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DB Schenker Rail (UK)
Encyclopedia
DB Schenker Rail, before 2009 known as English, Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS) is a British rail freight company. EWS was established by a consortium led by Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation in 1996 by acquisition of five of the six freight companies created by the privatisation of British Rail
.
On 28 June 2007 the English, Welsh and Scottish Railway company was acquired by Deutsche Bahn AG . Initially it was announced that EWS would not be rebranded, in 2009 EWS, along with DB's other freight organisations including Railion
were re-branded as DB Schenker
.
and Fay Richwhite
. The company acquired most of the rail freight operations of British Rail
with the exception of Freightliner 1995 Ltd which was privatised in a management buyout.
Rail Express Systems
was acquired on 9 December 1995 for £24 million With the acquisition EWS as acquired the contract for the Royal Mail
train service, including the Travelling Post Office
trains; the contract was one of the most profitable obtained by the company.
On 24 February British Rail's three trainload freight companies Loadhaul Ltd., Mainline Freight Ltd.
and Transrail Freight Ltd.
were acquired for a total of £225 million by North and South Railways (EWS). The four companies acquired were all merged into English Welsh and Scottish Railway.
On 22 November 1997 EWS took over Railfreight Distribution
, a loss making business - for which it received grants and subsidies estimated to amount to 242 million over 8 years, which included subsidies for the use of the Channel Tunnel
and a sum of £33million paid to EWS covering the acquisition of a loss making business. Railfreight Distribution's businesses included international containerised freight, movement of cars and automotive components by rail, and freight services for the Ministry of Defence. The company had a 150 locomotives including the specialised Class 92
locomotives for the Channel Tunnel. At the time of sale it was making a yearly loss of ~£65 million. Railfreight Distribution is renamed English Welsh and Scottish Railway International Ltd. on 1 December 1998.
The new company had over 900 locomotives and 19,000 freight wagons, and 7,000 employees. Track access charges were renegotiated and after 1800 job redundancies the workers involved in profit sharing and other incentivised working plans; as a result shipping rates were reduced by over 30%. Many locomotives inherited on foundation were considered unreliable, and expensive to maintain; the company invested heavily in modernisation of its rolling stock; by 2002 £750 million had been invested, including 280 new locomotives and over 2000 new wagons.
EWS's services included mail, locomotive hire, waggonload traffic (branded 'Enterprise'), cross channel trains via the Channel Tunnel
, trainload freight including oil, aggregates, cement and traffic related to the coal, electricity generation and steel industries, and infrastructure trains for Railtrack
. Additionally, in the decade following privatisation EWS began to compete for container traffic contracts, and its competitor Freightliner Group also entered into competition for trainload freight, as did DRS
(a subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels) which was initially set up to move radioactive materials by rail. EWS's turnover in 1999 was £533.7 million (a 80% market share by value) with a profit of £32.8 million.
National Power
who had operated trains for their power stations under the open access regulations had their train operations acquired by EWS in 1998.
In 2001 the Canadian National Railway
(CN) bought Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation for its North American holdings (Wisconsin Central Ltd.) and so became a major shareholder (42.5%) of EWS; the company announced its intentions to divest itself of Wisconsin Central's foreign holdings.
The contract with Royal Mail was lost in 2003 (switching to road transport), due to cost. The French rail freight subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail
was founded in 2005.
By 2006 EWS's turnover was approaching £1 billion, whilst profit was £14 million.
(DB), EWS and Spanish rail forwarder Transfesa
that DB was to acquire all the shares in EWS as soon as contracts were signed. The value of the deal was estimated at £300 million; at the time EWS had a market share of ~70% in the United Kingdom and ~5000 employees.
Initially it was announced that EWS would not be rebranded, but on 1 January 2009 EWS, DB's existing Freight organisation Railion
and their freight logistics organisation DB Schenker
were re-branded DB Schenker.
As part of a formal launch of the new brand, a Class 59
locomotive 59206 was unveiled in full DB Schenker branding at a ceremony at the National Railway Museum
in York
on 21 January 2009.
In 2009 DB Schenker Rail began work to enable Class 92
hauled trains to operate freight services on the High Speed 1 by installing in cab TVM signalling. The project received funding from the European Commission
and it was anticipated services will begin in early 2010. The first test run took place in March 2011, and a loaded freight train ran in May 2011.
Privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
.
