Despite only being halfway through its realistic life expectancy, the first DB Cargo UK Class 67 to be sent for scrap is 67003. It was taken to EMR at Kingsbury on May 27 for disposal.
Despite only being halfway through its realistic life expectancy, the first DB Cargo UK Class 67 to be sent for scrap is 67003. It was taken to EMR at Kingsbury on May 27 for disposal.
The locomotive was the first of the 30-strong fleet of 125mph electric train supply-fitted Bo-Bo Type 5s delivered to EWS (now DB Cargo UK), landing in Newport Docks from Valencia on October 6 1999.
They had been ordered shortly after the 250 EWS Class 66s (in 1996) to revolutionise the Rail Express Systems mail and charter sector - the first of five shadow freight companies to be sold to EWS during privatisation.
The locomotive, built in Valencia by Alstom under licence from EMD, was withdrawn in October 2019 after a working life of just 20 years. It had been heavily stripped of any reusable components.
In December 2023 it was one of ten Class 67s that DBC offered for sale (67001/003/004/009/011/018/019/026/028/030). Of these, just 67026 (for spares) and 67028 (for reuse) have been sold - both to Transport for Wales. In fact, 67028 was the only one of the ten in operational condition.
It seems that there were no other takers for the rest of the locomotives, which were withdrawn over a timespan of June 2016 to May 2023.
Also under threat of disposal are 67001/004/009/011/018/019/030, some of which have also been heavily stripped and are in a very poor condition.
It appears that the cost of reactivating the locomotives, let alone whatever price DBC was hoping to sell them for, has put off any other prospective purchasers.
Initially GB Railfreight had indicated it might be interesting in taking as many as four ‘67s’, but with the imminent arrival of its first dual-mode Class 99s, it has now stated it won't be looking to take on any more additional motive power - even Class 66s.
The story of the Class 67s is one of woeful underutilisation and a changing market. The plan to run mail trains at 125mph never happened, and 110mph remained their highest speed.
Mail traffic slowly ebbed away, and one by one other contracts such as East Coast Main Line Thunderbirds, and passenger hire with Chiltern Railways, ScotRail and on charter trains were either replaced by other suppliers or curtailed.
Of the 30 locomotives delivered from 1999-2000, two were sold to Colas (67023/027) prior to the ten offered for sale 18 months ago.
With 67012 recently added to the DB Cargo stored pool, just 67002 (undergoing European Train Control System fitment), 67005-007 (Royal Train locomotives), 67008/010/013-017/020/022/025/029 (on hire to Transport for Wales), and 67021/024 (Belmond dedicated locomotives) have been retained for use with DBC.
Login to continue reading
Or register with RAIL to keep up-to-date with the latest news, insight and opinion.
More articles on:
The UK's largest and only immersive rail exhibition.
You've missed RAIL Live 2025 - where more than 7,000 rail professionals came to share learnings and network - but be sure to look out for details of our 2026 event, released soon.
Venue: Porterbrook’s Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre | ///roofer.wished.represent
FIND OUT MORE
Vincent@01 - 03/06/2025 18:56
It's all diesels that many rail enthusiasts have soft spots for. Electric just seem hollow. Good luck DB in trying to get one in preservation....