DB Cargo UK has agreed to sell 25 Class 66 locomotives to Romania’s largest private railway company, Grup Feroviar Roman (GFR).
Under the multi-million-pound deal, the first Class 66 (66014) will leave DB Cargo UK’s traction maintenance depot at Toton in Nottinghamshire at the end of January 2026, with all 25 due to be delivered by mid-2028.
Before being transported to mainland Europe, all the locomotives will be reinstated to current UK operational standards and repainted blue.
DB Cargo UK’s newly appointed engineering director Wayne Miller said the decision to sell the Class 66 locomotives was part of the company’s ongoing optimisation of its fleet.
“These locomotives are surplus to DB’s requirements and will still leave ample locomotives in our fleet to meet predicted traffic growth in future years. We’re proud to be reinstating the locomotives at our centre of excellence in Toton, and look forward to further developing this partnership,” he said.
Grup Feroviar Roman is the flagship company of GRAMPET Group — the largest private freight rail transporter and logistics operator in Central and South-Eastern Europe, with over 7,500 employees and operations in 10 European countries: Romania, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Moldova, Serbia, Greece, Slovenia, and Macedonia.
With nearly 25 years of experience, GFR has established itself as a leader in the railway transport market in Romania, by providing high-quality integrated services to its customers. Operating a fleet of over 15,000 wagons and 350 locomotives, it transports goods to thousands of destinations – both nationally and internationally.
Sorin Chinde, chairman of the board of directors of Grup Feroviar Roman (GFR) and vice president of the GRAMPET Group, said: “This acquisition aligns with GRAMPET Group’s strategy of investing in high-performance rolling stock that enhances our operational efficiency. The locomotives purchased by Grup Feroviar Roman from DB Cargo UK will become the backbone of the operator’s diesel fleet in the years ahead.
“The replacement of the current LDE 2100 locomotive fleet, used for diesel traction, was necessary due to the rising maintenance costs of the existing fleet, caused by their age and the increasing difficulty of sourcing spare parts. The superior power characteristics and high availability of the Class 66 locomotives will allow us to withdraw from service a larger number of 2,100 HP locomotives than the number of units purchased from DB Cargo UK.”
Image credit: DB Cargo UK
