IN Brief:
- The first commercial Class 99 service ran between London Gateway and Hams Hall.
- GB Railfreight has ordered 30 locomotives from Stadler through Beacon Rail.
- Dual mode traction allows more journeys to use electric power without requiring complete route electrification.
GB Railfreight has begun commercial operation of its first Class 99 locomotive, deploying unit 99001 on an intermodal service between DP World London Gateway and Hams Hall in the West Midlands.
The journey follows testing and a live service trial completed on the same corridor with Maritime Transport and DP World. It begins the phased introduction of 30 locomotives ordered from Stadler through a leasing arrangement with Beacon Rail.
Class 99 locomotives can draw power from overhead electrical infrastructure and continue under onboard power where electrification is unavailable. The configuration avoids locomotive changes when a train moves between powered and unpowered sections, allowing a greater proportion of each journey to use electric traction without restricting the service to fully electrified routes.
GB Railfreight plans to introduce the remaining units through the rest of 2026 and into early 2027 as testing, driver training, route approval, and maintenance arrangements are completed. The fleet will be used across intermodal and other heavy freight duties.
Britain’s rail freight network includes substantial electrified mileage, yet many ports, terminals, quarries, depots, and industrial sidings remain beyond the wires. Even a route with extensive overhead coverage may require diesel traction for its first or final section.
That incomplete network has limited the commercial use of electric only freight locomotives. Changing traction adds time, labour, siding requirements, and another operating dependency, while a delay during the exchange can affect the train path available for the remainder of the journey.
Dual mode equipment allows the same locomotive to remain attached throughout. GB Railfreight expects the Class 99 to reduce emissions by more than half compared with conventional diesel traction, although the final reduction will vary with route, train weight, electricity source, and the proportion of each journey completed under the wires.
The London Gateway to Hams Hall corridor provides a demanding launch route because it connects a major deep sea container terminal with an inland intermodal hub serving central England. Trains must operate within port loading windows, mainline paths, terminal availability, and road collection schedules at both ends.
Rail can remove a large number of long distance truck journeys from that corridor, leaving local collection and final delivery to vehicles operating around each terminal. The environmental and commercial benefit increases when trains leave with high utilisation and containers are transferred promptly at destination.
Terminal performance therefore remains as important as locomotive capability. Slow crane cycles, missed collection slots, or poorly timed truck arrivals can leave containers waiting after the rail journey has finished, shifting delay rather than removing it.
The Class 99 provides operating flexibility while the scope and timetable of future electrification remain uncertain. Freight locomotives remain in service for decades, so a new diesel only fleet would face increasing fuel and regulatory exposure, while electric only equipment could not reach much of the present freight network.
Independent operation also creates the option to use lower carbon liquid fuels where suitable supply is available. Fuel specification, availability, certification, storage, and price will determine whether that option becomes a routine part of fleet operation rather than an occasional trial.
Network capacity presents a separate constraint. New locomotives do not create additional train paths through congested passenger corridors, nor do they resolve restrictions caused by engineering work, terminal opening hours, or loading gauge limitations.
Stronger acceleration and consistent performance can nevertheless help freight services use allocated paths more effectively, particularly when heavy trains must maintain speed across mixed traffic sections. Reliability will be tested under different loads, gradients, weather conditions, and power transitions as the fleet expands.
Maintenance arrangements will also shape availability during the introduction period. New equipment requires spare parts, diagnostic systems, trained technicians, and depot capacity before operators can rely on the fleet at scale.
London Gateway and Hams Hall offer a practical measure of commercial performance because the route connects maritime imports with a large inland distribution market. If the locomotive can maintain schedule reliability while increasing electric running, it will strengthen the case for similar deployment across other port and terminal corridors.
The first service begins a longer operational test rather than completing the programme. Energy use, maintenance demand, driver experience, availability, and train performance over the coming months will determine how quickly the Class 99 changes the traction mix across British rail freight.
