GB Railfreight chooses Alstom for the maintenance of Caledonian Sleepers

Alstom has been chosen by GB Railfreight (GBRf) to provide maintenance support for 12 Class 92 locomotives that pull the carriages of the Caledonian Sleeper service.

The locomotives will be maintained at the Alstom Wembley Depot for the next 12 years, beginning in 2018, for a contract worth approximately £15 million.

“It is important the Caledonian Sleeper services are well maintained so that guests can continue to enjoy a highly reliable service and all the benefits the trains offer. Our new contract with GBRf will mean we are responsible for the entire train, delivering seamless maintenance of both locomotives and coaches. It also secures important jobs at our Wembley Depot, which is a key train care centre in Alstom’s UK network,” said Nick Crossfield, Managing Director, Alstom UK & Ireland. 

The new long-term contract means Alstom will expand their existing portfolio from coach maintenance to managing the maintenance of both carriages and locomotives for the Caledonian Sleeper services.

John Smith, Managing Director of GBRf, commented: “The new Caledonian Sleeper service will be a world class journey experience and the performance of the locomotives is clearly of the highest importance to delivering this service for passengers.” 

Once the new Sleeper carriages are introduced in 2018, Alstom will streamline processes and simplify logistics, providing Serco and GBRf a full maintenance service for the entire train. 

David Simpson, Caledonian Sleeper’s Production and Safety Director, said: “Our service will be transformed later in 2018, with the introduction of a new fleet of sleeper coaches and this will help to deliver the highest standards of maintenance on our locomotives and coaches.”