GB Railfreight Announces Contract Renewal with Tarmac

GB Railfreight Announces Contract Renewal with Tarmac

 

 

GB Railfreight (GBRf) is delighted to announce Tarmac has renewed its contract for five years from January 2020 to 31 December 2025, for the transportation of aggregate materials. The contract will include the supply of hopper and box wagons from GBRf.

 

This is an extension to the current contract which covers the northern package of Tarmac’s rail operations, encompassing services mainly from Arcow and Swinden railheads in North Yorkshire to a variety of destinations including Leeds, Hull and two sites in Manchester.

 

The new contract builds on the successful relationship that has been established since GBRf started services in the northern package over four years ago in January 2016.

 

Managing director of GBRf John Smith said:

 

“We are absolutely delighted to have signed a contract extension with Tarmac. Our relationship goes back many years and we have built on the strong partnership forged in 2016.

 

“During the ongoing pandemic, we are doing our bit to keep the economy moving and our partnership with Tarmac is testament to that. We look forward to working with Tarmac in the months and years to come to spur the recovery of the construction sector.”

 

Chris Swan, head of rail at Tarmac, said:

“Effective use of the rail freight network is key in supporting the UK’s transition to a net-zero society and supporting a green recovery as we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis. Collaborative working has a vital role to play in this and we’re looking forward to continuing our relationship with GB Railfreight as the industry focuses on continued modal shift, as well as driving forward efficiencies and innovation.”

GBRf celebrates success at the National Rail Awards

GBRf celebrates success at the National Rail Awards

GB Railfreight celebrated a successful night at Thursday’s (17 September) National Rail Awards with the company taking home two awards and receiving special mentions for two others.

The team scooped the ‘Great Place to Work’ award recognising the business’s reputation as a great employer and the rollout of the ‘Wellbeing Champion’ Mental Health Concept across GBRf.

Former GBRf employee Chris Hopcroft MBE was awarded a lifetime achievement award, to mark a 60-year career on the railway and a commitment not just to the railway, but to the community, with a particular focus on educating young people on rail safety.

Chris provided outstanding dedication in all his roles, most recently as one of GBRf’s Train Managers. His passion for, and service to, the railways was recognised in 1994 with an MBE for services to the safety of young people.

GBRf were also highly commended in the Freight and Logistics category for their impressive 2019 performance which saw them maintain value for money for customers by increasing efficiency despite increasing operating costs as well as the expansion of their intermodal service, with four new services having been launched last year.

A special mention was given to Paul Taylor in the Outstanding Personal Contribution category. Paul, a GB Railfreight General Manager, has worked on the railways for over thirty years and for over a decade has been running Charity Tours which have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds.

GBRf Managing Director John Smith said:

“Our success at the National Rail Awards underlines what a great team GBRf has and the amazing work they do with our customers and partners.

“To be recognised by the National Rail Awards for being a great place to work means a lot to me, having founded this company over twenty years ago and having always tried to foster a great team spirit throughout the business. I am so proud of the GBRf family.

“I am also delighted for being commended for our 2019 performance. Last year was an incredibly strong year for GBRf, continuing the success story of the previous year by winning more business and retaining highly valued customers. GBRf has delivered not only growth but also consumer choice in the market with a further four Intermodal services starting in 2019 from major deep-sea UK Ports.

“I was particularly proud of the final award for Lifetime Achievement. This was given to our own, recently retired, Train Manager Chris Hopcroft MBE following his 60 years of service to the industry. As well as the special mention to Paul Taylor a highly regarded and much-loved member of the GB Railfreight team who has worked on the railways for over three decades.”

“Engagement with the communities we operate in has ways been something that GBRf believes is important. In 2019 the team raised a staggering £185,000 for charity through a number of team-wide initiatives.”

GB Railfreight Announce New Asset Director

 

GB Railfreight is delighted to announce the appointment of David Golding as Asset Director. David started officially his new role on 14 September.

David does not have the traditional rail background having served in the British Army for 23 years as an engineering officer that culminated in 2008 with a job that put him in charge of the military logistics supply chain and equipment support, maintenance and engineering organisation in Iraq during combat operations in Basra.

His career in the business world has included supply chain, operations and continuous improvement director roles with British Sugar and The Silver Spoon Company, both part of the AB Foods conglomerate, before his last appointment as the Group Corporate Services Director with the Go-Ahead Group.

Outside of work, David is married with two teenage boys and the family are very active, spending their free time skiing, walking, and going for long bike rides.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“A big GBRf welcome to David Golding. We are delighted to have him joining our team and I can’t wait to work with him.

