GB Railfreight has opened a new £2.5m ($3.3m) facility in Tonbridge, UK, to boost the efficiency of its locomotive maintenance programme and reduce carbon emissions from transporting its vehicles to its facilities.
The new site was built by Cairn Cross and will be used for maintenance on Class 73, 69, and 66 locomotives by GB Railfreight’s service partners such as EMD, Wabtec and St Leonard’s Railway Engineering.
GB Railfreight CEO John Smith said: “Our new facility at Tonbridge demonstrates our commitment to continued investment and innovation in the rail network.”
The site adds to the company’s maintenance network of sites in Doncaster and Peterborough and will reduce carbon emissions by reducing the length of travel a locomotive will need to take to get to a maintenance facility.
The Tonbridge facility will also be used as a base for the rail head treatment services GB Railfreight carries out for Network Rail, meaning passenger services in the area should also benefit from the new site.
Adam Southern, delivery director of track treatment at Network Rail, said: “Tonbridge is a key location for Network Rail’s autumn and winter services, helping the Southern Region battle against poor adhesion due to leaf-fall and the effects of frost on the running lines.”
The launch of the new site, supported by industry representative body the Rail Freight Group, comes as GB Railfreight looks to support the UK rail freight industry’s growth ambitions following the government’s implementation of a 75% growth target for 2050.
