GBRf's new Maintenance Hub in Peterborough

On 26 September 2023 GB Railfreight has opened its state-of-the-art Maintenance Hub. Located alongside the East Coast Mainline, the 5.75 million GBP facility represents one of the most substantial investments in the UK rail freight sector this year.

Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper MP, attended the opening ceremony alongside John Smith, GBRf’s Chief Executive Officer. The Hub, which is larger than six-Olympic swimming pools was completed in just 10 months and brings back into use a derelict plot of land. The facility will be key to unlocking GBRf’s ambitious growth plans as it aims to run around 80 intermodal services a day by 2025. The building has strong sustainability credentials – it is fully powered by electricity and has been designed to support electric shunt engines and forklifts to reduce carbon emissions.

By analysing four wagons per shift, the Hub will be a strategic enabler that creates a step-change in maintenance for the rail freight industry. It will deliver significant safety and reliability improvements that will allow current and future customers to move an even wider range of goods by rail. As new smart-technologies emerge, the Hub will be a testbed that will allow GBRf to identify innovative solutions that will drive continual improvement.