DB Cargo UK has agreed the sale of 25 of its Class 66 locomotives to Grup Feroviar Roman (GFR), Romania’s largest private railway company.
The multi-million GBP deal will see the first Class 66 (66014) leave the DB Cargo UK traction maintenance depot in Nottinghamshire at the end of January, with delivery of all 25 units set to be completed by mid-2028.
The first Class 66 will leave DB Cargo UK’s traction maintenance depot at Toton in Nottinghamshire at the end of January
© DB Cargo UK
Prior to their transportation; all locomotives bound for Europe will be reinstated to current UK operational standards and repainted in blue livery.
DB Cargo UK Engineering Director Wayne Miller said:
These locomotives are surplus to DB’s requirements and will still leave ample locomotives in our fleet to meet predicted traffic growth in future years.
We’re proud to be reinstating the locomotives at our centre of excellence in Toton, and look forward to further developing this partnership.
The flagship company of the GAMPET Group; GFR has nearly 25 years of experience, and operates a fleet of more than 15,000 wagons and 350 locomotives within Romania.
Sorin Chinde, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grup Feroviar Roman (GFR) and Vice President of the GRAMPET Group, said:
This acquisition aligns with GRAMPET Group’s strategy of investing in high-performance rolling stock that enhances our operational efficiency. The locomotives purchased by Grup Feroviar Roman from DB Cargo UK will become the backbone of the operator’s diesel fleet in the years ahead.
The replacement of the current LDE 2100 locomotive fleet, used for diesel traction, was necessary due to the rising maintenance costs of the existing fleet, caused by their age and the increasing difficulty of sourcing spare parts.
The superior power characteristics and high availability of the Class 66 locomotives will allow us to withdraw from service a larger number of 2,100 HP locomotives than the number of units purchased from DB Cargo UK.