A new £2.5m maintenance depot has opened for the rail freight industry.

GB Railfreight (GBRf), one of the UK’s largest transporters of consumer and business goods, commissioned the building in Tonbridge.

It was built by Leeds-based contractors Cairn Cross and will provide a purpose-built hub to maintain GBRf’s Class 73, 69 and 66 locomotive fleets.

The building will be operated by various partners including EMD, Wabtec and St. Leonard’s Railway Engineering and will bolster the efficiency of the locomotive maintenance regime.

It was formally opened by GBRf’s CEO John Smith and by the director general of the Rail Freight Group, Maggie Simpson.

The new hub will complement the group’s existing sites in Doncaster and Peterborough and should result in significant carbon savings from reduced journey lengths for maintenance required by locomotives operaung in the south east.

The company said that Tonbridge was a strategically important site for GBRf, which also provides rail- head treatment services for Network Rail from the site.

These services, which ensure the smooth running of the passenger trains by cleaning the tracks of fallen leaves, snow and ice mean that commuters will benefit from safer, more reliable passenger rail services across the south east.

Mr Smith said: “Our new facility at Tonbridge demonstrates our commitment to continued investment and innovation in the rail network.

“The Tonbridge site will lead to increased efficiency for our locomotive fleet, which will benefit our customers, and the operation of rail head treatment services will improve passenger experiences and safety across the region.”

GB Railfreight was founded in 1999 and now employs 1,400 staff across the UK.

The company already employs 40 people at Tonbridge. This number is not expected to increase, but they will be able to work more efficiently.