[49][50]

Occasionally, GBRf has hired preserved locomotives, such as the Class 55 Deltic no. 55022 Royal Scots Grey and Class 52 Western no. D1015 Western Champion.[51][52][53][54][55]

GB Railfreight also operated a pair of refurbished Vanguard 0-6-0DH locos (re-numbered DH50-1 and DH50-2) for shunting purposes at Tremorfa/Cardiff Tidal works.[56] In December 2016, these were returned to Hunslet in favour of class 08 hired in from Harry Needle Railroad Company.

To operate services on the Lackenby steelworks, Teesside network, eight 1996–97-era Maschinenbau Kiel locomotives were purchased from Norwegian State Railways. They were classed as Di8.[33]

In August 2014, GBRf purchased a single Class 59 locomotive from the Germany company Heavy Haul Power International.[57][58] This locomotive had originally been purchased by the Foster Yeoman group (along with its sister locomotives 59001/002/004/005), these being the first privately owned locomotives to operate under British Rail.

In 2015, it was confirmed a further seven Class 66s would be purchased. Even though the locomotive type no longer conforms with emissions regulations, GBRf had purchased some spare EMD 710 engines, shipped them to the United Kingdom before the 31 December 2014 deadline and then returned them to the United States for fitting to the new locomotives to be delivered in 2016.[59][60]

During late 2017, DB Cargo UK sold ten Class 66/0s (66008/016/046/058/081/132/141/184/238/250) to GBRf, who allocated the 66780–789 series to them in ascending order. 66789 (formerly 66250), was outshopped in British Rail Large Logo Blue and named British Rail 1948 - 1997 to commemorate British Rail's 70th anniversary. It also acquired three Class 47/7s from Colas Rail, for use on Caledonian Sleeper and stock move duties (47727, 47739, 47749)[61]

GBRF hauled container train

In June 2018, GBRf acquired 16 of the Class 56 locomotives owned by UK Rail Leasing (UKRL), together with various parts.[62] Most of these were subsequently re-engineered. The locomotives were previously owned by DB Cargo and subsequently hired to Fertis for high speed rail construction trains in France; after their return to the UK, they were acquired by UKRL during 2014 for spot hire. Only 56081, 56098 and 56104 had been made operational by UKRL, with the majority stored at Leicester depot.[63]

Also during 2018, an agreement was reached with Colas Rail for GBRf to acquire all ten Class 60 locomotives that Colas had earlier purchased from DB Cargo (60002/021/026/047/056/076/085/087/095/096). These were to be released in two batches, the five standard fuel tank locomotives (60047/076/085/087/095) during July 2018, followed later in the year by the five extended range locomotives.

In July 2018, GB Railfreight also bought two further Class 73 locomotives 73101 and 73139 from Loram UK.[64]

In January 2019, GB Railfreight received a pair of Class 50 locomotives on loan from the Class 50 Alliance Preservation Group, with both locomotives (50 007 and 50 049) repainted into GBRf livery and returned to service in March 2019.[65]

In June 2019, GBRf secured the lease of three Class 66 locomotives from Beacon Rail that had previously been in use with Hector Rail in Sweden as T66 403–405.[66][67] The first locomotive, 66790 (T66 403) arrived on 3 June and was moved from Immingham Docks to Longport, where Electro-Motive Diesel were to convert it to UK standards before it entered traffic. The locomotives date from November 2002, and were bought by Beacon Rail from HSBC Rail in 2009.[68]

During October 2020, GB Railfreight commenced the lease of a further five Class 66s from Beacon Rail, all of which being imported from Germany. The first of this batch were planned to enter service in April 2021, receiving the numbers 66793–797.[69][70][71]

In early 2022, 2 ex-Colas Rail Class 67s joined the fleet.[72] A new fleet of 16 Class 69 locomotives, converted from Class 56s, were also being delivered in different liveries and brands. Furthermore, that same year, GB Railfreight ordered 30 new Class 99 bi-mode locomotives for delivery in 2025; these are intended to replace its Class 66 fleet.[73]

