Supply of an electric-powered shunting locomotive (800 tonne hauling capacity)

The Holgate Works Enhancement Plan will dramatically increase the type, size and volume of rail vehicles handled by the workshop.

The current shunting equipment consists of:

• A life-expired diesel road/ rail shunter.
• An electric-powered crab shunter

Owing to its size, the diesel shunter is unable to access many areas of the workshop (insufficient clearance at entrances) - this creates operational inefficiency making it necessary to complete movements within the workshop premises using the electric shunter.

Both units are designed for shunting small quantities of empty wagons of relatively low tare weight.

In future, Holgate Works will be handling much larger train sets that include multiple On-track Plant (OTP)/ On-track Machines (OTMs), and other specialist vehicles with significantly increased tare weights and train set lengths. The shunting equipment referred to above does not possess the capacity to handle such equipment without the application of inefficient and time-consuming working practices, such as splitting trains into single vehicles in the yard before transferring them to the workshop for overhaul.

The requirement is to replace the existing equipment with an electric-poweered shunter that has the capacity to transfer complete wagon sets from the yard to the workshop

It is Network Rail’s aspiration to source a solution that has the capability to operate both on and off-rail.

In addition, as part of Network Rail’s drive to support the climate change and sustainability agenda, an electric-powered shunter (rather than a diesel one) has been specified.