Colas Rail
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railway infrastructure and freight transport |
| Predecessor | Seco Rail, Carillion Rail Plant division, AMEC-Spie rail division |
| Founder | SECO (Société d'Études et de Construction d'Outillage) |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom, France, Morocco |
| Products | Railway infrastructure services, Freight operations |
| Owner | Bouygues (parent company) |
Number of employees | 1500 (2016) |
| Parent | Bouygues |
Colas Rail is a railway infrastructure firm and freight operator based in the United Kingdom, operating as a subsidiary of Bouygues.
Initially established as Seco Rail by SECO (Société d'Études et de Construction d'Outillage), the company concentrated on railway construction and maintenance projects, including a key role in the initial phase of High Speed 1. In 2006, it ventured into the UK rail freight sector, starting with aggregate transport using leased rolling stock. The following year marked Seco Rail’s acquisition of its first locomotives and a steady freight customer, Kronospan. In 2008, Colas Group restructured its rail divisions by merging Seco Rail with AMEC-Spie and Carillion’s former plant division, resulting in the formation of Colas Rail.
During the late 2000s and throughout the 2010s, Colas Rail broadened its freight operations to include coal and steel transportation, expanding its locomotive fleet with models such as Class 56s, Class 66s, and Class 70s. By 2016, it was ranked among Network Rail’s five largest contractors and employed around 1,500 staff in the UK. On an international scale, Colas Rail acted as the lead contractor for Morocco’s Al Boraq high-speed rail project and contributed to significant UK infrastructure works like enhancements at London Waterloo station and upgrades to the West Midlands Metro. Additionally, it took part in constructing the Contournement Nîmes – Montpellier high-speed line in France.
History
Seco Rail was founded by French railway engineering company SECO, specializing in track upkeep, line building, and urban transit solutions. In 2000, road construction leader Colas Group acquired SECO, extending Seco Rail’s reach beyond France to the UK and Belgium. A notable achievement was delivering trackwork, electrification, and system installations for High Speed 1’s first phase.
Entering the UK freight market in 2006, Seco Rail initially transported aggregates. By 2007, it operated timber trains for Kronospan between Carlisle and Chirk using leased locomotives. That same year, Colas procured three Class 47 diesel locomotives from EWS to operate railhead treatment trains under contract to Network Rail.
In January 2008, Colas Group purchased Carillion Rail’s Plant division—comprising tampers, regulators, cranes, and switch-handling equipment—creating the largest modern on-track plant fleet in the UK. Following this acquisition, Seco Rail combined with Carillion Rail and AMEC-Spie under the new Colas Rail brand.
By late 2008, Colas began running steel trains from Immingham to Washwood Heath using leased Class 56 locomotives. In 2009, steel services expanded from Burton upon Trent to Dollands Moor utilizing its own Class 47s. Later that year, it leased four Class 66 locomotives formerly operated by Advenza Freight and eventually purchased replacements after changes to leasing agreements. This period also marked Colas’ entry into coal haulage in the UK by mid-2011.
In December 2011, Colas introduced a Kronospan timber service between Gloucester and Newton Abbot employing Class 66 locomotives. Trial runs on the West Coast Main Line occurred in late 2012 with Class 86 locomotives and again in 2014 using Class 60s.
The company expanded its locomotive inventory in April 2012 by acquiring four Class 56 units; ownership grew to eleven by early 2014. In May of that year, it took over Pullman Rail’s rolling stock maintenance operations based in Cardiff.
In April 2013, Colas formed a joint venture with Go-Ahead Group aiming to bid for the Docklands Light Railway franchise but withdrew before completion that same year.
November 2013 saw Colas place an order for ten American-built Class 70 diesel locomotives from GE Transportation while also purchasing four preserved Class 37s for mainline usage. The subsequent year included acquiring ten Class 60 locomotives from DB Schenker with an option for an additional ten. To prepare for operating Network Rail infrastructure trains, further Class 37 acquisitions occurred mid-2015. By late 2016, Colas ranked among Network Rail’s top five contractors with a substantial workforce across the UK.
