Heavy Haul Rail
Rail freight transport company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heavy Haul Rail is a British rail freight transport company that was spun off from Freightliner in January 2026. It is owned by Brookfield and GIC.
| |
| Industry | Freight transport |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Freightliner Heavy Haul |
| Founded | 29 January 2026 |
| Headquarters | , England |
Key people | Tim Shoveller (Chairman) Dave Penney (CEO) |
| Parent | Brookfield GIC |
| Website | www.heavyhaulrail.co.uk |
History
Freightliner was founded in 1969 pursuant to the Transport Act 1968 to focus on the movement of intermodal containers by rail. It was owned by the British Rail Board and National Freight Corporation.[1] In 1977 full ownership was vested in the British Rail Board.[2]
In May 1996 as part of the privatisation of British Rail, Freightliner was sold in a management buyout.[3] In December 1999, Freightliner diversified into the heavy haulage market to compete with EWS.[4]
Freightliner announced in September 2025 that it had agreed to terms to sell its UK intermodal container business to CMA CGM.[5] The sale was completed on 29 January 2026.[6][7][8] As the sale included use of the Freightliner brand, the residual business was rebranded 'Heavy Haul Rail'.[9][10]
Operations
At the time of separation from the Freightliner operation in January, Heavy Haul Rail was running around 250 trains each week and serving around 100 locations. It operated 10 depots and yards:[11]
- Barrow Hill
- Basford Hall, Crewe
- Doncaster (jointly with Freightliner)
- Earles Sidings, Derbyshire
- Fairwater, Taunton
- Guide Bridge Vehicle Maintenance Facility, Manchester
- Hunslet, Leeds
- Midland Road, Leeds
- Stoke Gifford, near Bristol
- York Yard South
Fleet
Heavy Haul Rail commenced operations with 95 locomotives; 14 class 59s, 62 class 66s and 19 class 70s.[12]
| Class | Image | Type | Built | Wheel arr. | In traffic | Numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59 |  |
Diesel locomotive | 1985-1995 | Co-Co | 4 | 59001, 59002, 59004, 59005 | Acquired from Mendip Rail in 2019.[13] |
| 4 | 59101 59102, 59103, 59104 | ||||||
| 6 | 59201, 59202, 59203, 59204, 59205, 59206 | Acquired from DB Cargo UK in 2019.[citation needed] | |||||
| 66 |  |
1999-2008 | 7 | 66413, 66414, 66415, 66416, 66418, 66419, 66420 |
Acquired from Direct Rail Services in 2011.[citation needed] | ||
| 29 | 66507, 66520, 66522, 66534, 66536, 66537, 66545, 66546, 66547, 66548, 66550, 66555, 66556, 66557, 66558, 66559, 66560, 66561, 66562, 66563, 66564, 66565, 66566, 66585, 66587, 66588, 66589, 66590, 66594[11] | ||||||
| 19 | 66601, 66602, 66603, 66604, 66605, 66606, 66607, 66610, 66613, 66614, 66615, 66616, 66617, 66618, 66619, 66620, 66621, 66622, 66623 | ||||||
| 4 | 66951, 66952 66953, 66957[11] | ||||||
| 70 |  |
2009-2011 | 19 | 70001, 70002, 70003, 70004, 70005, 70006, 70007, 70008, 70009, 70010, 70011, 70013, 70014, 70015, 70016, 70017, 70018, 70019, 70020 | 70012 dropped while being unloaded at Newport; returned to manufacturers and is used as a test bed. |
