UK Rail Leasing


UK Rail Leasing is a railway company in Leicester offering locomotive leasing and rail vehicle engineering services.

History

UKRL was founded in September 2013 by Ed Stevenson and Mark Winter, taking a three-year lease on DB Schenker's long disused Leicester depot. By November a fleet of 16 former DB Schenker Class 56 and two Class 37/9 diesel locomotives had been purchased.
In November 2014, its first locomotive was certified for main line use and hired to Freightliner. By November 2015, a further two had been certified for main line use.
In June 2018, all 16 Class 56s were sold to GB Railfreight with some moving from Leicester to Electro-Motive Diesel's Longport facility.

Services

Leasing

UKRL hired out its three overhauled Class 56s to other operators. This ceased with the sale of the locomotives in 2016.

Maintenance services

As well as overhauling its own fleet, UKRL has undertaken overhaul work for Electric Traction Limited, Europhoenix and Rail Operations Group.

Design Innovations

Locomotive to multiple unit tightlock coupler

A significant proportion of Rail Operations Group second generation multiple unit moves involved use of translator vehicles, as the locomotive was unable to connect directly to the tightlock coupler. On 10 July 2017 a pair of class 319 multiple units were hauled by a Class 37 leased to ROG fitted with the new coupler.