Fleet Table

Class Image Type Built Number Wheel Arr Numbers/Notes
Vanguard 0-6-0DH Shunter 2011 2 0-6-0 DH50-1, DH50-2
Class 08 1953 08925, 08934
Class 09 1959 09002, 09009
Class 47 Diesel locomotive 1962–1967 3 Co-Co 47727, 47739 and 47749.[74]
Class 50 1967–1968 2 50007 Hercules and 50049 Defiance were both repainted into the GBRf livery in March 2019.[75]
Class 56 1976–1984 18 56007, 009, 018, 031, 032, 037, 038, 060, 065, 069, 077, 081, 098, 104, 106, 128, 311(057), 312(003) Acquired 2018 from UK Rail Leasing and CF Booth (128).[76] Only 56081, 098 & 104 were in operational condition, with the remainder in stored or non running condition. To be rebuilt as Class 69s.[77]
Class 59 1985 1 59003 Yeoman Highlander purchased from Heavy Haul Power International, Germany[57][58]
Class 60 1989 10 60002, 021, 026, 047, 056, 076, 085, 087, 095, 096. Acquired from Colas Rail in 2018.[78]
Class 66 2000–2015 104 66301–305, 66701–799. 66301-05 transferred from Direct Rail Services in October 2022.[79]
Class 67 1999-2000 2 Bo-Bo 67023, 67027 (transferred in from Colas Rail early 2022).[72]
Class 69 1976-84 (rebuilt 2020-2022) 16 Co-Co See Class 56, 69 number range is 69001-69016.
Class 73 Electro-diesel locomotive 1962, 1965–1967 24 Bo-Bo 73107, 109, 119, 128, 136, 141, 201, 212, 213, 961–971.
Stored - 73101, 110, 134, 139.
Class 92 Electric locomotive 1993–1996 16 Co-Co Operational (12): 92006, 010, 014, 018, 020, 023, 028, 032–033, 038, 043–044.
Stored (4): 021, 040. 045, 046 (at Worksop).
Class 99 2025 30 Co-Co 30 on order for delivery 2025, bi-mode.[73]
Total 225

