News

THE full 24-train-per-hour Thameslink timetable has been postponed until December 2019, despite the necessary infrastructure improvements and fleet of new Class 700 EMUs being ready for December 2018. An interim service will be implemented from May 2018 featuring 18 trains per hour, which will provide 70% of the capacity benefits. As a preliminary to that,…

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THE start of the new eight-year West Midlands franchise, which took over from London Midland on December 10, saw the launch of new West Midlands Railway (WMR) and London Northwestern Railway (LNR) brands by West Midlands Trains – a joint venture between Abellio, JR East and Mitsui. The LNR brand was unveiled on Class 350…

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Passenger services started using Manchester’s Ordsall Chord on December 10, which provides a direct connection between the city’s two main Victoria and Piccadilly stations for the first time. The inaugural service was the 08.40 Victoria to Oxford Road formed of DMUs Nos. 150142+158909, which then formed the 08.57 to Leeds via Bradford. The chord opens…

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Join us for a double-headed Class 50 tour over the Settle & Carlisle and Cumbrian Coast Lines. CONTINUING the celebrations to mark 50 years of the Class 50s, Rail Express has teamed up with Pathfinder Tours, Riviera Trains, GB Railfreight and the Class 50 Alliance to run a charter from Birmingham to Carlisle on April…

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THE new operator of the West Midlands franchise is to revive the London and Northwestern name for services operating on longer distance routes between Euston, the Midlands and the North West. Trains operating elsewhere will use the West Midlands Railway brand, which reflects those services that could come under the control of Transport for the…

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  Following its appearance at the Knottingley open day on October 28, the next day saw the Deltic Preservation Society’s main line-certified No. 55009 Alycidon make an extremely rare appearance at the head of a freight train. Special arrangements were made for the loco to run light engine from Knottingley to nearby Milford West Sidings…

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THERE was a rare opportunity to peek behind the scenes at Knottingley depot, West Yorkshire, on October 28, as staff there took the initiative to arrange for 100 members of the public to have a guided tour of the facilities. Knottingley is a purpose-built diesel depot that opened in July 1967, meaning this year marks…

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GREATER Anglia ran a second charity railtour on September 16, the ‘EACH Express 2’, which this time featured two Class 68s and a Mk.3 rake rather than the ‘37s’ and ‘short set’ used for the original tour in 2016. The route was an exact repeat of last year’s, first running from Norwich to Ely and…

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