46-775: Direct Rail Services ( DRS ) is a rail freight company in Great Britain , and is one of the publicly owned railway companies in the United Kingdom. DRS was created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) during late 1994 with the primary purpose of taking over the rail-based handling of nuclear material from British Rail . As early as 1997, the company began diversification into other operations, initially bidding for contracts to haul freight traffic for other companies such as Tesco and Eddie Stobart Group . Furthermore, DRS has branched into passenger services, these have included charters , such as
92-646: A decade later. When British Rail was privatised in the 1990s, six freight operating companies ( FOCs ) were set up: The opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 allowed direct goods trains to run between the UK and the continent for the first time. Freight services are also offered by the Getlink truck shuttles. Subsequently, EWS's nuclear flask train operations were sold to the new company Direct Rail Services set up by British Nuclear Fuels . GB Railfreight
138-535: A fleet of Mark 2 carriages and had these overhauled at Eastleigh Works . In May 2015, the company started to operate some services on the Cumbrian Coast Line under contract to Northern Rail (later Arriva Rail North ) using top and tail Class 37s which hauled Mark 2 coaches. On 27 July 2015, one of the Class 37s was replaced by a DBSO , with the other replaced at a later date. On 29 January 2018, one set
184-412: A huge down-turn in freight traffic, with the sector increasingly seen as irrelevant and without a future. In 1986, quarrying company Foster Yeoman prompted a turnaround in the reliability of rail freight by obtaining permission to run its own locomotives, and importing the first four EMD class 59s . This design was developed into the class 66 which became widely used by EWS and other operators over
230-434: A new NDA division, Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS). The origins of Direct Rail Services (DRS) can be traced back to the privatisation of British Rail during the 1990s; British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) had a long-standing arrangement with British Rail for the latter to undertake the haulage of nuclear flask traffic, but the pending dissolution of British Rail led to BNFL considering other options. In October 1994, it
276-574: A number of Class 33s were purchased. During 2004, three Class 87s were trialed, but returned to their leasing company after six months. During 2008, DRS initiated efforts to acquire Class 57 locomotives; by 2013, it operated nine former Freightliner 57/0s as well as 12 former Virgin Trains 57/3s. On 12 September 2013, it was announced that DRS would be the launch customer for the new Vossloh Euro Dual dual-mode freight locomotive by Vossloh España . These would become Class 88 . DRS took delivery of
322-460: A reduction in freight services, especially the marshalling yards, to concentrate on long distance bulk transport. In contrast to passenger services, they greatly modernised the goods sector, replacing inefficient wagons with containerised regional hubs. The industry today is very similar to Dr Beeching's vision half a century ago. In the 1980s, British Rail was reorganised into "sectors" including four goods sectors: The 1980s, however, also brought
368-467: A road bridge being destroyed by floods. The trains were made up of Class 37s , Class 47s and Class 57s top and tailing DRS' Mark 3 carriages. During April 2011, DRS commenced a five-year contract under which it provided Class 47 locomotives to haul the Northern Belle , a luxury passenger train. By 2013, the company was operating 140 passenger charters annually, roughly 100 of which were for
414-726: Is based near Whitehaven, in Cumbria and is operated by Nuclear Transport Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of the UK Government 's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). INS began as the Spent Fuel Services division of British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL). As part of the restructuring of BNFL, 49% of the business was transferred to the NDA in 2006. It was renamed International Nuclear Services in 2007 and in April 2008, as BNFL
460-471: Is partly due to more international services including the Channel Tunnel and Port of Felixstowe , which is containerised. Nevertheless, network bottlenecks and insufficient investment in catering for 9' 6" high shipping containers currently restrict growth. Liner train and freightliner are UK terms for trains carrying intermodal containers . The latter name was coined by Richard Beeching in
506-406: The 1955 British Rail Modernisation Plan , massive investment was made in marshalling yards at a time when the use of small wagon load traffic with which they dealt was in steep decline. Railway freight services had been in steady decline since the 1930s, initially because of the loss of the manufacturing industry and then road haulage's cost advantage in combination with higher wages. By 1959 it
SECTION 10
#1732797884898552-736: The Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal using Class 66/4 locomotives ; it carries containers for both the Malcolm Group and Asda . In May 2020, DRS announced it had launched a new electrified freight route between the Daventry Freight Terminal and Mossend Yard, outside Glasgow . The ownership of DRS was transferred from BNFL to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), following