“We continue to grow our business, despite the economic uncertainty. We are also attracting top talent from beyond the rail industry which demonstrates the good work we are doing. We are at the cutting edge of the industry and the appointment of a new Asset Director will help us improve even more.”

David Golding said:

“It’s a privilege to join GBRf and to become a part of such a successful and growing business.  The company has an outstanding reputation in the industry and the team spirit and willingness to do a great job for our customers is evident wherever you look.  I look forward to playing my part in the team and helping the business to continue to grow and play an increasingly important role in providing carbon-efficient logistic solutions.”

GB Railfreight and Rail Stone Solutions win two major HS2 contracts

GB Railfreight (GBRf) and Rail Stone Solutions (RSS) are delighted to unveil two contracts to support construction on the first phase of HS2.

The deals, with HS2 contractors EKFB (Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial BAM Nuttall) and BBV (Balfour Beatty VINCI) will see GBRf join forces with RSS to deliver aggregates by rail to the high speed rail project’s main construction compounds.

As part of the deal with EKFB, GBRf  will support the training of new train drivers  at their new state-of-the-art twin-simulators near Peterborough where the UK’s first and only full-cab freight European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) simulator centre is located.

The announcement follows news last month that GB Railfreight will be moving aggregates in a deal struck with RSS – part of the GRS Group – and Balfour Beatty VINCI..

One hundred box wagons have been procured specifically for Balfour Beatty VINCI to utilise for rail deliveries to construct HS2. GB Railfreight will provide traction, drivers, ground staff and timetabling services to ensure delivery on time, and in full. The source point for aggregate will be a Tarmac quarry in the Derbyshire Peak District, one of the aggregate supply locations that is strategically critical for the supply by rail to support HS2.

The partnership between GBRf and RSS, running up to Christmas, will initially see up to 157 trains deliver 235,000 tonnes of Type 1 aggregate for the first phase of construction work for HS2. Ten trains per week, conveying up to 77 tonnes in 20 box wagons, will transport 1500 tonnes of product per train. This amounts 15,000 tonnes delivered to site per week. The first trainload arrived at Balfour Beatty VINCI’s Washwood Heath construction site last week. GBRf will act as Facility Operator, essentially operating the railhead. Rail Freight Services (RFS) – also a GRS joint venture with Aggregate Industries – are managing train unloading and material handling.

This announcement reinforces GB Railfreight’s commitment to decarbonise transport and help reduce the UK’s carbon emissions. The transportation of aggregate by rail will eliminate the need for an average of four HGV road movements for every loaded freight wagon. For the services operating to Washwood Heath, moving 3000 tonnes of aggregate using HGVs would require around 150 trucks, whereas GBRf can transport the same quantity using only two trains. Averaging this over a four-month period, transporting 235,000 tonnes of aggregate would require 11,750 long distance road movements from the Peak District to Birmingham.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“We are thrilled to be unveiling this partnership with RSS. Not only have we delivered the first freight train to an HS2 site since the green light was given to the project, we have also reinforced our commitment over the next few months to continue on this important project.

“We at GBRf are committed to increasing the amount of goods and materials transported via rail freight, reducing emissions and delivering a more sustainable logistics solution. During the course of the next four months we will be taking 11,750 trucks off the road to transport the 235,000 tonnes of aggregates, meaning GBRf will continue to play a leading role in the decarbonisation of transport and of the UK economy as a whole.

“A special thank you for their outstanding work on this should go to my colleagues Tom Mainprize and Jack Eagling. They are the unsung heroes of this story and I pay tribute to their hard work.”

Jon Fisher, Chief Executive of GRS which operates RSS said:

“Our partnership with GBRf gives RSS unparalleled capability when it comes to supplying the massive volume of aggregate needed for major infrastructure schemes like HS2. We’re proud to have made the first delivery to the project – the time and effort we have invested in planning the delivery of materials to this landmark scheme is beginning to pay off. As a preferred supplier to several sections of HS2 we’re looking forward to working with GBRf throughout the project to deliver bulk materials in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.”

GB Railfreight to bury ‘time capsule’ at site of new Peterborough office

GB Railfreight mark next phase of construction of new office by burying ‘time capsule’ at Peterborough site

GB Railfreight and Lindum took part in a joint event on 30 July to bury a ‘time capsule’ at the site of the new office to mark the next phase of construction.

The time capsule contains a message from GBRf Managing Director John Smith, while Lindum included a photo of the project team and the architect plans for the site. In addition, the team at GBRf put into the capsule copies of a selection of Thursday’s newspapers; a GBRf tie and hi-viz vest; photos of all the GBRf staff involved in the project; the latest NOW CD, a compilation of tracks from 2020;  a ‘price list’ of a selection of items at this time in 2020; a copy of the GBRf 20th anniversary photo book – the anniversary of which fell last year; the latest copy of GBRf News, the company’s internal magazine; and other GBRf merchandise.