References

  1. ↑ "GB Railfreight Limited: Company no 3707899". Companies House. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  2. ↑ Schabas, Michael (October 2003). Memorandum by GB Railfreight. Hansard (Report). Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "GBR orders 66 fleet for Railtrack contract". Rail. No. 382. 3 May 2000. p. 5.
  4. ↑ "GB Rail signs freight contract with Railtrack". The Railway Magazine. No. 1190. June 2000. p. 10.
  5. ↑ "GB Railfreight given licence". Rail. No. 388. 26 July 2000. p. 4.
  6. ↑ "GB Railfreight signs deal with West Coast Traincare". Rail. No. 406. 4 April 2001. p. 13.
  7. ↑ "GBRf starts container service to Selby". The Railway Magazine. No. 1212. April 2002. p. 95.
  8. 1 2 "Making sure the mail on rail doesn't fail". Rail. No. 609. 14 January 2009. p. 50.
  9. ↑ "GB Rail Offer Unconditional". Corporate News (Press release). FirstGroup plc. 14 August 2003. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  10. ↑ "First Group buys GB for $22million". The Railway Magazine. No. 1229. September 2003. p. 10.
  11. ↑ "GB Railways is bought by First Group for £22 million". Rail Express. No. 88. September 2003. p. 8.
  12. ↑ "Network Rail hands GBRf more work: Class 73s acquired, wagons bought". Rail Express. No. 94. March 2004. p. 8.
  13. ↑ "Mail to move by rail again". GB Railfreight News (Press release). 18 October 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  14. ↑ "Mail back on rail: GBRf wins postal contract". The Railway Magazine. No. 1244. December 2004. p. 4.
  15. ↑ "GB Railfreight wins Royal Mail contract". GB Railfreight News (Press release). 20 May 2005. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  16. ↑ "FirstGBRf wins new contact (sic) with Royal Mail". GB Railfreight News (Press release). 15 June 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  17. ↑ "Welcome back Finedon Road Yard". Rail Express. No. 122. July 2006. p. 3.
  18. ↑ "GBRF wins first coal contract". Today's Railways UK. No. 54. July 2006. p. 15.
  19. ↑ "GB Railfreight expands into coal". Rail Express. No. 122. July 2006. p. 7.
  20. ↑ "GBRf enters coal market". The Railway Magazine. No. 1264. August 2006. p. 6.
  21. ↑ "GBRf aims to be first for freight". Rail. No. 603. 22 October 2008. pp. 38–42.
  22. ↑ "More new locos and wagons ordered as GB Railfreight becomes FirstGBRf". Rail Express. No. 134. July 2007. p. 7.
  23. ↑ "GB Railfreight becomes FirstGBRf". The Railway Magazine. No. 1276. August 2007. p. 76.
  24. ↑ "GBRf expands operations with charter trips". Rail. No. 645. 2 June 2010. p. 34.
  25. ↑ "First Great Western". tauntontrains.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2014. "WWW.TAUNTONTRAINS.CO.UK - LOCO HAULED". Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  26. ↑ "First GBRf takes over on FGW Taunton diagram". Rail Express. No. 164. January 2010. p. 7.
  27. ↑ "First GBRf to operate FGW contract". The Railway Magazine. No. 1306. February 2010. p. 61.
  28. ↑ Barnard, Bruce (3 May 2010). "European Rivals Bid for GB Railfreight". The Journal of Commerce. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  29. ↑ "Eurotunnel buys GB Railfreight from FirstGroup". Railway Gazette International. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  30. ↑ "Eurotunnel buys GBRf". The Railway Magazine. No. 1312. August 2010. p. 10.
  31. ↑ Bray, Martin (14 December 2011). "Cardiff Tidal Sidings". Tidal, Margam & Canton. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  32. ↑ "GB Railfreight takes over at Cardiff Tidal Yard". Rail Express. No. 179. April 2011. p. 50.
  33. 1 2 "GBRf buys Norwegian locos for steelworks". The Railway Magazine (1329): 85. January 2012.
  34. ↑ "GBRf wins IEP test contract for Class 800/801 trains". The Railway Magazine (1351): 80. November 2013.
  35. ↑ "IEP trains to undergo night testing on East Coast line". Rail (738): 16. 25 December 2013.
  36. ↑ "The Sleepers are stirring". Rail. No. 756. 3 September 2014. p. 70.
  37. ↑ Holden, Michael (25 April 2019). "GB Railfreight help launch new Caledonian Sleeper carriages". railadvent.co.uk.
  38. ↑ "EQT completes acquisition of GB Railfreight". Railway Gazette International. 16 November 2016. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  39. ↑ Tredway, Gareth (19 October 2016). "Private equity group EQT makes offer for GB Railfreight". automotivelogistics.media.
