Stobart Rail

Stobart Rail containers at Rugby inter-modal yard
Stobart Rail containers at speed on the West Coast Mainline
The charter service Stobart Pullman being pulled by original rail transport partner, Direct Rail Services Class 47 No. 47712
Direct Rail Services Class 66 No.66414 in Stobart Rail livery leaves Aviemore with 4N47 Inverness - Grangemouth intermodal service
DB Schenker Class 66 No.66048 James the Engine in Stobart Rail, after the 4 January 2010 derailment at Carrbridge

Stobart Rail is a railway freight service operator in the United Kingdom. Stobart Rail comes under the Stobart Transport and Distribution division of the Stobart Group, and carries intermodal freight for the group. The service is operated by rail partner, Direct Rail Services.

History

Stobart had previously transported some of its freight by rail, using Stobart liveried IWB Ferrywagons hired from Tiphook.[1]

The rail engineering side came under the Stobart Infrastructure and Civils division, and holds a Network Rail Principal Contractor's Licence and Rail Plant Operating Company Licence. Stobart Infrastructure and Civils undertakes development projects and is delivering improvement works at a number of Stobart Group facilities, including constructing the London Southend Airport railway station.

Stobart Rail also operated a training school.

Rail Services

From Tuesday 19 September 2006 Stobart Rail commenced a daily delivery train on behalf of Tesco,[2] for which it already provided comprehensive road haulage services. Collecting Tesco goods from around the Midlands, the train runs from the Stobart depot at Daventry International Railfreight Terminal (DIRFT) in Rugby, to the Grangemouth Rail terminal in Scotland. The train then returns to Rugby, 90% filled by Tesco and 10% filled by Coca Cola - shipping the equivalent of 26 lorries daily in each direction [3]

Hauled by Class 66 locomotives supplied and manned by Direct Rail Services, the train consisted of 26 specially designed new 45 feet (14 m) curtain-sided shipping containers, which at 8 feet 6 inches (2.59 m) in height are within the UK loading gauge. Stobart has bought 90 of these new containers in order to provide this service. The train travels at an average speed of 40 miles per hour (64 km/h), which is comparable with a lorry, although the whole process takes slightly longer because of additional loading and unloading [4]

Over the three-year contract, it is estimated the dedicated rail freight service will replace 130,000 lorry journeys and save 3 million road miles a year. Stobart has been given £400,000 by the UK Government and Scottish Executive to switch 70 per cent of its cross-border freight for Tesco from road to rail. The train will be in Tesco corporate colours.[5]

In May 2008, Stobart announced a second route had been gained for Tesco, from Grangemouth to Inverness, to start no later than September.[6]

On 30 October 2009, Stobart commenced a new, weekly refrigerated train service, operated in conjunction with DB Schenker, an 1,100 miles (1,800 km) journey from Valencia, Spain, terminating at the Ripple Lane inter-modal depot developed originally for Ford Dagenham, providing for the first time an alternative to lorries for the import of fresh Spanish salad-vegetables. The first fully refrigerated goods service to run through Eurotunnel, it is currently the longest train journey in Europe by a single operator. On the return journey to Spain, the train carries pallets for CHEP.

Stobart announced in May 2008 that it planned up to six new train services in addition to the Tesco contracts in the year.[7] It presently operates the following services:[8]

Locos

Stobart Rail had 4 locos that were in their livery, 2 are operated by Direct Rail Services 66411 "Eddie the Engine" and 66414 "James the Engine" which are both Class 66 locomotive and are now unbranded (they don't have Stobart Rail writing). Both are operated by Freightliner. 66414 works in the UK and 66411 works in Poland. The third loco is 66048 "James the Engine" operated by DB Schenker and is a Class 66 locomotive although this locomotive is currently out of service stored in Toton due to a derailment in January 2010. The fourth loco is a 92017 "Bart the Engine" in Stobart Rail livery. It is currently operated by DB Schenker UK.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Image of a Stobart IWB freight wagon
  2. ↑ News & Star
  3. ↑ Eddie Stobart takes to the rails - Times Online
  4. ↑ Stobarts Launch Rail Freight Service
  5. ↑ News & Star
  6. ↑ www.commercialmotor.com Stobart wins second rail contract with Tesco, 23 May 2008
  7. ↑ www.commercialmotor.com Stobart on track for six new rail services, 21 May 2008
  8. ↑ http://www.stobartgroup.co.uk/services/transport-and-distribution/stobart-rail/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stobart Rail.