598-597: The Northern Belle , and contracts with operators such as National Express East Anglia , Chiltern Railways , and Arriva Rail North . Additional rolling stock, such as the Class 57 and Class 88 locomotives, have been acquired by DRS during the 2010s. In 2005, DRS was transferred from BNFL to the newly created Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). During early 2021, further restructuring led to DRS, along with sibling subsidiaries Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL) and International Nuclear Services (INS), falling under
644-836: The Oxley depot . The following year saw the coaches used to operate charter services under the Stobart Rail banner, however, the Stobart Rail operation ceased in July 2008. In June 2009, DRS commenced operating rescue locomotive duties on the Great Eastern Main Line for the train operator National Express East Anglia , as well as hauling Class 90 electric locomotives from Norwich to Great Yarmouth on summer Saturdays. This included Summer Saturday Wherry Lines services. DRS have periodically operated services on
690-656: The Wherry Lines during periods of diesel multiple unit shortage. During October 2014, it commenced operating a two-year contract to operate services on the Wherry Lines under contract to Abellio Greater Anglia . It was operated by top and tailed Class 47s hauling Mark 2s, top and tail Class 37s were introduced in mid-2015. Between 30 November 2009 and 28 May 2010, DRS ran a service on the Cumbrian Coast Line between Maryport and Workington following
736-430: The 16th century, mining engineers used crude wooden rails to facilitate the movement of mine wagons steered by hand. In Nottingham, 1603, a tramway was constructed to transport coal from mines near Strelley to Wollaton. Horse-drawn lines were increasingly common by the 18th and early 19th centuries, chiefly to haul bulk materials from mines to canal wharves or areas of consumption. The world's first steam locomotive engine
782-880: The 1960s, and later became the name of the Freightliner sector of British Rail . This was sold off as a private enterprise, Freightliner , in 1995, as part of the privatisation of BR. Freightliner or liner may mean either intermodal services run solely by Freightliner or intermodal services in general. Additionally, bin liner , or binliner , is a slang term for a liner train carrying containers of waste for disposal. Major intermodal freight terminals include: Trainload freight movements include: Road vehicles, particularly passenger cars, can be moved by rail using autoracks . Ford and Honda are two companies who use rail to transport road vehicles. Ford launched its Dagenham Dock to Halewood train using Cartic 4 wagons (up to 34 cars on each double deck wagon) on 13 July 1966. It
828-490: The 2020s as Great Britain phased out coal use in power generation. The last coal supply train ran into the last coal power station in Britain, Ratcliffe-on-Soar , on 29 September 2024, shortly before the power station closed. Trains circa 2013 included: International Nuclear Services International Nuclear Services ( INS ) is a United Kingdom company involved in the management and transport of nuclear fuels . INS
874-598: The Northern Belle. By April 2018, the train was being hauled by Class 57s operated by West Coast Railways , the owner of the Northern Belle, instead. On 9 January 2012, a trial service was introduced for six weeks by the NDA for its workers, with DRS supplying a Class 37 to haul four Mark 2 carriages between Carlisle and Sellafield . Although the trial was reported to have been a success, plans to introduce regular services from December 2012 did not materialise until May 2015. To operate these services, DRS purchased
920-462: The UK by rail . INS conducts most of its transport operations through specialist nuclear materials shipping company Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL), in which it has a controlling 62.5% stake. PNTL's remaining shares are owned by Areva (12.5%) and a consortium of Japanese nuclear companies (25%). PNTL's fleet is dedicated to carrying nuclear materials and transports most of its cargoes between Europe and Japan . The fleet of three ships
966-621: The UK's largest food retailer, to move containers from Daventry north to Mossend and Inverness using a new dedicated low-emission Class 66 locomotive in Eddie Stobart livery, 66411 Eddie the Engine . A daily service from Grangemouth to Inverness followed in 2009, with another Class 66 in a promotional livery, this time 66414 James the Engine . The Daventry – Scotland Stobart contract transferred to DB Schenker in January 2010, along with
SECTION 20
#17327978848981012-622: The UK: Direct Rail Services , Freightliner , DB Cargo UK (formerly EWS), and GB Railfreight . There are also three smaller independent operators, which are Colas Rail , DCRail and Mendip Rail . The Rail Delivery Group set up by the DfT includes representatives of rail freight companies. Statistics on freight are specified in terms of the weight of freight lifted, and the net tonne kilometre , being freight weight multiplied by distance carried. 116.6 million tonnes of freight
1058-566: The amount of freight carried on the railways has increased sharply due to increased reliability and competition, as well as new international services. Major road haulage operations such as the Stobart Group and WH Malcolm move goods by rail, hauling supplies for Asda and Tesco . Morrisons also uses rail freight, as do Marks & Spencer and many more retailers. A symbolic loss to the rail freight industry in Great Britain
