Freightliner taking over from Hanson

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From Rail Business Daily

In the early hours of Wednesday 17 July, a Freightliner 3,690-horsepower Class 70 locomotive hauled a train with a cargo of aggregate between Merehead in Somerset and Acton in London. Weighing 4,624 tonnes, this is the heaviest ‘jumbo’ train currently running in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

The trial run was in preparation for the start of Freightliner’s bulk haulage service for Mendip Rail Ltd., a joint venture between two of the UK’s largest aggregate/cement producers, Hanson UK and Aggregate Industries, who currently use 3,300-horsepower Class 59 locomotives to run this service

My understanding is that Frieghtliner take over from Hanson on 3rd November and Westbury will no longer be used  as a depot.  Not sure of the implications on Westbury, nor future train numbers, speed, paths, routing. Can anyone fill me in??

[SandTEngineer]

There is a two page thread on WNXX^▸ (Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes) covering this.  The takeover is Freightliner from DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about).  Here are a few extracts:

More workings with less tonnage is what is being proposed, based on my last chat with a DB driver based at Westbury, so no need to split any trains...the amount paid for the 59s' has a clause which covers any overhaul costs being paid by the seller....not sure for what period though...the Class 60 training is taking place at Westbury and Acton for drivers not familiar with these engines but for that training to be used elsewhere in the Company/Country....not for Westbury based activities...he is expecting a lot of turmoil over the next 6 months over many aspects of the planned takeover...

...and.....

Big if as well about Westbury TUPE^▸ (The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. In a railway context, the legislation that protects rail staff when a franchise changes hands.)'ing across, lot of white stuff down at Burngullow for DB to shift using Westbury drivers. And that contract is a lot more profitable per train than the Mendip work.

...and....

My contribution was the info I received four weeks ago from a DB driver in the process of discussing his options with DB/FL/Unions pending either a possible transfer away from Westbury with DB or remaining via a TUPE transfer in the area with FL...he didn't look in a 'state of insanity' which is one explanation of 'wibble'….nor does he normally talk 'drivel/babble' which is another. He did say that FLs' idea/plan of running more trains and securing more paths seemed unlikely to him in reality but at this time it is commercially 'one of the options being considered', as another contributor in this thread described. He has said any changes that were made would be due to FL not being to access Acton to sort/split trains....

Mendip Rail is a joint venture between Aggregate Industries and Hanson and the latter own the Class 59 locomotives used on a lot of the services.  So to continue with the Class 59 was an option for Freightliner but my impression is that they have decided to go with Class 60 locomotives instead (might be wrong in my interpretation of it all though).

[eightonedee]

If I've understood the extracts S&T^▸ (Signalling and Telegraph) has quoted correctly, they are proposing an increase in the number of freight train slots in what is already (apparently) quite a crowded network.

Perhaps it is time for someone now to contemplate HS4, a high speed passenger line following approximately the line of the M4 to north Bristol and the M5 south to Exeter?

[Noggin]

If I've understood the extracts S&T^▸ (Signalling and Telegraph) has quoted correctly, they are proposing an increase in the number of freight train slots in what is already (apparently) quite a crowded network.

Perhaps it is time for someone now to contemplate HS4, a high speed passenger line following approximately the line of the M4 to north Bristol and the M5 south to Exeter?

IIRC^▸ ('if I recall/remember/read correctly'), the plans for MetroWest had to wait for the Crossrail timetables to be finalised, because it would impact on GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) timetabling all the way to Bristol, that's how tightly managed things are, and that was several years ago. 

Again, IIRC, whilst the capacity crunch is currently Reading to Paddington, NR^» (Network Rail - home page) modelling suggested at that at some point in the next decade, Didcot would need some kind of grade separation to get the throughput required, along with re-instatement of tracks between Didcot and Swindon. `i

I suspect that if you really wanted