Five DRS Class 66/3s heading to GB Railfreight
FIVE CLASS 66/3s currently operated by Direct Rail Services are to be transferred to GB Railfreight in the coming weeks as the company continues its quest to expand its locomotive fleet. The five locomotives (66301-66305) will be leased from Beacon Rail and their arrival with the operator will increase the size of GBRF’S Class 66 fleet to 105 locomotives.
Railways Illustrated sources understand that while DRS was interested in retaining them, the length of the lease on offer was unattractive. They date from 2008, when they were delivered to the UK for the now-defunct Fastline Freight.
They transferred to DRS in 2010 after Fastline Freight’s parent company, Jarvis PLC, collapsed into administration and was subsequently wound up.
It is understood that more locomotives are being sought by GBRF, which will be imported from mainland Europe. Documentation released by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) on December 27, 2020, revealed that approval had been granted for ‘former German locomotives’ to be imported, becoming 66734/797-799 and 66351360 under the UK locomotive numbering system. So far, only the first four Class 66s have been acquired. Meanwhile, DRS sources suggest that the company’s current workload can accommodate the loss of the five Class 66s, although there are suggestions that more traction could be needed by the operator in the longer term.
As well as 66421-434, the operator also has five Class 66/0s on long-term lease from DB Cargo UK (66031/091, 66108/122/126). It has been suggested by one source that 66031 is unlikely to work for DRS, although this has not been confirmed.