1104-700: The company was in the process of disposing of older rolling stock, such as Class 20s, Class 37s, Class 57s, and Mark 2 coaches, along with associated spare parts and other elements; this was reportedly one part of a wider fleet modernisation effort. 66301-66305 left DRS for GBRf at the end of 2022, as DRS restructured its fleet. In September 2017, Direct Rail Services issued a tender for ten brand new diesel-electric locomotives for mixed-traffic operations. Rail freight in Great Britain The railway network in Great Britain has been used to transport goods of various types and in varying volumes since
1150-469: The course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, these amalgamated or were bought by competitors until only a handful of larger companies remained (see Railway mania ). The Post Office began using letter-sorting carriages in 1838, and the railway quickly proved to be a much quicker and more efficient means of transport than the old mail coaches. It was estimated in 1832 that using the LMR to transport mail between
1196-639: The creation of the NDA on 1 April 2005 under the terms of the Energy Act 2004 . Since April 2021, DRS, as well as its sibling NDA subsidiaries Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL) and International Nuclear Services (INS), have been operated by a newly created NDA division, Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS). During 2006, DRS started a new service, the Tesco Express , on behalf of the Eddie Stobart Group in partnership with Tesco ,
1242-473: The early 19th century. Network Rail , which owns and maintains the network, aims to increase the amount of goods carried by rail. In 2015–16 Britain's railways moved 17.8 billion net tonne kilometres, a 20% fall compared to 2014–15. Coal accounted for 13.1% of goods transport in Britain, down considerably from previous years. There are no goods transported by railway in Northern Ireland. Even in
1288-733: The first of 15 new Class 68s in February 2014; these are diesel-only versions of the Class 88s which would arrive later. During October 2014, a further ten were ordered followed by another seven in July 2015. In April 2015, two Class 68s commenced operating Fife Circle Line services for Abellio ScotRail . A further batch of six Class 68s (68020–68025) were delivered by on 5 April 2016. On 8 January 2016, DRS announced it would sell 12 of its older locomotives, including one Class 20 locomotive (20312), six Class 37 locomotives (37503/510/521/608/611/670) and five Class 47 locomotives (47810/13/18/28/53) along with two of its Mark 2 coaches. By January 2022,
1334-997: The locomotives themselves, DRS provided commissioning and maintenance services. Direct Rail Services initially operated from a base at the nuclear reprocessing plant in Sellafield, but in 1998 moved into Carlisle Kingmoor depot which had been disused since 1987. A second depot was opened at Crewe Gresty Bridge in March 2007. This is on the site of a former wagon works. It also operates the Motherwell depot , where it carries out inspection work and re-fuelling. The initial fleet of locomotives were five Class 20/3s which were overhauled at Brush Traction , Loughborough for their new duties. In 1997, six Class 37/6s were purchased from international high speed passenger operator Eurostar . DRS would later build up an extensive fleet of Class 37 and 47 locomotives from various sources. In 2001,
1380-485: The movement of fuel rods from various nuclear power stations across Britain , such as Heysham , Valley (for Wylfa) , Bridgwater (for Hinkley Point) , Berkeley (for Oldbury) , Hunterston , Torness , Seaton Carew , Dungeness and Sizewell . During 1997, DRS began to diversify into the haulage of other traffic, having secured a contract to operate milk traffic from Penrith to Cricklewood . In 2002, it commenced running intermodal freight trains from Grangemouth to
1426-558: The network and over a million wagons were controlled by the government's Inter-Company Freight Rolling Stock Control organisation. Beer was a major rail-hauled commodity, but gradually switched to the improving road network. The complex network of brewery railways in Burton upon Trent became disused by 1970. Likewise, milk was widely transported by rail until the late 1960s. The last milk tank wagons ran in 1981. Britain's railways were nationalised in 1947 including goods operations. Under
Direct Rail Services - Misplaced Pages Continue
1472-500: The onward daily service to Inverness, though this reverted to DRS operation in summer 2011. In January 2022, DRS and Tesco signed a three-year extension deal; by this point, the company was transporting roughly 12,000 containers for Tesco per month. As of 2021, DRS has stated its intention to grow its presence in the rail freight sector, particular in Scotland . In 2007, seven Mark 3 carriages from Virgin Trains were refurbished at
1518-479: The rail goods transport, a number of economisation programmes were needed to allow the railways to meet with the huge demand that was being put on their services. The Common User Agreement for wagon usage and regulation of coal services through the Coal Transport Act of 1917 are examples of such programmes, which enabled better utilisation of railway assets across the industry. The success of such schemes
1564-531: The two cities reduced the expense to the government by two-thirds. It was also much faster to send newspapers across Great Britain. The First World War was dubbed the "Railway War" at the time. Indeed, thousands of tonnes of munitions and supplies were distributed from all over Great Britain to ports in the South East of England for shipping to France and the Front Line. Due to pre-war inefficiencies in
