ACTS Nederland BV
Encyclopedia
Husa Transportation Group (formerly Husa Capital) is a group of railfreight, logistics and rail services companies founded in 1998, the groups main business arm on foundation was ACTS Nederland BV (ACTS), founded 1989, an open access freight operator in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

.

History

ACTS Nederland BV was founded in 1989, and developed systems for transloading
Transloading
For the data downloading process, see sideload.Transloading is the process of transferring a shipment from one mode of transportation to another. It is most commonly employed when one mode cannot be used for the entire trip, as for instance when goods must be shipped internationally from one inland...

 of containerised waste from road to rail without the use of cranes.The system was named the Afzet Container Transport Systeem, giving rise to the acronym ACTS. (see also ACTS (containersysteem) dutch language or Abrollcontainer-Transportsystem german language) In 1997 the ACTS container service were discontinued by NS Cargo. Subsequently ACTS gained a license to operate as a railway company, and on 16 March 1998 began to operate waste container trains between Groningen and VAMVuil Afvoer Maatschappij (VAM) was a waste disposal company. (See also VAM dutch language) in Wijster
Wijster
Wijster is a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, and lies about 11 km north of Hoogeveen.In 2001, the town of Wijster had 462 inhabitants...

, becoming the first private Dutch rail company. In 1999 the company began transporting ISO Containers for
Vos Logistics.

In 2004 Husa Capital BV obtained a majority of shares in ACTS, Ir John Hoekwater, ACTS's founding director was replaced by Rob van Gansewinkel. By 2004 ACTS had acquired a 7% market share of rail freight in the Netherlands.

In the summer of 2006 ACTS in association with the Dutch railway infrastructure authority ProRail
ProRail
In the Netherlands, ProRail is a government task organisation that takes care of maintenance and extensions of the national railway network infrastructure , of allocating rail capacity, and of traffic control...

 operated test trains on the Betuweroute
Betuweroute
The Betuweroute is a double track freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany. Betuweroute is the official name, after the Betuwe area through which it passes, but the line is popularly referred to as Betuwelijn, after an older track in the same region. The Germans have named their part the...

. In January 2007 ACTS obtained certification to operate on the German rail system.

By January 2008 Husa Capitals stake in ACTS had risen above 90%, and at the beginning of the same year ACTS was reorganised into independent operating companies with rolling stock leasing being taken over by RailMotion AG (Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...

, Switzerland); the company inherited over 300 intermodal wagons. On the same date rolling stock maintenance was split into the company The Rail Factory BV based at Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland, about 60 miles south east of Amsterdam, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a regional centre and has 155,000 . The municipality of Apeldoorn, including villages like Beekbergen, Loenen and Hoenderloo, has over 155,000...

 and Amersfoort
Amersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...

, and specialising in the maintenance of locomotives. A business sub-unit Portfeeders was also formed, to concentrate on 'feeder operations' (shunting) in the Port of Rotterdam
Port of Rotterdam
The Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004 it was the world's busiest port, now overtaken by first Shanghai and then Singapore...

.

On 23 January 2008 ACTS obtained certification to operate on the Belgian railway network from the national railway network company Infrabel
Infrabel
Infrabel is a Belgian government-owned public limited company. It was created on 1 January 2005 from the split of the once unitary SNCB/NMBS. It builds, maintains and upgrades the Belgian railway network, makes its capacity available to railway companies, and handles the train traffic control. ...

.

In January 2009 Husa Capital BV renamed itself Husa Transportation Group.

Husa Transportation Deutschland was formed by the acquisition of Rent-a-rail GmbH (railway construction locomotive leasing) and SRS RailService (rolling stock broker) in May 2009.

De Vries Transport Services, based in Veendam
Veendam
Veendam is a municipality and a town in the northeastern Dutch province of Groningen.A Holland America Line cruise ship, the MS Veendam, is named after the city.- Population centres :...

 was acquired in September 2009 after bankruptcy, and renamed InterModal Solutions Veendam (IMS-Veendam). The company undertakes road transport, and operates terminals in Veendam and Leeuwarden. Bulk cargo handling (powders and granules) is carried out at Veendam, and warehousing at the Groningen Railport intermodal terminal in Veendam.

Group structure

Since the end of 2008 the group is divided into three divisions Husa Railway Services (rail freight and leasing), Husa Logistic Services (intermodal freight) and Husa Rolling Stock Services (locomotive and rolling stock maintenance).

