GB Railfreight expands fleet following latest purchase of locomotives from Electro-Motive

GB Railfreight has today [3rd September 2013] announced they have concluded a deal with Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. to purchase a further eight class 66 locomotives.

The new locomotives will be delivered by Chicago-based Electro-Motive in August 2014, and GB Railfreight will use the locomotives on biomass and infrastructure railfreight haulage.

GB Railfreight is one of the fastest growing rail freight companies in the UK, and this new purchase will expand GB Railfreight’s current fleet to fifty eight Class 66 locomotives in service.

The manufacture and supply agreement was memorably signed by Paul Denton, senior vice president of international sales at Progress Rail, and John Smith, MD of GB Railfreight, at Rannoch Station on the West Highland Railway whilst they took a break from GB Railfreight’s service to Fort William.

The purchase follows the announcement last month that the Office of Rail Regulation had certified for use in the UK three Dutch Class 66 locomotives converted by Electro-Motive [1].

John Smith, Managing Director of GBRf, said:

“GB Railfreight continues to go from strength to strength and this new purchase is a significant step by the company to ensure we meet current and future demand for our services.

“I look forward to working with Electro-Motive in bringing these locomotives and equipment into service.

“As demand for rail freight continues to exceed expectations, we need to make sure we have the locomotives to move the freight and the right infrastructure to service this demand.

“It is important that Government and the regulator continue to set the right conditions to encourage investor confidence in the market.”

Paul Denton, Senior Vice President at Progress Rail/EMD, said:

“GBRF is a great business success story and Electro Motive Diesel is excited to partner with them to provide additional Class 66 locomotives and locomotive maintenance to meet the growing needs of their customers.”

“John Smith is a visionary entrepreneur with a passion to grow the rail freight business in the UK. EMD appreciates his trust and confidence in selecting our products and services and we look forward to meeting GBRF’s current and future motive power needs.”

Reference

1. “Three Class 66 Dutch locomotives converted for UK use give approval by the ORR”, July 2013 (http://www.gbrailfreight.com/news.php?&newsid=1110).