Department of Transport

Freightliner sold as railfreight revolution nears completion
_______________________________________________________________

date 29 May 1996
source Department of Transport
type Press release

note 169

British Rails container transport subsidiary, Freightliner, has
been sold to a management buyout team, Sir George Young,
Secretary of State for Transport, announced today.

Freightliner, which transports containers on over 400 trains per
week between ports in the southeast and a network of inland
terminals, employs around 1,000 staff and has an annual turnover
of #85 million. The sale package includes a five-year track
access grant contract worth up to #75 million which will be paid
over 5 years in parallel with a new track access agreement
between Freightliner and Railtrack. The award of grant will mean
that at least 300,000 freight lorry journeys will be kept off
Britains roads.

Welcoming the sale, Sir George said:

This is yet further proof of the revolution taking place
in Britains railfreight industry. The privatisation of
Freightliner, following the successful sales of Rail
express systems and the three Trainload Freight companies,
represents another important step for Britains rail
industry and users alike. I particularly welcome the
management teams plans to expand the business by placing
new emphasis on the needs of customers.

Endorsing the track access grant "which will be paid in arrears
on the basis of traffic carried" as even more evidence of the
Governments commitment to getting freight back onto the
railways, Sir George said:

The track access grant that the Department is providing
will safeguard the environmental benefits of Freightliners
current network and give flexibility to the new owner to
expand the business and make his operation more efficient.
This grant award, the largest ever in the twenty-year
history of railfreight grants, is good news for the
railways and good news for the environment.

Notes to Editors

1. Freightliner is based in London and operates from the ports
of Southampton, Felixstowe, Tilbury, Liverpool and Thamesport to
inland terminals including Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Cleveland,
Birmingham and Cardiff.

2. An information memorandum was issued for Freightliner in May
1994 by the British Railways Board Vendor Unit. Final bids for
the company were received in March.

3. Track access grant is available to railfreight operators to
assist in defraying the costs of access to the rail network
levied by Railtrack. It is designed to reflect the environmental
benefits of transporting by rail traffic that would otherwise go
by road.

# = pounds sterling

Railhub Archive ::: 1996-05-29 DoT-001