Editing Transrail Freight

{{Short description|Freight division of British Rail}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = Transrail Freight Ltd
| logo             = Transrail logo.svg
| logo_size        = 200px
| image            = File:60 015 Bow Fell.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| image_caption    = 60015 ''Bow Fell'' with Transrail branding, Cardiff, 1996
| type             = 
| genre            = 
| fate             = Acquired by [[Wisconsin Central Ltd.]]
| predecessor      = 
| successor        = [[DB Cargo UK|English Welsh & Scottish]]
| foundation       = 9 June 1994 as ''Trainload Freight West''
| founder          = 
| defunct          = 1996
| location_city    = [[St Blazey]]{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
| location_country = United Kingdom
| location         = 
| locations        = 
| area_served      = 
| key_people       = 
| industry         = Rail freight
| products         = 
| services         = Freight train owner/operator
| revenue          = 
| operating_income = 
| net_income       = 
| aum              = 
| assets           = 
| equity           = 
| owner            = 
| num_employees    = 
| parent           = [[British Rail]]
| divisions        = 
| subsid           = 
| homepage         = 
| footnotes        = 
}}

'''Transrail''' was a trainload rail freight operator based in [[St Blazey]], England, UK with a large operating area including Scotland, Wales and the west of England. It was formed in 1994 from part of [[British Rail]]'s [[Trainload Freight]] division, as part of the [[privatisation of British Rail]].

[[Mainline Freight]], [[Loadhaul]] and Transrail were purchased by a consortium led by [[Wisconsin Central Transportation|Wisconsin Central]] in 1996 and amalgamated into a new company, [[DB Cargo UK|English Welsh & Scottish]].

==History==
'''Transrail''' was created in 1994 along with [[Mainline Freight]] and [[Loadhaul]] as part of the broadly regional split of British Rail's [[Trainload Freight]] operations. Transrail had the largest operating area of the three companies, operating in Scotland, Wales and the entire west of England (South West, West Midlands, and North West). The three companies were created with the aim of promoting competition between the businesses.<ref name="re1">{{citation| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=q4i0QrixNI0C| title = Report of the 125th Round Table on Transport Economics, Paris 28th–29th November 2002: European Integration of Rail Freight Transport | first1 = C.|last1 = Nash| first2 = T. |last2 = Fowkes| editor = European Conference of Ministers of Transport. Economic Research Centre| publisher = OECD Publishing| year = 2004 | chapter = Rail Privatisation in Britain – Lessons for the rail freight industry : 2. The privatisation process| isbn = 9789282113196 |at = pp.61–95; C. Trainload, p.70; C1 EWS, pp.70–1 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=q4i0QrixNI0C&pg=PA63}}</ref><ref name="re2">
{{citation| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hFDrKNKmJ8UC| title= The dynamics of freight transport development: a UK and Swiss comparison| author = Philippe Thalmann| publisher = Ashgate Publishing| year = 2004| isbn= 9780754637561|at = The Privatisation of the Freight Business, p.34–35}}</ref> It was initially and briefly named "Trainload Freight West Limited" before being re-branded in July 1994.<ref>{{citation| url = http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk| title = WebCHeck – Select and Access Company Information| publisher = [[Companies House]]}}, see entries for TRANSRAIL FREIGHT LIMITED</ref>

Transrail had the largest inherited operating area of the three post-[[Trainload Freight]] companies, but the least amount of traffic. The company initiated a long-distance wagonload train service branded 'Enterprise',<ref>{{citation|journal = [[Railfan & Railroad]]| volume = 15| publisher = Carstens Publications| year = 1996|title = Transrail Freight| page =44|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7-1VAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> later operated by EWS as the 'EWS Enterprise' service.<ref>{{citation| url  =http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/best-practice-must-cross-the-frontiers.html| title = Best practice must cross the frontiers| date =1 February 1997| work = railwaygazette.com| publisher = [[Railway Gazette International]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= The EWS story | magazine = [[The Railway Magazine]] |date=2006  | pages=17–23}}</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=May 2023}}<!-- Issue number not re-added in as it was not the right issue number -->

All three former [[Trainload Freight]] companies were acquired in February 1996 by North-South Railways, a company formed by a consortium led by US railroad company [[Wisconsin Central Ltd.|Wisconsin Central]], for a combined total of £225.15&nbsp;million (approximately US$349&nbsp;million).  The three companies and [[Rail Express Systems]] were merged to form [[DB Cargo UK|English Welsh & Scottish]] (EWS).<ref name="re1"/><ref name="re2"/><ref name="rp275">{{cite web|url = https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1996/nov/27/rail-privatisation| work = [[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|title = Rail Privatisation| date = 27 December 1996| publisher = Hansard, House of Commons, UK| at = volume 296, 275W}}</ref><ref>{{citation| url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1215/is_n3_v197/ai_18135844/| journal = Railway Age| date = Mar 1996| title = WC group buys British freight services – Wisconsin Central buys Loadhaul, Transrail and Mainline Freight| publisher = Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation}}</ref>

==Fleet==
[[File:37674 'Saint Blaise Church 1445-1995' at Westbury.JPG|thumb|240px|Trans-Rail livery on [[British Rail Class 37|37674]] at [[Westbury, Wiltshire|Westbury]] in April 2004]]
Locomotives operated included classes [[British Rail Class 08|08]], [[British Rail Class 31|31]], [[British Rail Class 37|37]], [[British Rail Class 47|47]], [[British Rail Class 56|56]] and [[British Rail Class 60|60]].{{sfn|Shannon|2012|p=13}}

===Livery===
The company's livery was based on the previous [[Trainload Freight]] two-tone grey livery, with the addition of a blue and red "T" logo and Transrail branding.{{sfn|Shannon|2012|p=13}}
There were also a few Class 37's and Class 56's that carried the blue and red "T" logo with Transrail branding on the Civil Engineers Yellow and Grey "Dutch" livery.

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book | title=EWS From Privatisation to DB| first = Paul| last = Shannon|year=2012| publisher=Ian Allan Publishing | isbn=9780711035201}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Transrail Freight}}

{{British freight operators}}

[[Category:DB Cargo UK]]
[[Category:Rail freight companies in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Privatisation of British Rail]]


{{UK-rail-transport-stub}}