On 28 June 2007 the English, Welsh and Scottish Railway company was acquired by Deutsche Bahn AG . Initially it was announced that EWS would not be rebranded, in 2009 EWS, along with DB's other freight organisations including Railion
Railion
DB Schenker Rail is a European railway cargo carrier. The company was formed from the freight operating section of the Deutsche Bahn DB Cargo with the addition of various European rail freight operating companies.In December 2007 Railion became part of the DB Schenker logistics group, itself a...
were re-branded as DB Schenker
DB Schenker
DB Schenker is a logistics company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. The company, created by reorganisation and rebranding of various Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries, comprises a logistics division encompassing air, land and sea freight, and a rail division made up from a variety of...
.
English, Welsh and Scottish Railway
The English Welsh and Scottish Railway, originally formed as North and South Railways was created by a consortium headed by the US railway Wisconsin Central with additional financing provided by the financial sector, including Berkshire PartnersBerkshire Partners
Berkshire Partners, the Boston-based private equity firm, has invested in leading mid-sized companies for over twenty-five years through eight investment funds with aggregate capital of $11 billion. Berkshire has developed specific industry experience in several areas including retailing, consumer...
and Fay Richwhite
Fay Richwhite
Fay, Richwhite & Company is the investment vehicle of Switzerland-based New Zealand merchant bankers Sir Michael Fay and David Richwhite.The firm was the prime focus of the "Winebox Inquiry" which dealt with, among other things, tax-avoidance arrangements in the Cook Islands...
. The company acquired most of the rail freight operations of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
with the exception of Freightliner 1995 Ltd which was privatised in a management buyout.
Rail Express Systems
Rail Express Systems
Upon the sectorisation of British Rail during the 1980s the Parcels Sector was created. In 1991 this was rebranded Rail Express Systems. The Rail Express Systems launch event was held at Crewe Diesel Depot in October 1991. For this event examples of Class 08, 47, 86 & 90 locomotives were painted...
was acquired on 9 December 1995 for £24 million With the acquisition EWS as acquired the contract for the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
train service, including the Travelling Post Office
Travelling Post Office
A Travelling Post Office was a type of mail train in the UK where the post was sorted en-route. The last Travelling Post Office services were ended on 9 January 2004, with the carriages used now sold for scrap or to preservation societies....
trains; the contract was one of the most profitable obtained by the company.
On 24 February British Rail's three trainload freight companies Loadhaul Ltd., Mainline Freight Ltd.
Mainline Freight
Mainline Freight was a trainload railfreight operator based in Islington, London England with operations extending to Yorkshire in the north and Somerset in the west...
and Transrail Freight Ltd.
Transrail
Transrail may refer to:* Transrail, a Canadian consortium running Inter-city trains in Senegal and Mali* Transrail Freight, a former freight division of British Rail...
were acquired for a total of £225 million by North and South Railways (EWS). The four companies acquired were all merged into English Welsh and Scottish Railway.
On 22 November 1997 EWS took over Railfreight Distribution
Railfreight Distribution
Railfreight Distribution was a subsector of British Rail created by the division in 1987 of British Rail's previous Railfreight sector. It was responsible for non-trainload freight operations, as well as Freightliner and Intermodal services. In its early years the division was occasionally...
, a loss making business - for which it received grants and subsidies estimated to amount to 242 million over 8 years, which included subsidies for the use of the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
and a sum of £33million paid to EWS covering the acquisition of a loss making business. Railfreight Distribution's businesses included international containerised freight, movement of cars and automotive components by rail, and freight services for the Ministry of Defence. The company had a 150 locomotives including the specialised Class 92
British Rail Class 92
The British Rail Class 92 is a dual-voltage electric locomotive which can run on 25 kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V DC from a third rail. It was designed specifically to operate services through the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France...
locomotives for the Channel Tunnel. At the time of sale it was making a yearly loss of ~£65 million. Railfreight Distribution is renamed English Welsh and Scottish Railway International Ltd. on 1 December 1998.
The new company had over 900 locomotives and 19,000 freight wagons, and 7,000 employees. Track access charges were renegotiated and after 1800 job redundancies the workers involved in profit sharing and other incentivised working plans; as a result shipping rates were reduced by over 30%. Many locomotives inherited on foundation were considered unreliable, and expensive to maintain; the company invested heavily in modernisation of its rolling stock; by 2002 £750 million had been invested, including 280 new locomotives and over 2000 new wagons.
EWS's services included mail, locomotive hire, waggonload traffic (branded 'Enterprise'), cross channel trains via the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
, trainload freight including oil, aggregates, cement and traffic related to the coal, electricity generation and steel industries, and infrastructure trains for Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
. Additionally, in the decade following privatisation EWS began to compete for container traffic contracts, and its competitor Freightliner Group also entered into competition for trainload freight, as did DRS
Direct Rail Services
Direct Rail Services is a freight operating company created by British Nuclear Fuels Limited. The company started rail operations in 1995 using five heavily refurbished Class 20/3 diesel locomotives. Since then it has expanded greatly, and has acquired many more locomotives, most bought...