1610-406: Was a new freight company established in 1998 by GB Railways . It was later owned by FirstGroup , Europorte and EQT AB . Deutsche Bahn purchased EWS for £309 million on 13 November 2007. On 1 January 2009, EWS was rebranded as DB Schenker along with Deutsche Bahn's Railion and DB Schenker divisions. In March 2016, DB Schenker was rebranded as DB Cargo throughout Europe. Since 1995,
1656-403: Was announced that Chiltern Railways had signed a contract with DRS for the latter to provide six of its Class 68 locomotives to haul express passenger services, replacing Class 67s hired from DBS. On 15 December 2014, the first of DRS-hauled Chiltern service departed Marylebone station ; Chiltern noted that the Class 68s will be capable of hauling extended trains in the future. In addition to
1702-445: Was announced that BNFL had decided to perform rail transport and other railway-related services internally. For this purpose, DRS was set up as a wholly-owned rail freight subsidiary of BNFL, initially using a small fleet of five Class 20/3 locomotives. Prior to 1998, DRS's nuclear haulage activities were exclusively related to the transporting of nuclear fuel rods from overseas to Sellafield for processing. During 1998, DRS took over
1748-803: Was demonstrated by Richard Trevithick in 1804. Steam powered rail freight operated regularly on the Middleton Railway , near Leeds , long before any passenger services. Many of the early railways of Britain carried goods, including the Stockton and Darlington Railway and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway . The LMR was originally intended to carry goods between the Port of Liverpool and east Lancashire, although it subsequently developed as mixed passenger-goods railway. The network expanded rapidly as small private firms rushed to build new lines. Over
1794-625: Was entirely down to the collaboration of more than 100 railway companies, who abandoned the fierce competition of the pre-war years to work together in the national interest. In no sector was this more obvious than in rail goods transport. During the Second World War, vast quantities of materials were moved around Britain by rail. During the early stages of the war, goods trains ran to rural stations in Norfolk to enable airfields to be constructed. In 1944, 500 special trains ran every day on
1840-443: Was expected 200,000 Ford vehicles would be carried each year at a rate of 50 to 60 trains a week, plus 10 a week to the docks. 538 sets of Cartic 4 wagons were built between 1966 and 1972 and not finally scrapped until 2013. Jaguar Land Rover and BMW also use rail to transport vehicles. 90% of all finished vehicle rail movements within the UK are run by DB Cargo UK. "Binliner" routes include: Coal transport declined rapidly in
1886-574: Was lifted in the 2013–4 period, against 138 million tonnes in 1986–7, a decrease of 16%. However, a record 22.7 billion net tonne kilometres (14 billion net ton miles) of freight movement were recorded in 2013–14, against 16.6 billion (10.1 billion) in 1986–7, an increase of 38%. Coal used to make up around 36% of the total net tonne kilometre , though its share is declining. Rail freight has slightly increased its market share since privatisation (by net tonne kilometres) from 7.0% in 1998 to 9.1% in 2011 and around 12% in 2016. Recent growth
Direct Rail Services - Misplaced Pages Continue
1932-497: Was made to be Top and Tail Class 68s, while the other stayed a Class 37 and DBSO. On 21 May 2018, there was only one set out, which was the Top and Tail Class 68s only running between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. This service was ultimately replaced by Class 156 Diesel Multiple Units (transferred from ScotRail ) on 28 December 2018, with special commemorative 'farewell' service being run for charity on 11 January 2019. In June 2014, it
1978-481: Was realised that the Modernisation Plans were not working. The wagon load traffic lost £57 million on receipts of £105 million in 1961. Signal boxes would have to be staffed 24 hours a day in order to accept a limited amount of traffic. Even the most rural stations transported goods in the form of postal services; 3,368 stations generated only 4% of Royal Mail 's receipts. The Beeching cuts included
2024-709: Was reversed in December of the same year, and Class 325s are now used on some routes including between London, Warrington and Scotland. The Department for Transport 's Transport Ten Year Plan called for an 80% increase in rail freight measured from a 2000–1 base. By the year 2015 rail-borne intermodal traffic is scheduled to double, and by 2030 the whole of rail freight is expected to double at 50.4 billion tonne km. Goods carried by rail are either intermodal (container) freight or trainload freight which includes coal, metals, oil, and construction materials. There are four main freight rail operating companies in
2070-485: Was the custom of the Royal Mail , which from 2004 discontinued use of its 49-train fleet, switching to road haulage after a near 170-year preference for trains. Mail trains had long been part of the tradition of the railways in Great Britain, famously celebrated in the film Night Mail , for which W. H. Auden wrote the poem of the same name. Although Royal Mail suspended the mail train in January 2004, this decision
2116-444: Was wound up, the NDA acquired the remaining 51% of INS. INS offers management, consultancy and transport services covering uranium , MOX fuel , irradiated fuel and nuclear waste . It also acts as the NDA's commercial arm, managing contracts for services provided from the NDA's Sellafield and Dounreay sites. As part of this role it works alongside the NDA's Direct Rail Services subsidiary, which transports nuclear materials in
#897102