News

THE Hatfield derailment of October 17, 2000 was a watershed moment for Britain’s railway, and most railway engineers around at the time would rather forget the ‘nervous breakdown’ the system experienced in the months that followed. The infrastructure owner Railtrack went into something of a commercial tailspin, but it was clear that whatever organisation emerged…

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THE Government has issued an invitation to tender to the five bidders hoping to build the initial fleet of trains for HS2. The winner will design, build, test and maintain at least 54 high-speed trains, which will be based at a new depot at Washwood Heath in Birmingham. The shortlisted companies – which are Alstom,…

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THE upheaval caused by the extent of timetable changes in May, which even now have still not been fully implemented by Northern and the Govia Thameslink Railway, has brought about a decision to put off further major changes in December across eight franchised operators. These include Great Western Railway, CrossCountry, TransPennine Express and South Western…

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THE National Railway Museum has begun a condition review of its entire diesel and electric fleet to decide the way forward for each of the vehicles in the collection. A Conservation Management Plan will be drawn up individually for each item of rolling stock which will look at: the condition of the vehicle now; what…

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THE KWVR was one of the first standard gauge heritage lines in the country, running its first official trains on June 29, 1968 – a few years after the Bluebell Railway (1960) but ahead of its nearby neighbour the Middleton Railway in Leeds (1969), as well as lines such as the North Yorkshire Moors Railway…

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FOUR-car EMU No. 710261 became the first of the class to be delivered to its new future home at Willesden depot, North London, when it was hauled there ‘top and tailed’ by Nos. 57305 and 37884 on June 13. The unit was then used for the press launch on June 20, giving the first chance…

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THE Class 50 Alliance has confirmed the latest  additions to the line-up for the Severn Valley Railway’s Class 50 Golden Jubilee gala event on October 4-6. Garcia Hanson’s No. 50008 Thunderer, Neil Boden’s No. 50017 Royal Oak and No. 50050 Fearless, and Paul Spracklen’s No. 50026 Indomitable are the latest to join this one-off event…

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MORE details have emerged about the future rolling stock to be provided by KeolisAmey during the new 15-year Wales and Borders franchise, which begins on October 14. There will be something old and something new, but mostly the latter. To list the old, Mk.4 coaches displaced from LNER by Hitachi IETs will be transferred in…

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