Military rail escorts will be travelling in brand new coaches from now on when accompanying military transports deploying by train.  The new Military Escort Coach (MEC) replaces the Van Rail Escort (VRE), which have been removed from service. 

In a ceremony held at DSDA Dülmen, GOC UKSC, Major General Mungo Melvin named the first coach ‘Montgomery’. [pictured below]

A contract has been agreed with the Deutsche Bahn (DB) military logistics department, responsible for the movement of freight by rail within Germany for the NATO Forces, to form a joint wagon pool of 12 Militärbegleitwagen (MBW), owned by DB Schenker Rail Deutschland AG.

Subsequently a further contract was agreed with Gräfner Alarmanlagen GmbH, to fit each coach with CCTV and monitors as surveillance equipment and the coaches were then re-named Military Escort Coach (MEC).  The use of thermal-imaging cameras ensures that surveillance can be carried out 24 hours/day.  A compartment in each coach was converted into an office for the duty escorts by DSDA Dülmen.  The coaches can accommodate 48 passengers, and there are cooking facilities with hot plates, microwave oven, water heater, coffee machine and a refrigerator. [below]

The MEC will be held in Dülmen Depot and the disposition of the coaches will be co-ordinated by G4 Log Sp (Rail) in HQ UKSC and Herr Krumminga from DB.  His team organises the military trains as requested by the Forces, providing the correct rolling stock and troop-carrying coaches as requested, arranging the timetables through DB Netz, measuring out-of-gauge equipment and more.  Specialised railway technical repairs will be carried out by the DB Workshops in Hannover, and non-specialised repairs will be carried out by the DSDA Workshops in Dülmen.

Mrs Joyce Hughes, the G4 Rail Executive, who has played a central role in developing the contract, said: “These coaches provide the escorts with a much higher standard of comfort when travelling and the CCTV provides a much better means of surveillance, so that the British Forces can regard the demise of the VRE as a win-win situation.”