{"id":417891,"date":"2026-04-30T17:21:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T07:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=70900"},"modified":"2026-04-30T17:21:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T07:21:59","slug":"class-93-uk-tour-continues-at-derby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=417891","title":{"rendered":"Class 93 UK tour continues at Derby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rail Operations Group has been showing off its new Class 93 locomotives recently, hosting guests at the historic Litchurch Lane Works. The event had more than a hint of a premium product launch about it. Glossy brochures, carefully curated presentations and even the chance for a select few to take what might best be described as a controlled \u201ctest drive\u201d.<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

There was a faint echo of showroom theatre in the air. No need for Arthur Daley\u2019s sheepskin overcoat in the warm, comfortable and well-soundproofed cabs. Instead, the pitch was all smooth lines and smarter performance, as befits their Stadler Swiss heritage (although built in Spain). Tri-mode for sure, but no co-mode mode just yet\u2014that convenience remains one for the future freight driver, even if much else here already feels like tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Boutique operator: Big ambitions<\/h2>\n

Rail Operations Group is a specialist rather than a traditional freight haulier<\/a>. It’s quietly\u00a0carving out a niche in vehicle movements and logistics support, as general manager Brian Fergusson explained. \u201cRail Operations Group consists of three companies. Rail Operations Group, Rail Assets Division, and Traction.\u201d<\/p>\n

ROG is now twelve years old. \u201cWe carry around about 3,500 moves every year,\u201d Fergusson continued. \u201cOur driver route knowledge consists of roughly about 70% of the UK rail network.\u201d That reach helps explain the thinking behind the investment. ROG has committed to an initial fleet of ten Class 93s, with options to expand to thirty, positioning itself to deploy the locomotives across a wide operational canvas.<\/p>\n

A three-way pitch for tri-mode<\/h2>\n

\u201cThis is your new locomotive, the Class 93 tri-mode loco,\u201d Fergusson told guests, none of whom were dressed like extras from Minder. Then again, the \u201993 is far more sophisticated than an eighties TV comedy drama. \u201cIt is the only production tri-mode locomotive today. We’re the first to have it in the UK. Electric, diesel hybrid and battery, which means we’ve got all three sustainable tractions that are on offer today.\u201d The sales line writes itself, but the engineering substance is hard to ignore.<\/p>\n

\"Class
Class 93 is partly obscured by a backlit correspondent. Image: \u00a9 Simon Walton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The brochure (yes, there is a brochure) leans heavily on that versatility. Three’s 4MW available under the wires, for primary. Then 900kW from a Stage V diesel engine and a further 400kW from battery packs. The Class 93 is designed to switch intelligently between power sources, and on the fly if necessary. This versatility eliminates diesel under the wires or the need for costly locomotive changes. It keeps trains moving across both electrified and non-electrified routes. If that means diverting through some suburban loop line in the dead of night, well, the battery pack is almost silent.<\/p>\n

Speedy, resilient, less idle<\/h2>\n

Much of the pitch revolves around time. The Class 93 is billed as a locomotive that \u201cremoves more than four hours of dwell time on modelled journeys\u201d. That\u2019s down to its ability to avoid traction changes and maintain performance across mixed infrastructure. Acceleration is another headline claim, with tractive effort sustained for longer than conventional diesel locomotives.<\/p>\n

\"Class
There’s even a glossy brochure for the marque. Image: \u00a9 Rail Operations Group<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fergusson pointed to recent trials, such as the DB Cargo lift out of Liverpool<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ve managed to take 2100 tons over Shap,\u201d he says, referring to the challenging high point on the West Coast Main Line. \u201cIn an intermodal trial, we\u2019ve done 1750 tons in really bad weather over Beattock summit (in Scotland).\u201d The implication is clear. This may be a Euro-Dual platform, but there are fewer compromises on gradients\u00a0and less need for double-heading. It\u2019s a locomotive that can keep time even when the network does not always cooperate – and we all get to experience it for ourselves with a brief \u2018cab ride\u2019 along the Alstom tracks at Derby.<\/p>\n

From brochure promise to business case<\/h2>\n

Beyond the showroom gloss, the numbers begin to matter. The Class 93 is presented as capable of reducing operating costs by around 12% per month in typical use cases, with modelled savings of roughly \u00a322,000 per month (about \u20ac25,750) on a representative flow. Regenerative braking, lower maintenance requirements and reduced fuel consumption all feature in the calculation.<\/p>\n

Environmental performance is equally prominent. The brochure claims emissions reductions of up to 98% on mixed-mode journeys, with battery operation enabling zero-emission running on final-mile sections.\u201cIt\u2019s definitely the future,\u201d as Fergusson put it. \u201cIt\u2019s just finding that hole, really, where it\u2019s going to run for the first time in the UK.\u201d For now, all ten locomotives have been delivered, with a growing number accepted into service and working trials and early diagrams. Test drive, anyone? No, sorry, doesn\u2019t come with a sunroof. Yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rail Operations Group has been showing off its new Class 93 locomotives recently, hosting guests at the historic Litchurch Lane Works. The event had more\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[182,20182,1203,2349,16876,471,47,1206,48,1208,85],"tags":[12634],"class_list":["post-417891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alstom","category-brian-fergusson","category-class-93","category-derby","category-litchurch-lane","category-news","category-rail-news","category-rail-operations-group","category-technology","category-tri-mode","category-uk","tag-railfreight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=417891"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":417996,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417891\/revisions\/417996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=417891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=417891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=417891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}