In late-2017 and mid-2018, as part of fleet streamlining efforts, Colas divested its Class 47 and Class 60 locomotives to GB Railfreight.
Throughout the 2010s internationally, Colas served as lead contractor on Morocco’s Al Boraq high-speed rail project and contributed to major UK infrastructure initiatives such as London Waterloo station improvements and West Midlands Metro upgrades. It also participated in France’s Contournement Nîmes – Montpellier high-speed rail development and has been an advocate for advancing High Speed 2 in the UK.
In 2018, Colas called on Network Rail to clarify future freight path commitments to encourage investment in emerging rail freight markets like parcel delivery services.
August 2021 saw Colas sell its Pullman Rail engineering division to Transport for Wales. In February 2022, it successfully completed a trial timber haulage operation from Devon to Monmouthshire on behalf of Euroforest Ltd.
Fleet details
By 2016, Colas Rail managed a varied collection of on-track machinery dedicated to maintenance, which was considered the largest fleet of its type within the UK.
Current fleet
| Class | Image | Type | Manufactured | Quantity | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09-16 CSM Tamper / Liner | Tamping Machine | 1988 | 1 | ||||||
| 08-16(32)U RT Plain Line Tamper | Tamping Machine | 2002 | 1 | ||||||
| 08-4x4/4S-RT Switch & Crossing Tamper | Tamping Machine | 1998-2010 | 14 | ||||||
| 08-12/4x4C-RT Switch & Crossing Tamper | Tamping Machine | 2000 | 1 | ||||||
| 08-16/4x4C100-RT Tamper | Tamping Machine | 2001-2002 | 6 | ||||||
| B41UE Tamper | Tamping Machine | 2005-2006 | 2 | ||||||
| USP5000C Ballast Regulator | Ballast Regulator | 1983 | 1 | ||||||
| USP5000RT Ballast Regulator | Ballast Regulator | 2003 | 1 | ||||||
| Unimat 09-4x4/4S Dynamic Tamper | Tamping Machine | 2018-2020 | 4 | ||||||
| Self-Propelled Heavy Duty Twin Jib Crane | Railway Crane | 1980 | 2 | ||||||
| KRC1200UK Heavy Duty Diesel Hydraulic Crane | Railway Crane | 2005 | 1 |
Total |
34 |
| Class | Image | Type | Year Introduced | Quantity | Wheel Configuration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Rail Class 37 | Diesel locomotive | 1960-1965 | 8 | Co-Co | |
| British Rail Class 43 (HST) | 1975-1982 | 10 | Bo-Bo | ||
| British Rail Class 56 | 1976-1984 | 10 | Co-Co | ||
| British Rail Class 66 | 1998-2015 | 5 | Co-Co | ||
| British Rail Class 67 | 1999-2000 | 2 | Bo-Bo | ||
| British Rail Class 70 (diesel) | 2014, 2016-17 | 17 | Co-Co | ||
|
Total |
52 |
Former fleet
-|British Rail Class 66 -|British Rail Class 86| Class | Image | Type | Year Introduced | Quantity Owned | Wheel Configuration | Unit Numbers | Subsequent Owner(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Rail Class 37 | Diesel locomotive | 1960-1965 | 1 | Co-Co | 37521 | Locomotive Services Limited | |
| British Rail Class 43 (HST) | 1975-1982 | 3 | Bo-Bo | 43045, 43050, 43060 | |||
| British Rail Class 47 | 1962-1967 | 3 | Co-Co | 47727, 47739, 47749 | GB Railfreight | ||
| British Rail Class 60 | 1989 | 10 | 60002, 60021, 60026, 60047, 60056, 60076, 60085, 60087, 60095–60096 | ||||
| "Diesel-electric locomotive" | "1998-2015" | "5" | "66841–66845" | "" | |||
| "Electric locomotive" | "1965-1966" | "1" | "Bo-Bo" | "86701" | "Exported to Bulgaria." |