GB Railfreight (GBRf) has connected its new Maintenance Hub to the national rail network by opening new sidings on the north side of its Peterborough yard in Cambridgeshire.

The recently-opened maintenance hub cost £5.75 million, and building the connecting sidings has taken three years.

GBRf has worked with Network Rail and railway contractors KGJ Price on the project, which has involved installing several new points and additional capacity for spare wagons. They also had to slew the existing track to create five intermodal length sidings which can be accessed from both north and south.

The sidings will help to maximise the effectiveness of the maintenance hub, which will double the capacity of the yard. The hub and sidings form part of GBRf’s plan to run around eighty intermodal services per day by 2025.

Peterborough is a crucial location, as it is an interchange between the East Coast Main Line and various cross-country, local and regional routes.

Since being founded in 1999, GBRf has had several owners, and is currently owned by global investment company Infracapital.

John Smith, CEO of GB Railfreight said: “The new sidings at the north end of our yard is a huge step forward in bringing our Maintenance Hub in to operation. This will enable us to run even more intermodal services, allowing our current and future customers to move an even wider range of goods by rail.”

Mark Bridel, Regional Freight Manager at Network Rail said: “Network Rail is proud to have been a part of this project, from initial concept through to property agreements and delivery of signalling solutions. The project supports the shift to rail and green ambitions by enabling maintenance and stabling of longer intermodal trains on the East Coast Main Line.”