High electricity costs are forcing Deutsche Bahn Cargo to withdraw the Class 90

DB Cargo has stored its last five active Class 90 electric locomotives with 25 kW AC efficiency, citing increased tariffs for electricity in the UK as the reason for replacing Class 66s on the West Coast Main Line’s intermodal line.

It replaces its dual voltage class 92s (currently only used on HS1) and adapts them for use on the WCML.

Financial burden

In a recent statement to staff cited by media outlet RAIL, DB Cargo announced that the decision was taken because it felt it was “not commercially viable to operate the 90s classes due to continued high energy costs”. Customers “have to take on the additional financial burden”.

The company added:

– In the current economic environment, when we have a replacement fleet of Class 66s at our disposal, it does not make sense to incur additional costs to operate and maintain the Class 90s.

Keep lobbying

But the move will not come at the expense of its decarbonisation strategy, the report said, with the company “continuing to lobby to support biofuels and synthetic fuels for its diesel fleet”.

According to the news:

– DBC must be financially and environmentally sustainable, which means we use our assets differently than we did in the past. Now let’s look at our disposal options with a view to maximizing their value through scrapping or sale.

Source: TBC