The subdivisions are:
  • Husa Railway Services
    • ACTS Railways
    • Portfeeders
    • Husa Transportation Deutschland
  • Husa Logistics Services
    • IMS
    • Shuttlewise, joint venture with Den Hartog Logistics
  • Husa Rolling Stock Services
    • The Railfactory
    • Rail Service Benelux, joint venture with WRS (Westdeutsche Rail Service GmbH.), (Duisburg
      Duisburg
      - History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...

      )

ACTS

The company began rail operations in 1999, and by 2000 had five 1500V DC ex-NS Class 1200
NS Class 1200
The Nederlandse Spoorwegen Class 1200 were a class of electric locomotives that were in service from 1951 until 1998. They were designed by Baldwin and built by Werkspoor between 1951 and 1953. The electrical parts were built by Heemaf to a design by Westinghouse...

s, 5 ex-SNCB Class 62
SNCB Class 62
- Class 62 Locomotives :These diesels can be found all over Belgium. 5 have been sold on to ACTS in the Netherlands by SNCB.4 units are outfitted with TBL2 signaling and a Scharfenberg coupler. This is for hauling broken-down or unpowered TGVs on line 2. They display the letters "TBL2" on the...

 diesel mainline locomotives and ex-Czech Railways diesel shunters built in East Germany. The 1200 electrics and 6700 diesels were modified to work in multiple and were often used in pairs for better performance.

In 2003 three ex-British Rail Class 58
British Rail Class 58
The British Rail Class 58 is a class of Co-Co diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight. Introduced in 1983, they followed American practice of modularisation. From new they were painted in grey Railfreight Sector livery, instead of BR blue...

s were acquired, which operated until 2009 when EMD Series 66
EMD Series 66
The Electro-Motive Diesel Class 66 is a series of Co-Co six axle diesel locomotives built by EMD for the European heavy freight market....

 leased from Mitsui Rail Capital
Mitsui Rail Capital
Mitsui Rail Capital is a railways rolling stock leasing company and part of Mitsui & Co. based in Japan. Its main activities are the purchase and rental of railway freight cars and locomotives.- United States :...

 (MCRE) began to replace them. MaK / Vossloh G1206
MaK / Vossloh G1206
The Vossloh G1206 is a B'B' diesel hydraulic freight locomotive built in Kiel and used by several European railway operators including a SNCF specific variant the BB 461000 series....

 (light freight and shunting) locomotives also began to be leased on short and long term contracts from MRCE and Angel Trains Cargo after 2004.

In 2008 ACTS started to acquire a second set of 1500V DC locomotives, former NS Class 1600
NS Class 1600
The NS Class 1600 is a type of B-B electric locomotive built by Alsthom between 1980 and 1983 based on the SNCF Class BB 7200, and in use by the Dutch Railways since 1981....

 machines from Railion
Railion
DB Schenker Rail is a European railway cargo carrier. The company was formed from the freight operating section of the Deutsche Bahn DB Cargo with the addition of various European rail freight operating companies.In December 2007 Railion became part of the DB Schenker logistics group, itself a...

 Nederlands., and from 2009 onwards mainline freight locomotives Vossloh G2000 BB
Vossloh G2000 BB
The Vossloh G 2000 BB is a four axle heavy shunting and mainline locomotive built at the former MaK plant in Kiel. At the time of its introduction in 2000 it was the most powerful hydraulic transmission locomotive in Vossloh's range....

 were leased from Angel Trains Cargo and MRCE.

In 2009 ACTS leased its first Eurosprinter
EuroSprinter
The EuroSprinter family of electric locomotives is a modular concept of locomotives for the European market built by Siemens. The internal Siemens product name is ES 64, with ES for EuroSprinter and the number 64 indicating the 6,400 kW power at rail.Additional information is given in the name...

 ES 64 F4 quad-voltage freight locomotive.
ACTS class Locomotive type Service dates Total units
cumulative
notes
E 1250 NS Class 1200
NS Class 1200
The Nederlandse Spoorwegen Class 1200 were a class of electric locomotives that were in service from 1951 until 1998. They were designed by Baldwin and built by Werkspoor between 1951 and 1953. The electrical parts were built by Heemaf to a design by Westinghouse...

1999-2009 5 The locomotives were to be scrapped; ACTS took legal action with an appeal to the Netherlands Competition Authority
Netherlands Competition Authority
The Netherlands Competition Authority is the competition regulator for the Netherlands.- External links :*...

