The prototype of a new type of box wagon for Porterbrook, GB Railfreight, and Greenbrier, has successfully completed its audit and inspection process.
Fifty of the new box wagons, designated type JNA-X, are being produced for the companies in Romania.
Delivery of the new wagons to the UK is scheduled to be in two batches later this year, with the first in September and the second in October.
Porterbrook and GB Railfreight made their first announcement about the wagons last March.
The wagons are fitted with track-friendly bogies, and have been designed as a compromise between the wagon's tare weight, volume capacity, and payload, with the shortest wagon length over its buffers for the bulk material it will transport. Structural reliability of the wagons is achieved by fabricating the wagon's structure from high-strength steel, which will also ensure the wagon's longevity.
The new wagons will support the Green Recovery and help to deliver a more sustainable railway since each tonne of freight transported by rail produces 76% less carbon than by road haulage,
Mark Wyborn, Head of Freight at Porterbrook said:
“This partnership demonstrates Porterbrook's long-term commitment to investing in rail freight. The successful production of the prototype JNA-X Box Wagon is all-the-more impressive because of the challenges the team has had to overcome, including significant disruption in the supply chain.
“It is testament to the strength of our partnership with GB Railfreight and Greenbrier that we've worked together and agreed ways to mitigate those challenges and keep delivery of the box wagons on track.”
David Golding, Asset Director at GB Railfreight said:
“We're excited to take delivery of the first of the new JNA-X Box Wagons next month. This new rolling stock, alongside other investments made by GBRf, continues to demonstrate our commitment to reducing our emissions and supporting the government's net zero ambitions. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners to help look for opportunities to decarbonise our industry.”
John Brown, Head of UK Sales at Greenbrier said:
“We were thrilled that Porterbrook and GB Railfreight had chosen to extend its partnership with Greenbrier Europe which goes back more than 15 years. This partnership and cooperation during these unprecedented times where steel and energy costs have more than doubled is evidence of our long-term commitment to supply these box wagons to our customers on time.”
What are these wagons going to be carrying? Are they for a specific product or just anything? We’ve got the obligatory environmental info as ever, but not what they’re actually going to be used for.
More foreign-built rolling stock to detract from the UK’s balance of payments, and nothing for us to be proud about. They should be built in UK. Oh no! The UK railway wagon industry has been run down to nothing.