News

  • More ‘442s’ stored at Ely

    More ‘442s’ stored at Ely

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    Former ‘Wessex Electrics’ are put in store, but could they see further use on their old stamping ground with the next South West Trains franchise? As of late November, more than half of the Class 442 fleet had been moved to the Potter Group site at Ely for secure storage pending future use. One set…

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  • Final Caledonian Sleeper ‘73/9’ rebuild delivered

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    GBRf’s last rebuilt electro-diesel has been released to traffic in Scotland, while a modification programme for the rest of the fleet is now underway. The last of GB Railfreight’s Class 73 rebuilds belatedly started main line testing on November 4 when No. 73971 undertook a run to Derby and back. Although the former No. 73207…

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  • Tour to celebrate the last hurrah of the ‘Westerns’

    Tour to celebrate the last hurrah of the ‘Westerns’

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    Western Champion will retrace the steps of 1977’s ‘Western Tribute’ farewell tour. February 26, 1977 is a date that will strike a chord for many enthusiasts, particularly those with a fondness for the hydraulics. It was on that day that Nos. D1013 Western Ranger and D1023 Western Fusilier (with its unique ‘domino’ headcode) double-headed the…

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  • Frank Pick memorial unveiled

    Frank Pick memorial unveiled

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    An art installation has been unveiled at Piccadilly Circus station as a memorial to London Transport’s first chief executive Frank Pick, who commissioned much of the Underground that we recognise today. The memorial – which was unveiled on November 7, the 75th anniversary of his death – consists of eight words entitled ‘Beauty < Immortality’…

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  • Rails in the Valleys: The South Wales Metro

    Rails in the Valleys: The South Wales Metro

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    Whoever wins the next Wales and Borders franchise will be a key part of developing an integrated transport system around Cardiff and Newport, as Robin Whitlock reports. In November 2015, Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones said of the proposed South Wales Metro: “It is an ambitious project linking people and jobs across South Wales in a…

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  • New Basford Hall TMD unveiled  with remembrance naming

    New Basford Hall TMD unveiled with remembrance naming

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    Freightliner’s new depot in Crewe played host to the first of the Project Railway Honour namings on Armistice Day. The historic links between the railways and the military were strengthened further on November 11 when Freightliner named one of its Class 66s in honour of the 20,000 railwaymen that lost their lives in the First World…

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  • Excess speed the cause of Croydon fatal tram crash

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    RAIB’s initial report finds the Croydon tram was being driven at more than three times the line speed limit when it derailed and rolled over on a tight curve. The Rail Accident Investigation Board has issued its interim report into the fatal tram accident in Croydon. The accident occurred near to Sandilands Junction just after 06.00…

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  • New open access plan for Waterloo to Southampton

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    The Office of Rail & Road is considering an application to run open access services on the South Western Main Line using the stored Class 442 EMUs. Open Access operator Alliance Rail Holdings, the Arriva/Deutsche Bahn subsidiary that is set to operate Great North Western Railway services on the West Coast Main Line from May…

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  • GW electrification postponed to 2024

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    Rising costs and project delays mean that Great Western electrification now offers a lower benefit-cost ratio than that for the Midland Main Line. Network Rail has run out of money to complete the Great Western electrification project with the estimated cost rising to £5.6 billion, and has admitted that wiring will not now reach central…

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  • CHILTERN REACHES OXFORD

    CHILTERN REACHES OXFORD

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    Chiltern Railways began driver training into Oxford ahead of extending its Marylebone services from Oxford Parkway to the city’s main station from December 12. Its first train over the upgraded line was at 06.58 on November 21 for the first of 126 drivers needing to be passed out on the route. The Oxford to Marylebone…

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