 (Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit) since the locomotives had not been offered for sale, and Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands.Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national railinfrastructure, operated by ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003...

 was not facilitating a sale to potential competitors.
2 units sold to Euro-Express-Treincharter B.V. (EETC)
DH 6000 ČD Class 716The shunters were of Deutsche Reichsbahn V 60 4 axle type (see DR-Baureihe V 60 german language) manufactured at LEW-Hennigsdorf
LEW Hennigsdorf
The rail vehicle factory in Hennigsdorf, Germany was founded in 1910 by AEG. Locomotive production began in 1913, and in the 1930s absorbed the work of the August Borsig locomotive factory, being renamed the Borsig Lokomotiv Werke GmbH until 1944...

 for the Czech railways.

DR V 60
2000- 5 3 units (6003 to 6005) sold to Euro-Express-Treincharter B.V. (EETC)
DE 6700 SNCB Class 62
SNCB Class 62
- Class 62 Locomotives :These diesels can be found all over Belgium. 5 have been sold on to ACTS in the Netherlands by SNCB.4 units are outfitted with TBL2 signaling and a Scharfenberg coupler. This is for hauling broken-down or unpowered TGVs on line 2. They display the letters "TBL2" on the...

1999- 5 SNCB numbers 6321, 6325, 6391, 6392 and 6393 were acquired for use, and were renumbered from 6701 onwards. 6290 was also acquired for spares.
DE 5800 British Rail Class 58
British Rail Class 58
The British Rail Class 58 is a class of Co-Co diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight. Introduced in 1983, they followed American practice of modularisation. From new they were painted in grey Railfreight Sector livery, instead of BR blue...

2003–2009 3 Acquired from EWS, former numbers EWS 58039, EWS 58044, EWS 58038 were renumbered 5811, 5812 and 5814 respectively.
G 1206 G 1206
MaK / Vossloh G1206
The Vossloh G1206 is a B'B' diesel hydraulic freight locomotive built in Kiel and used by several European railway operators including a SNCF specific variant the BB 461000 series....

2004–present over 10 Numbers used for the class by ACTS are 7100 and upwards
DE Class 66 EMD Series 66
EMD Series 66
The Electro-Motive Diesel Class 66 is a series of Co-Co six axle diesel locomotives built by EMD for the European heavy freight market....

2004- ~5 ~3 in service late 2010
NS Class 1600
NS Class 1600
The NS Class 1600 is a type of B-B electric locomotive built by Alsthom between 1980 and 1983 based on the SNCF Class BB 7200, and in use by the Dutch Railways since 1981....

2008- 4 Leased from subsidiary RailMotion
Vossloh G2000 BB 2009- 5 ~2/3 in service late 2010
ES 64 F4
2009- 4 Known as DBAG Class 189 when operating for Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...

, leased from MRCE
*Sources

RailMotion

Since the group restructuring in 2008 RailMotion AG owns wagons suitable for heavy 40' ISO containers, 60' ISO containers, and the ACTS container system, the company also owns and leases locomotives inherited from ACTS, as of January 2011 the company has ten ex-NS Class 1600
NS Class 1600
The NS Class 1600 is a type of B-B electric locomotive built by Alsthom between 1980 and 1983 based on the SNCF Class BB 7200, and in use by the Dutch Railways since 1981....

 electric locomotives.

Rent-a-Rail

Rent-a-Rail operates shunting locomotives typically of less than 1000 kW power, additionally one Vossloh G1206 and two re-engined DB Class V 100
DB Class V 100
These DB Class V 100 diesel locomotives were produced in the late 1950s by the Deutsche Bundesbahn for non-electrified branch lines as a replacement for steam locomotives...

, and an ex-Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...

 Class V 100 type are also operated as of 2010.

Liveries

The original ACTS livery was a deep blue with a thick horizontal yellow band, intended to be reminiscent of the American Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

, some locomotives were painted operated in the livery of one of ACTS customers, Vos Logistics, a livery of black with an orange stripe.

Later machines received a grey green livery; introduced in 2006, The ex-NS 1600 remained in the yellow-grey livery of their previous owner Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands.Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national railinfrastructure, operated by ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003...

, whilst other locomotives are in the livery of their leasing company. Some MaK G 1206s used for the Portfeeders subsiary have received a special livery - slate blue with orange and red shaped diagonal bands.

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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