UK: DB Cargo UK has taken what it calls ‘the bold decision’ to withdraw its entire fleet of Class 90 electric locomotives, citing ‘the cost of running and maintaining this fleet given the extraordinary economic pressures facing our sector’.
The operator currently has 24 of the 25 kV 50 Hz Bo-Bo mixed-traffic locomotives, although half of them have been in storage for between five and 20 years. Built by British Rail Engineering Ltd in the 1980s, the locomotives have a continuous rating of 3 700 kW and a maximum speed of 180 km/h. The withdrawn locomotives are expected to be offered for sale or scrapping.
In a statement, DB Cargo said ‘whilst this is not a decision we have taken lightly, it is one that we are using as a platform for greater engagement on affordability and availability of biofuels, which can be used in our existing, fully operational diesel fleet of locomotives to lower carbon emissions and operate more sustainably’.
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