GB Railfreight has today announced that its new Stadler-built Class 99 locomotives will run off electricity or renewable fuels such as HVO, or Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil).
The locomotives are set to enter service in late 2025.
They are the first heavy-haul freight locomotives capable of transporting significant volumes of freight on both electrified and non-electrified lines.
GBRf says that the new locomotives will reduce emissions by at least 58%.
“With the Class 99s running exclusively on HVO on non-electrified lines, we can now provide our customers with a fully decarbonised solution for freight transport. This breakthrough is pivotal to our decarbonisation strategy and will help reduce the emissions associated with delivering goods to homes and businesses across the country. This marks the next step on our journey to lead the rail freight sector towards a greener future.”
John Smith, Chief Executive Officer at GB Railfreight
Responses
We are going to have to eat more chips and fried food to power these
Since they can also run on overhead power they shouldnt need much veggie oil. The chips are not down
Using our land to grow fuel is a disaster. We should cease building, stop growing our burgeoning population and concentrate on using our fragile soils for food production only.
The 99s will not be the first UK locos to use Vegitable Oil as a fuel.. Currently the Royal 67s are powered by Vegitable Oil as well as 66004 “Climate Hero”
I’m assuming this will be waste oil that’s been used for cooking rather than using spare land to grow fuel, it makes sense to recycle used cooking oil for fuel, as it’d only go to waste otherwise.
This begs the question, just how much waste cooking oil does the country produce? And would it supply all of the railways requirements? I suspect it wouldn’t all add up. What we certainly don’t want is to be growing crops just for HVO.
Seconded. Waste oils, OK (but how much waste is there?)Continuing hydrocarbon* exploitation by using arable land needed for food production would be folly of the highest order.
* Not fossil fuel, but hydrocarbon nonetheless
Arguably the most handsome locos to appear for a long time and good to see 6 wheel bogies. Love to see one in British Railways maroon with lion & wheel insignia!
being GBRf, I guess they will put at least one or two in a fictious livery like what they are doing with the Class 69s
I suspect we’ll see at least one of these diesels in rainbow “Pride” colours, to complete GB Freight’s virtue signalling
Bee in your bonnet?
what’s wrong with Trainbows?
I think GBR and BR are going too far with what fossil fuels. They used coal in the 1800s-1950/60s and we currently have diesel which is from crude oil and now we have vegetable oil 😂😂. The railways are sure getting interesting.
Fine. But just how much HVO would be required to replace diesel and where will it come from? Sainsbury’s? We’re never provided with all the facts.
If they use hdrogenated veg oil, then the chips are down the them!
Sorry, please explain what you mean.