LNWR News

26/01/08 - LNWR Awarded Freightliner AC Locomotive Maintenance

21st January 2008 LNWR today signed a three year agreement for maintenance of Freightliner’s AC Electric fleet comprising 16 Class 86 and 11 Class 90 locomotives. This agreement represents a major vote of confidence in LNWR who have worked with Freightliner over an extended period of time developing a strategy for support of this fleet which is a vital part of Freightliner’s service. The locomotives predominantly operate intermodal services hauling container trains from ports in the south and south-east of the UK to terminals around the country. The age of these locomotives, particularly the Class 86 fleet, demands a structured approach to maintenance in order to maintain and improve reliability. LNWR has developed a team based solution involving Freightliner and the supply base in a joint approach to actively manage obsolescence and unreliability issues. LNWR and Freightliner have invested in the establishment of a dedicated maintenance facility at LNWR’s Crewe depot which also serves a wide range of other passenger and freight operators. Commenting on the contract award, LNWR MD Mark Knowles was delighted to add another prestige contract to the growing Crewe order book. “This contract is very important for all at LNWR. Not only does this cement our growing relationship with Freightliner, it also develops a new capability at LNWR for maintenance of AC traction. LNWR is determined to provide the highest quality service to Freightliner on this fleet, it is our intention to improve fleet performance on an ongoing basis and to make these locomotives class leaders in the UK.” Freightliner Engineering Director Tim Shakerley is also keen to make the partnership with LNWR work for the benefit of both businesses. “This approach which we have adopted with LNWR is designed to take the conflict out of the management of maintenance agreements and both companies are equally focussed and incentivised to improve fleet performance. We believe strongly that the efforts of both organisations will be directed to the single purpose of providing an excellent service to our customers.” Freightliner is already the market leader for freight by rail in the Intermodal division, accounting for 83% of containers moved by rail, and in doing so, they have a 99.9% service reliability record. These achievements have resulted in Freightliner being awarded the prestigious IFW Rail Freight Award consecutively for the last three years.

21/12/07 - More Voyagers for LNWR

The introduction of the new timetable on December 9th tripled the number of Voyager trains looked after by LNWR at Crewe. This timetable reflects the division in the fleet between the Virgin West Coast and Cross Country franchises. Crewe now represents a crucial location for Voyagers serving the Euston-Holyhead and Birmingham-Glasgow routes. LNWR was chosen to provide overnight servicing and maintenance by Bombardier Transportation who have the overall fleet maintenance responsibility. Commenting on the increase in Voyager work, Managing Director Mark Knowles outlined the progress made at LNWR during 2007. "This work is the culmination of a tremendous effort by all of our staff to deliver an excellent service for our customers. We strive to provide a high quality service and respond to every situation which we encouter with professionalism and enthusiasm. During 2007 we have transformed the company with the support of our customers and Network Rail. Crewe will continue to be an important maintenance location for train services and we look forward to continuing our growth and development based around the needs of our customers."

21/12/07 - Dr Pete Waterman OBE Presents Rail Staff Awards

LNWR owner and chairman Dr. Pete Waterman OBE hosted the 2007 Railstaff Awards on the 27th October. He is a long standing supporter of the awards and an advocate for the improvement of the training and skills of rail industry personnel.

30/04/07 - Cargo-D Mk3's at LNWR

Cargo-D Mk3 Fleet Based at LNWR Crewe 24th April 2007 Recent arrivals at LNWR Crewe include a fleet of 16 Mk3 coaches which had been stored at Long Marston following their displacement from front line service on the West Coast Mainline by the introduction of Virgin West Coast’s Pendolino fleet. The ex-Porterbrook vehicles are leased to rolling stock provider Cargo-D and have been re-liveried in as-built BR Blue/Grey. They also carry ‘Inter-City’ branding, reflecting this period. LNWR is responsible for the fleet management, repair and maintenance of the coaches, including re-commissioning after their extended period of storage. LNWR was selected for maintenance as a result of its extensive experience with loco-hauled stock and the central location and size of its facility at Crewe. Cargo-D expects to provide its first service using the Mk3 stock on 5th May with prospective bookings for a further 40 outings during 2007. Cargo-D’s Commercial Director Mark Honey is full of praise for the work going on at Crewe. “I’ve been very impressed with the level of detail LNWR has expended on the vehicles and it was very satisfying to see everything powering up robustly after the extended period of storage. LNWR have provided a high level of support and enthusiasm to our operation and we are pleased that we chose such a responsive partner to provide maintenance services to our business. It is important we get the delivery 100% right, especially in the early days and I’m confident LNWR will deliver those expectations”. The Cargo-D carriages are maintained alongside the already extensive contingent of Mk2 and Mk1 vehicles at Crewe which LNWR look after on behalf of loco-hauled coaching stock operators. Background Information - Cargo-D Cargo-D is a railway organisation specialising in 3rd party solutions for freight, passengers and locomotive and wagon provision. It can design, deliver and execute these various solutions to meet customer expectations, in line with the individual projects that Cargo-D’s customers request. Cargo-D currently has 7 MkIII first class vehicles, 2 MkIII catering vehicles and 5 MkIII standard class vehicles. It can also provide a MkIII sleeper carriage if required and a MkIIe BSO brake coach. The set can be made available in the customer’s preferred configuration and is available for charter, corporate and specialist TOC work. Cargo-D is located at Long Marston in Warwickshire

30/09/06 - ISO 9001 Re-Certification

L&NWR is proud to announce the continued success of it's Quality Management System which was highly praised at the recent Tri-annual audit by NQA. A further 3 years certification to ISO 9001 was awarded demonstrating the commitment to quality which has been the hallmark of the company's development.