WAGONS

GBRf joins forces with Porterbrook to order 100 FEA ‘twins’.

Intermodal order indicates bright future.

PIGGYBACKING on its Wascosa FEA-W order with Greenbrier Europe, GB Railfreight has partnered with Porterbrook Leasing to provide 100 60ft intermodal flat ‘twins’ (200 platforms) to a similar design.

The first examples are expected to arrive in August 2022, with 10 of the two-unit sets being delivered every month until the order is completed in summer 2023.

With GBRf already expecting to take delivery of 84 FWA Ecofret 2 ‘triple’ sets currently being constructed by WH Davis, the new contract – which will initially operate as a 10-year ‘dry’ lease (with GBRf handling all maintenance) – is a remarkable bet on the future of rail

freight in this country. The new fleet will supplement and replace existing two-unit IFA Multifret and IKA Megafret wagons, which are limited to 40ft in effective container length for a similar overall length as FEAs.

GBRf The new Porterbrook-leased FEAs are visually almost identical to the FEA-Ws ordered for the GBRf/Network Rail/ Wascosa contract. Note the same two-metre Y33 bogies as the existing FEA wagons, and the FEA-X TOPS code, although it is not known if this will be retained on the actual wagons.