  40. ↑ "Hector Rail sells GB Railfreight to Infracapital". Railway Gazette International. 23 September 2019. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019.
  41. ↑ "Another rail company changes hands". multimodal.org.uk. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  42. ↑ "New Peterborough office for GB Railfreight officially opened". RailAdvent. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  43. ↑ Longhorn, Danny (30 April 2021). "GB Railfreight open new Peterborough office to kickstart next chapter". railbusinessdaily.com.
  44. ↑ "GB Railways Class 66s". The Railway Magazine. No. 1188. April 2000. p. 11.
  45. ↑ "GBRf welcomes the first five of 21 new 66s onto UK soil". Rail. No. 753. 23 July 2014. p. 28.
  46. ↑ "GBRf to Bring Trio of Euro 66s to Britain". The Railway Magazine. No. 1340. December 2012. p. 11.
  47. ↑ "New lease of life for GB Railways Class 73s". The Railway Magazine. No. 1236. April 2004. p. 67.
  48. ↑ "GBRf spends £50m on new Class 66/7s and Class 92s". Rail. No. 741. 5 February 2014. p. 6.
  49. ↑ "More Riviera Trains 47s lined up for GBRf duties". Rail. No. 750. 11 June 2014. p. 28.
  50. ↑ "Three 47s on hire to GBRf". Today's Railways UK. No. 152. August 2014. p. 62.
  51. ↑ "Deltic joins GBRf fleet". The Railway Magazine. No. 1322. June 2011. p. 9.
  52. ↑ "GBRf hires Deltic to haul EMUs". Rail. No. 722. 15 May 2013. p. 35.
  53. ↑ "GBRf hires a Western to haul Midlands freight". The Railway Magazine. No. 1353. December 2013. p. 7.
  54. ↑ "First a Deltic, now a Western for GBRf". Today's Railways UK. No. 145. January 2014. p. 61.
  55. ↑ "D1015 to stay with GBRf". Railways Illustrated. February 2014. p. 8.
  56. ↑ Trotter, Phil. "Industrial Diesel & Electric Locomotives" (photo gallery annotation). Retrieved 18 October 2012. GBRf's DH50-1 … to replace ageing class 08s here with reconditioned industrial locomotives; … as rebuild no. 9376 of 2011.
  57. 1 2 "GB Railfreight brings hardy 'Yeoman Highlander' back to the UK". GB Railfreight. 19 August 2014. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  58. 1 2 "Yeoman Highlander to return to the UK". Rail Express. 20 August 2014. "Yeoman Highlander to return to UK - Rail Express Magazine". Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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  60. ↑ "Loophole sees GBRf order another seven 66s". Today's Railways UK. No. 158. February 2015. p. 54.
  61. ↑ "GB Railfreight buys three Class 47s". Rail. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  62. ↑ "GB Railfreight buys 16 Class 56s from UK Rail Leasing". Rail. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  63. ↑ "UK Rail Leasing launch Class 56 fleet back into main line service". www.rail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  64. ↑ "GB Railfreight buys more locomotives". Rail. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  65. ↑ "GBRf to use repainted Class 50s for spot-hire work". Rail. No. 871. 30 January 2019. p. 32.
  66. ↑ "GBRf takes delivery of Swedish Class 66". Rail. No. 881. 19 June 2019. p. 33.
  67. ↑ "Three Hector Rail Class T66s to be moved to UK". Today's Railways Europe. No. 284. August 2019. p. 40.
  68. ↑ "First of three Swedish '66s' arrives for GB Railfreight". Rail. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  69. ↑ "GB Railfreight agrees deal for five new Class 66 locos – Railcam UK". railcam.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  70. ↑ "GBRf to acquire five more Euro 66s". Rail Express. No. 293. October 2020. p. 24.
  71. ↑ "GBRf acquires five more European 66s". Railways Illustrated. October 2020. p. 17.
  72. 1 2 "GBRf gains Colas Class 67s". The Railway Magazine. No. 1451. February 2022.
  73. 1 2 "GBRf orders 30 Stadler Class 99 bi-mode locos". www.modernrailways.com. 29th April 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  74. ↑ "Colas 47s sold to GB Railfreight". Rail Express. No. 260. January 2018. p. 13.
  75. ↑ "Class 50s unveiled in GB Railfreight livery". The Railway Magazine. No. 1417. April 2019. p. 7.
  76. ↑ "GBRf purchases 56s from UK Rail Leasing". Today's Railways UK. No. 200. August 2018. p. 62.
  77. ↑ "GB Railfreight to repower GB Railfreight locomotives". Railway Gazette International. 3 April 2019.
  78. ↑ "GBRf leases former Colas Class 60s". Today's Railways UK. No. 262. October 2018. p. 62.
  79. ↑ "Ex-DRS Class 66s in action with GBRf". The Railway Magazine. November 2022. p.90.
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