Freightliner Ltd
As part of the Privatisation of British Rail, the Freightliner business unit, which was part of the loss making RfD division of British Rail, which operated both Speedlink & Freightliner services, had its assets transferred into a new company, Freightliner (1995) Limited, in preparation for sale
The consortium led by Wisconsin Central that had purchased the other three freight companies (Loadhaul, Mainline Freight & Transrail) and amalgamated them to become English, Welsh & Scottish Railways, deemed this particular business unit to be not sufficiently profitable however, and did not purchase it.
On 25th May 1996 Freightliner was the subject of a management buyout backed by 3i and Electra Private Equity. When Freightliner was privatised in 1996, it only operated Intermodal container services. In 1999, Freightliner set up Freightliner Heavy Haul initially to operate railway infrastructure trains for Network Rail moving ballast & rails etc. before eventually moving into other bulk loads including aggregates, cement, coal, petroleum, scrap metal and refuse/waste. Initially run as a division of Freightliner Limited, in 2001 operations were transferred to a new subsidiary, Freightliner Heavy Haul Limited. In 2006, Freightliner expanded its operations into Poland establishing a subsidiary company, Freightliner PL. On 13 June 2008, Freightliner Group was purchased by Railinvest Holding Company Limited, a subsidiary of Arcapita Bank of Bahrain. June 2009 saw Freightliner commence operations in Australia. In 2013, Freightliner purchased Netherlands-based intermodal container operator European Rail Shuttle B.V. from Maersk Line thus expanding into yet another country. Freightliner was sold by Arcapita Bank to American company Genesee & Wyoming in February 2015. Freightliner unveiled its new brand identity in April 2018, bringing the brand in line with parent company Genesee & Wyoming. On 1 July 2019, it was announced that Genesee & Wyoming was to be purchased by a consortium including Brookfield Infrastructure, GIC and Brookfield's institutional partners.
Read MoreThe consortium led by Wisconsin Central that had purchased the other three freight companies (Loadhaul, Mainline Freight & Transrail) and amalgamated them to become English, Welsh & Scottish Railways, deemed this particular business unit to be not sufficiently profitable however, and did not purchase it.
On 25th May 1996 Freightliner was the subject of a management buyout backed by 3i and Electra Private Equity. When Freightliner was privatised in 1996, it only operated Intermodal container services. In 1999, Freightliner set up Freightliner Heavy Haul initially to operate railway infrastructure trains for Network Rail moving ballast & rails etc. before eventually moving into other bulk loads including aggregates, cement, coal, petroleum, scrap metal and refuse/waste. Initially run as a division of Freightliner Limited, in 2001 operations were transferred to a new subsidiary, Freightliner Heavy Haul Limited. In 2006, Freightliner expanded its operations into Poland establishing a subsidiary company, Freightliner PL. On 13 June 2008, Freightliner Group was purchased by Railinvest Holding Company Limited, a subsidiary of Arcapita Bank of Bahrain. June 2009 saw Freightliner commence operations in Australia. In 2013, Freightliner purchased Netherlands-based intermodal container operator European Rail Shuttle B.V. from Maersk Line thus expanding into yet another country. Freightliner was sold by Arcapita Bank to American company Genesee & Wyoming in February 2015. Freightliner unveiled its new brand identity in April 2018, bringing the brand in line with parent company Genesee & Wyoming. On 1 July 2019, it was announced that Genesee & Wyoming was to be purchased by a consortium including Brookfield Infrastructure, GIC and Brookfield's institutional partners.
