Tag: UK

First group extends Royal Mail contract to move mail by rail until 2010

Posted by | Jun 15, 2007 | |

FirstGroup-owned rail freight company FirstGBRf said it has extended its contract with Royal Mail to transport post until 2010.

The deal will see the freight haulier move more than 1 million items a day on two return services between Willesden in London, Warrington and Wishaw in Scotland.

FirstGBRf started carrying post for Royal Mail at the end of 2004, marking a return to the railways for the postal service following the end of its contract with previous postal train operator English, Welsh & Scottish Railway due to a disagreement over costs.

FirstGBRf did not disclose the value of the contract.

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Royal Mail trials electric vehicles

Posted by | Jun 14, 2007 | |

Smith Electric Vehicles has won its first order from the Royal Mail – one of each of the Edison and Newton delivery vehicles. The vehicles will be trialled in London, in parcel and post distribution operations.

Edison is a sub-3.5t electric van, built using the Ford Transit shell. Newton is sold in 7.5t and 9t configurations. Both vehicles have restricted top speeds of up to 50mph and are capable of covering 150 miles on one battery charge.

Royal Mail has a fleet of more than 33,000 delivery vehicles operating across the UK, including approximately 10,700 3.5t vans and 2,500 7.5 tonners.

The manufacturer is installing extra electric vehicle production capacity at Vigo Centre, its 250,000sq ft assembly facility in Tyne & Wear, UK.

Darren Kell, chief executive of Smith’s parent company Tanfield, said: “The adoption of the Low Emission Zone in London and expected road pricing in 10 other urban conurbations across the UK will significantly increase the addressable market for electric vehicles.”

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TNT flies in to help charity auction showpiece

Posted by | Jun 14, 2007 | |

A three-year crusade to create a unique memento of rugby history and raise thousands of pounds for one of Britain’s best-loved charities was facing disaster before express delivery giants TNT stepped in.

Champion fundraiser Russell Burton spent three painstaking years collecting all but two of the signatures of all the players and coaching staff involved in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final.

Each member of the English and Australian squads had signed the matchday programme so that he could auction it on behalf of Mencap – the UK’s leading learning disability charity.

With the deadline for the London auction looming, Russell still required two Aussie names to complete the precious programme. It was despatched to the other side of the world but then it became snagged in bureaucratic red tape in Japan. At that point Russell, from Basingstoke, Hants, called TNT to try and get the one-off souvenir back in time to go under the auctioneer’s hammer.

TNT flew the programme free of charge, back to the UK just in time for TV chat show host, Michael Parkinson, to successfully bid for the item at London’s Whitehall Palace.

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