In 2004, English Welsh & Scottish Railway lodged an application for an operating licence in France. This was awarded in November 2005. Operations commenced in May 2006. It subsequently applied to operate in Belgium and Germany. ECR was included in the sale of EWS to Deutsche Bahn in 2007. By 2008 it was the second rail freight company in France after SNCF with a 5.3% market share. By 2010 the company's market share was estimated at 8%. In October 2010 ECR formed a joint venture with the Port of La Rochelle, called OFP La Rochelle. In 2017, ECR sold its stake.
Fleet
The initial operations of ECR were carried out with four leased Vossloh G1206diesel locomotives, maintenance of the locomotives was to be carried out at EWS's Dollands Moor Freight Yard in England, so the locomotives were given a TOPS classification number, Class 21. From 2007 to 2009 the company also acquired several Vossloh G1000 BB locomotives, and briefly leased 3 TRAXX F140 AC locomotives from MRCE in 2007; these were return from lease in 2008. The company began leasing around ten Vossloh G2000 locomotives, and five Vossloh Euro 4000 locomotives in 2008-9 from Angel Trains Cargo. In 2008 two TRAXX F140 MS locomotives operating in ECR livery were used for homologation of the type in France and Belgium; certification was obtained in July 2009. The two locomotives formed part of an order of 20 units delivery in 2009/10. 45 more units were ordered in 2009 to be split between DB Schenker and ECR, and delivered from 2010 onwards. In January 2006, the first Class 66 was transferred from EWS to ECR; by November 2007 fifty locomotives had been transferred. In late 2007 the first of an order for 60 new EMD Series 66 locomotives were delivered. as the Class 77 from 77001 to 77060. However only half ended up being delivered to ECR, the balance being delivered to DB Cargo in Germany and these too have gradually been transferred to Germany, with the last five scheduled to move to Germany in 2019. In April 2009, two Class 08 shunters were sent to France from England. From 2010 the company began leasing Alstom Primaelectric locomotives from Akiem. The company also began hiring SNCF Y8000 type shunters from Akiem in the same year. As at 2018, it operated 151 locomotives.
