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GBRf clinches biggest deal ever 06 October 2005
GB Railfreight has won the biggest deal in its four-year history.
The award-winning freight haulier has won a 10-year, £80million contract to operate engineering trains for Metronet, the company responsible for upgrading, replacing and maintaining nine of the 12 London Underground lines.
Under the deal GBRf will run trains up to 400m in length of rail, sleepers and ballast from an operational hub at Wellingborough direct to underground possessions. They will then remove redundant materials from the various worksites back to Wellingborough.
Locomotives, wagons, plant and materials will be stored at the hub, to and from which two types of services will operate:
· Midweek services will collect materials from suppliers in preparation for the operation of the weekend track renewal.
· Weekend possession services will deliver to and collect from worksites on the London Underground.
The trains will be hauled by a combination of GBRf’s class 66 locomotives – five of which will be new and in Metronet livery - and three Schoma locos, used formerly on the Jubilee Line Extension project.
The new locos are being built by EMD in Canada and will be shipped over early in the New Year.
The Metronet deal raises the possibility that GBRf will order more class 66s from the Canadians.
GBRf is partnered by TransPlant, the Tube Line company responsible for maintaining the part of the underground network.
TransPlant will operate the trains within possessions and provide the major plant required at worksites.
The wagons will be predominantly new and will include 90 low-sided bogey wagons, 25 side tippers and 22 plant carriers, flat ‘salmon’-type vehicles and ‘tench’-type wagons.
GBRf Managing Director John Smith said: “I am delighted to have secured such a significant contract for the company.
“It represents a major step up in our turnover and workload and proves that we are capable of bidding for and winning any sized contract.
“The deal was secured thanks to some robust bidding and the well-known quality of our infrastructure services.
“I am proud of all those who have been involved with the bid team and of everyone within the company for helping to maintain our position as the most reliable freight haulier in Britain.”
John added that Metronet’s desire to utilise new high-capacity engineering trains will be a major step forward in the speed with which track renewal is progressed.
He said: “I am proud that GBRf is part of such an innovative development and I am confident our traditional standards of reliability, quality and customer service will enable Metronet to deliver its promises to Underground passengers.“
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