British rail freight operator GB Railfreight (GBRf) has announced a £4.7 million investment into a new maintenance depot in Peterborough alongside the East Coast Mainline. The contract for the construction of this maintenance interchange has been awarded to Cairn Cross Engineering, with construction work starting in December 2022. The depot is scheduled to open next summer. The project continues GBRf's sustained investment in the East of England, which included the construction of a new £3 million headquarters in Peterborough.
“The Peterborough maintenance hub is a major investment into the sector and will form an integral part of our infrastructure long into the future. Our ability to service wagons quickly will also allow us to deliver an even more reliable service to our customers, and support GB Railfreight’s growth aspirations,” said David Golding, Asset Director, GB Railfreight.
The state-of-the-art maintenance hub will play a major contribution to improving the safety and reliability of GB Railfreight's wagon fleet through the use of smart sensor technology. This technology will allow quick analysis of wagon conditions and identify faults much earlier quickly and accurately. The new maintenance center in Peterborough will therefore significantly help to meet GB Railfreight's growth plans, which aim to operate 75 intermodal services per day by 2025. It will also generate new jobs - around 60 jobs will be created during construction and a further 20 permanent jobs will be created when the project completes next Summer.