GBRf announced the investment of £3m for a new office and training centre in Peterborough in January having been granted planning permission in December 2019, with Lindum appointed to undertake the construction of the three-storey office building.

Although the opening of the office has slightly been delayed to April 2021, both Lindum and GBRf identified the issues brought by COVID-19 in a timely manner and have safely continued with the development of the site, throughout the pandemic.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight said:

“At the start of the year we announced that, to meet increasing demand for our services, GBRf was expanding operations by investing in new offices and training facilities. Today we take another step towards seeing that turn into reality.

“Today’s ceremony marks a significant moment, and what a year it’s been. When we look back in years to come, we will be able to reflect on what a seismic year 2020 was. Hopefully it will also be the year GBRf truly kicked on and continued to be one of the fastest growing companies in the transport sector, despite the difficulties the UK economy faces at this time.”

General Manager of Lindum Peterborough Darren King said work on the project was going well. He said:

“It’s great to be here today to celebrate how this building is progressing. As a Peterborough-based business, it’s very reassuring to see a power-house company like GBRf recommitting to the city with this kind of investment.

“We are also delighted to be involved in the burial of the time capsule and are grateful to GBRf for inviting us to contribute. One day in the future, it will offer a fascinating insight into life in 2020, which has certainly been a year like no other.

“We have produced a memory stick to be included in the capsule. It includes some information about Lindum, profiles of the project team and an explanation about how this project was affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. It should make for interesting reading one day!”

GB Railfreight and Drax Extend Rail Contract to Transport Biomass Until 2025

Photo courtesy of Ken Short

GB Railfreight (GBRf) and Drax have agreed to extend their contract to transport supplies of sustainable biomass from UK ports to Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire until 2025.

Teams at GBRf have worked closely with Drax for the past decade to maintain the supplies of sustainable biomass needed for the UK’s largest power station to continue generating the flexible and reliable renewable power for millions of UK homes and businesses. This deal is critical to Drax’s global biomass supply chain and another step on its journey to negative emissions.

Drax supplies 11% of the UK’s renewable electricity. Using sustainable biomass instead of coal at Drax Power Station has reduced emissions by more than 80% and helped the UK power system decarbonise faster than any other country in Europe.

Under the terms of the contract, GBRf will run all of Drax tonnage from the Ports of Tyne and Liverpool to Drax Power Station.

The partnership between GBRf and Drax dates back to 2010 when GBRf began moving biomass by rail from the Port of Tyne. Originally, GBRf used wagons that had been converted from coal hoppers by adding lids and these remain in use under the new contract. As Drax converted more of its coal units at the power station to sustainable biomass, Drax invested in new purpose-built biomass wagons that are larger and therefore more efficient at carrying the pellets.

In the past year, the longstanding relationship between Drax and GBRf has helped overcome challenges such as the local floods in February to the Drax branch line and then the Covid-19 crisis, ensuring continuous flows of biomass that helped keep the power station running and the lights on in Britain.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“I am delighted to be continuing GB Railfreight’s ongoing partnership with Drax. We will continue to deliver vital supplies of sustainable biomass for a further five years, ensuring power is generated in a clean and sustainable way as well as reducing the UK’s carbon emissions.

“The announcement also comes at a time of great economic uncertainty for our country. We at GBRf remain committed to getting the UK economy back on track and having worked with Drax over the last few months during testing times I know we will continue to work closely in the months and years to come as we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis.”

Mike Maudsley, UK Portfolio Generation Director at Drax said:

 “GBRf’s rail deliveries are a critical part of our global supply chain for sustainable biomass that supports thousands of jobs and has delivered economic growth across the north of England, while supplying renewable electricity to millions of homes and businesses.

 “We’re very pleased to extend our existing contract with GBRf for another five years and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with the team.”

GB Railfreight Announce New Business Development Director

GB Railfreight is delighted to announce the appointment of Tim Hartley as Business Development Director. The appointment confirms GB Railfreight’s commitment to remaining one of the fastest growing transport companies in the country and is a sign of GBRf’s confidence in the resilience of the UK economy.

Tim has extensive experience in the rail sector. Over the last 20 years he has advised on the appointments of many of the most senior leaders in the UK rail industry, including the CEOs of the Rail Delivery Group, the Office of Rail and Road, Crossrail, HS2, and a range of passenger train operating companies, rolling stock companies and manufacturers.