(a subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels) which was initially set up to move radioactive materials by rail. EWS's turnover in 1999 was £533.7 million (a 80% market share by value) with a profit of £32.8 million.
National Power
National Power
- History :National Power was formed following the privatisation of the UK electricity market in 1990. In England and Wales the Central Electricity Generating Board, which was responsible for the generation and transmission of electricity was split into three generating companies Powergen, National...
who had operated trains for their power stations under the open access regulations had their train operations acquired by EWS in 1998.
In 2001 the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
(CN) bought Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation for its North American holdings (Wisconsin Central Ltd.) and so became a major shareholder (42.5%) of EWS; the company announced its intentions to divest itself of Wisconsin Central's foreign holdings.
The contract with Royal Mail was lost in 2003 (switching to road transport), due to cost. The French rail freight subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail
Euro Cargo Rail
Euro Cargo Rail is a French rail freight operator formed in 2005 as a subsidiary of English, Welsh and Scottish Railway .-History:Euro Cargo Rail was founded in February 2005, in April 2005 EWS InternationalEWS International was the division of EWS responsible for operations through the Channel...
was founded in 2005.
By 2006 EWS's turnover was approaching £1 billion, whilst profit was £14 million.
DB Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd.
On 28 June 2007, it was announced at a press conference held by Deutsche BahnDeutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
(DB), EWS and Spanish rail forwarder Transfesa
Transfesa
Transfesa is a transport company based in Madrid, Spain.-Company description:Transfesa it is a transport and logistics service provider and European intermodal operator....
that DB was to acquire all the shares in EWS as soon as contracts were signed. The value of the deal was estimated at £300 million; at the time EWS had a market share of ~70% in the United Kingdom and ~5000 employees.
Initially it was announced that EWS would not be rebranded, but on 1 January 2009 EWS, DB's existing Freight organisation Railion
Railion
DB Schenker Rail is a European railway cargo carrier. The company was formed from the freight operating section of the Deutsche Bahn DB Cargo with the addition of various European rail freight operating companies.In December 2007 Railion became part of the DB Schenker logistics group, itself a...
and their freight logistics organisation DB Schenker
DB Schenker
DB Schenker is a logistics company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. The company, created by reorganisation and rebranding of various Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries, comprises a logistics division encompassing air, land and sea freight, and a rail division made up from a variety of...
were re-branded DB Schenker.
As part of a formal launch of the new brand, a Class 59
British Rail Class 59
The Class 59 Co-Co diesel locomotives were built and introduced between 1985 and 1995 by Electro-Motive Division of General Motors for private British companies, initially Foster Yeoman...
locomotive 59206 was unveiled in full DB Schenker branding at a ceremony at the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
on 21 January 2009.
In 2009 DB Schenker Rail began work to enable Class 92
British Rail Class 92
The British Rail Class 92 is a dual-voltage electric locomotive which can run on 25 kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V DC from a third rail. It was designed specifically to operate services through the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France...
hauled trains to operate freight services on the High Speed 1 by installing in cab TVM signalling. The project received funding from the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and it was anticipated services will begin in early 2010. The first test run took place in March 2011, and a loaded freight train ran in May 2011.
See also
- Euro Cargo RailEuro Cargo RailEuro Cargo Rail is a French rail freight operator formed in 2005 as a subsidiary of English, Welsh and Scottish Railway .-History:Euro Cargo Rail was founded in February 2005, in April 2005 EWS InternationalEWS International was the division of EWS responsible for operations through the Channel...
- EWS Company TrainEWS Company TrainThe DB Schenker Company Train is a special train operated in the United Kingdom by freight operator DB Schenker , a division of Deutsche Bahn. It was assembled as the replacement for the company's aging inspection saloon, and is used for entertaining corporate clients...
- History of rail transport in Great BritainHistory of rail transport in Great BritainThe railway system of Great Britain, the principal territory of the United Kingdom, is the oldest in the world. The system was originally built as a patchwork of local rail links operated by small private railway companies. These isolated links developed during the railway boom of the 1840s into a...
- Rail transport in Great BritainRail transport in Great BritainThe railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world, with the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opening in 1825. As of 2010, it consists of of standard gauge lines , of which are electrified. These lines range from single to double, triple, quadruple track and up to twelve...