MICHAEL
SCHABA
FREIGHT
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Michael Schabas was a founder Director of GB Railways, which established GB Railfreight (GBRf) in 2001; it is now Britain’s third largest rail freight operator with more than 250 staff and 30 locomotives.
GBRf hauls bulk cargoes such as coal and gypsum, time-sensitive parcels for Royal Mail, and intermodal container trains between deep sea ports and inland terminals. GBRf also operates trains for track maintenance and renewals on Britain's national rail and London Underground networks. GBRf was named "Rail Business of the Year" in the HSBC Rail Awards 2002.
2007 Advised the RDC consortium bidding to acquire MAV Cargo, the Hungarian state-owned railfreight company. The consortium was shortlisted but decided not to prepare a final bid.
2005 Advised FirstGroup in its bid to acquire Cargo Slovakia, a state-owned railfreight company. First was shortlisted but decided not to prepare a final bid.
2004 Led a group of investors who acquired an interest in Ofotbanen, an independent rail operator carrying passengers and freight in Norway and Sweden.
2002 Supported the Babcock & Brown/GBRf bid to acquire WestRail, the Western Australia freight railways.
2001 Assisted International Sea Ports in evaluating options for developing rail access to a new port in Dharma, Orissa, India. In collaboration with NM Rothschild.
1999 GB Railways led the acquisition of Edelaraudtee, a passenger and freight railway in Estonia and the first fully privatised railway in the former Soviet Union.
1999 Led the GB Railways team bidding to acquire Malawi Railways.
GUEST SPEAKER
Central European Railway Freight Conference, Budapest, October 2006.
Investing in
Railways: Buyer's Perspectives, World Bank, Washington, March 2005
TransAfrica Investment Forum, London, May 2001
World Bank Railway Roundtable, Vienna, September 1999
Africa Rail '98, Johannesburg, September 1998
Updated June 2008
GB Railfreight now hauls bulk cargoes like coal and stone, intermodal containers from deep sea ports to inland terminals and time-sensitive parcels for Royal Mail