02.07.01

Porterbrook Leasing Company Limited ("Porterbrook"), a subsidiary of Abbey National Treasury Services plc, has been awarded the contract to finance 845 HTA coal hopper wagons for English Welsh and Scottish Railway Ltd (EWS).

The wagons will be manufactured by Thrall in York, and are designed to be hauled by EWS’s fleet of Class 66 locomotives.

Each wagon can convey 75 tons of coal and weighs 102 tons when fully loaded.

These new wagons will be used to replace half of EWS’s existing HAA hopper fleet, the majority of which are over 30 years old. Due to their greater carrying capacity they will give EWS a significant increase in productivity.

It is understood that EWS will use these new HTA wagons on coal traffics to UK power stations and to major industrial users.

This contract marks a further increase in Porterbrook’s freight rolling stock portfolio.

Contact
Karen Jackson
Porterbrook Leasing
Tel: 01332 263224

Graham Meiklejohn
English Welsh & Scottish Railway
Tel: 0207 713 2486

Note to Editors
Porterbrook Leasing Company Limited ("Porterbrook") is a leading player in the UK rail leasing market. Porterbrook has a rolling stock fleet of about 3,885 vehicles on lease periods up to 2011, which includes about 3,200 passenger vehicles. These are supplied under operating leases to 18 of the 25 operating companies (TOCs) within the UK. The company also provides ongoing train and tram maintenance services, most of which are outsourced. Porterbrook has been highly successful in winning new train orders since privatisation, with £800 million in new business won since its acquisition by Stagecoach in 1996 – investing in over 1000 new vehicles and in the refurbishment of much of its in fleet equipment. In April 2000 Porterbrook was acquired by Abbey National Treasury Services (ANTS).

English Welsh and Scottish Railways (EWS) Britain’s largest rail freight operator, moves over 100 million tonnes of freight each year and runs over 7000 trains each week. EWS hauls bulk freight; intermodal; international traffic via the Channel Tunnel; mail and parcels; infrastructure maintenance for Railtrack; special passenger trains; and carries out train maintenance and driver hire.