UK: GB Railfreight has put three Zephir LOK 16.300 depot shunters into service moving steel billets from an electric arc furnace to rolling mills at Celsa Steel’s Cardiff site.
They are leased from Porterbrook, which said shunters with EU Stage V compliant diesel engines and able to run on HVO biodiesel were selected because the duty cycles currently rule out battery or electric traction.
They are expected to reduce emissions by 40% compared to the venerable Class 08 locomotives they replace.
‘It’s great to see these clean, green new shunters enter service’, said GBRf CEO John Smith on December 12. ‘They’re another example of how the rail freight sector plays a critical role in decarbonising the UK’s supply chains.’
The shunters have been procured through Zephir’s UK distributor Depot Rail, which will provide support.
‘Providing sustainable assets for depot operations is an important step in reaching the UK’s net zero target’, said Mark Wyborn, Head of Freight & Route Services at Porterbrook.
