English Welsh & Scottish Railway Holdings Ltd has placed an order for 255 new rail freight wagons for services in Britain and France.

105 low-sided box wagons have been ordered by EWS Network to support its seven year infrastructure haulage contract with Network Rail. These 90 tonne wagons are being manufactured in Poland by Greenbrier.

The first set of 15 wagons is currently receiving extensive testing in Poland, and should arrive into Britain during January. The remaining wagons will be sent from Greenbrier to EWS Network in batches, with the final wagons expected by late spring 2008. The wagons have been fitted with Axiom Rail’s AMIII suspension systems.

Stuart Boner, Managing Director for EWS Network, said: “Network Rail is an important customer for EWS Network and we are delighted to be receiving new wagons early next year to support our services for them.”

In France, Euro Cargo Rail has received the first stage of an order for 150 aggregate wagons. The first 44 wagons were delivered to Euro Cargo Rail in early December and immediately entered into service. The remaining 106 wagons are expected to be delivered early next year.

These 90 tonne capacity wagons are being built by Arbel Fauvet Rail at Douai in northern France.

Alain Thauvette, Director-General of Euro Cargo Rail France, said: “These new wagons will help Euro Cargo Rail France to continue delivering the high levels of reliability and punctuality that our customers expect. They are an important addition to our fleet as we expand across France. We look forward to winning more new to rail traffic as these wagons are delivered.”