Tim also has experience in providing leadership and organisational consultancy not only in the rail industry but also in the infrastructure and the real estate market. In addition, he has served as board director and trustee of the charity Railway Children for over 10 years. He is a judge for the Rail Business Awards and a mentor and supporter of the Women in Rail programme.

In his spare time, Tim is very active, having completed the Three Peaks by Rail and the London Marathon. He also coaches and referees rugby union matches.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“I am absolutely delighted to be welcoming Tim Hartley to the GBRf family. In the weeks and months to come we will continue to consolidate GBRf’s position as one of the fastest growing transport companies and the appointment of Tim sets us on the course to grow our business even further.

“At this time of economic uncertainty, I am pleased GBRf is leading the way to get the economy back on track and I look forward to working with Tim to keep going from strength to strength.” 

Tim Hartley said:

I am delighted to be joining GBRf, a company that I have always known as an outstanding business, delivering innovative, reliable and high-quality services to its customers. GBRf is leading the way in decarbonisation, sustainability and has a long-term commitment to building collaborative relationship with its customers.  It is a brilliant team that I feel privileged to be part of.”

GBRf Announce New Southampton to East Midlands Intermodal Service

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 20th 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.”

GB Railfreight announce deal with DB Cargo for Class 60 maintenance

Photo courtesy of Ken Short

GB Railfreight (GBRf) has announced a new three-year deal with fellow rail freight company DB Cargo UK to undertake the maintenance of ten Class 60 locomotives as well as providing technical in-field support.

The agreement will see GBRf’s engineering team work closely with DB Cargo UK to drive locomotive performance and provide professional engineering support.

The focus of the contract will be undertaking regular maintenance in line with contracted KPIs whilst driving reliability improvements.

The Class 60 locomotives which have entered service will allow heavier and longer trains to run. This brings environmental benefits as longer trains are more efficient.  The main duties of the locomotives will be hauling biomass to power stations.

This announcement demonstrates a willingness of the rail freight sector to continue investing and working together through this difficult time in light of the COVID-19 crisis.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“I am thrilled to be unveiling this new partnership with DB Cargo UK. At this time of economic uncertainty, it is important for the rail freight sector to work together to deliver investment to support its growth.

Most importantly, the economic recovery needs to be green and sustainable and by maintaining these locos we will ensure fewer carbon emissions in the long run. I am pleased that rail freight is playing its part in the economic recovery driven by environmentally sustainable investment.”

Hans-Georg Werner, CEO at DB Cargo UK, said:

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with our colleagues at GB Railfreight providing high quality maintenance services for their Class 60 locomotives. At DB Cargo UK we pride ourselves on the quality of our engineering, with our key focus being on cost-effective locomotive availability and reliability.”

GB Railfreight unveils new sidings at Peterborough

GB Railfreight (GBRf) 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.

This is the first of four phases of works to have been completed on this site. GBRf are looking to develop this site further by completing alterations to existing sidings and install additional infrastructure to provide improved access to the East Coast Main Line, allowing GBRf to further increase the capacity of the site.

Other works planned at this location in the near future include a purpose-built wagon maintenance facility in order to support high levels of asset utilisation. The move will provide GB Railfreight with an improved and more efficient wagon maintenance capability along with improved facilities for their maintainers to operate from. This follows the announcement of a new multi million contract for the lease of an additional 52 Ecofret2® Intermodal wagons from VTG, Rail UK Ltd, the UK’s largest private wagon hire company.

To meet increasing demand for rail freight, GBRf are also expanding operations by investing in new offices and training facilities. GBRf recently broke ground for their new office in Peterborough, with the work involving the demolition of existing temporary office buildings and construction of a new building to house a control room, three classrooms, a board room and staff welfare facilities. The training school will support GBRf’s state-of-the-art class 66 simulators, which were unveiled in 2019.

The new intermodal sidings at Peterborough, were completed by MLP Railway Maintenance Ltd which enabled GBRf to finish them ahead of schedule and also within budget. This announcement demonstrates the company’s commitment to investing in the rail freight sector and the UK economy as a whole at this time of uncertainty in light of the COVID-19 crisis.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, said:

“I am absolutely delighted to be able to unveil the new intermodal sidings at Peterborough. The growth in Intermodal is demonstrative of GBRf’s commitment to leading the way in what is one of the biggest changes in the freight industry’s history, offering flexible and innovative door-to-door solutions that meet our customer’s needs.

“In 2019 GBRf delivered not only growth but also consumer choice in the market with a further four Intermodal services from major deep-sea UK ports, bringing the total to 17 Intermodal services. Despite the current disruption due to COVID-19 we are committed to delivering investment to support the growth of the rail freight sector, ensuring that rail freight can play its part in the economic recovery  driven by environmentally sustainable investment.”