Earlier this week, David Stirling and David Cross attended the launch of GB Railfreight’s new Class 99 locomotives at their depot in Peterborough.

These 30 new hybrid locomotives run on both electricity and HVO fuel. They are seen as the future of UK rail freight. With 8,000 horsepower on electric and 2,450 horsepower on HVO, they are powerful enough to handle all current freight routes across the country. We expect to see them in Scotland at Mossend later this year.

These low-carbon locomotives will help shift more freight from road to rail. They will be an important part of services running in and out of the Mossend International Railfreight Terminal (MIRP) over the next few years.

At the event, GB Railfreight announced that the 30 locomotives will cost around £150 million. This is a major investment in high-speed rail freight, especially on routes between England and Scotland. Our new MIRP facility at Mossend is ready to welcome these engines and the containers they carry. They will support Scotland’s vital import and export freight needs, all within a modern, carbon-neutral site in the heart of the Central Belt.