News

GB Railfreight is offering a large amount of Class 20 mileage in July at a bargain fare. NOW a welcome (and commendable) part of the railway calendar, GBRf’s charity railtours offer both good value and a great day out. The latest one announced, ‘The Charity Chibble’, runs on Sunday, July 16, and is a one-way…

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Eurostar puts its Class 374s into service on the London to Brussels route as a first step towards expanding to Amsterdam and beyond. By Paul Bickerdyke EUROSTAR has introduced its Class 374 ‘Velaro’ sets to the St Pancras to Brussels Midi route, the first working being the 08.04 from St Pancras and 18.56 return on…

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A DRS Class 88 topped the list of 17 visiting locos for the Severn Valley Railway’s recent three day gala, an event which marked 30 years of dedicated diesel events at the heritage line. THE Severn Valley Railway’s diesel gala on May 18-20 once again proved to a highlight on the heritage calendar. No less…

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The focus on the next Wales and Borders franchise could be on Cardiff, to the detriment of the rest of the principality. By ‘Industry Witness’ STAKEHOLDERS have expressed concern that draft proposals for the next Wales and Borders franchise will be withheld from the public and only revealed when the 15-year contract has been awarded…

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By Simon Bendall THE final weekday of the winter timetable, May 19, saw Chiltern Railways cease using its two Class 121 ‘Bubble Cars’, and with it came the end of First Generation DMUs with a main line operator. For the final day, Chiltern commendably chose to operate a number of additional services between Aylesbury and…

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After more than 45 years, timetabled trains have begun running again from Wareham to the Swanage branch. By David Russell THROUGH trains between Wareham and the Swanage Railway were scheduled to begin on June 13, (just after this issue went to press), more than 45 years since the line was closed by British Railways in…

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Faced with increasing competition from road, air and daytime services, a report finds Europe’s sleeper services could also be paying too much in track access fees. By ‘Industry Witness’ THE future of overnight passenger services, including those in the UK, has been looked at by the European Parliament following the withdrawal of many operations due…

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TRANSPORT for London has issued a notice to tender with the Official Journal of the European Union to ‘sensitively restore and develop’ South Kensington station and surrounding buildings. The real estate company Savills is working with TfL to identify a shortlist of qualifying interested bidders. Much of the station and surrounding buildings owned by TfL…

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London Underground is having to upgrade its older Tube stock to fill the short gap between new legislation coming into force and new compliant trains being introduced. ROLLING stock on the Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City lines – some of which date back to the early 1970s – are to be redesigned internally…

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