Ecofret is changing the economics of container haulage

The Ecofret can carry 9ft 6in high, 40ft and 20ft boxes on W10 gauge cleared routes. According to the company it provides an economical and environmentally-friendly alternative to other container wagons because it maximises the number of boxes that can be carried within a given train length. Thanks also to a newly-designed 840mm wheel diameter bogie, it also offers track friendly ride performance, which helps reduce track access charges.

Ecofrets comprise a twin set of 40ft deck length wagons designed to maximise the number of 40ft containers that can be hauled per train without empty running or 20ft wasted spaces. The wagons can be arranged in either twin or triple platform configurations and, by mixing 11 triples and 2 twin platforms, it is possible to carry 37 x 40ft boxes (74 teu) in an 80 SLU, 512 m long train.

This is a 32% improvement over a train of Megafrets which would only carry 28 x 40ft boxes (56 teu) in the same train length. The Ecofret also eliminates the empty 20ft slots on FEA 60ft flats caused by the imbalance of 20ft to 40ft boxes.