GB RAILFREIGHT has told The RM it expects the first of its 30 bi-mode Class 99 locomotives to be in service before the end of next year.
The company also confirmed that a nine-month period of testing and commissioning is due to take place from September 2024. It was reluctant to elaborate on progress with the order for the locomotives, but it is understood that the bodyshell of No. 99001 had been completed by late January at Stadler’s Valencia factory. It and No. 99002 are expected to be completed in May, with No. 99003 being finished shortly afterwards.
The predicted time frame for testing fits with suggestions that the first of the locomotives, which will be leased from Beacon Rail, could arrive in the UK in April 2025 for main line trials.