News

  • New depots for Exeter and Manningtree

    New depots for Exeter and Manningtree

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    GREAT Western Railway and Greater Anglia have both announced new depots will be built to house some of their new stock now on order. The GWR depot will be alongside Exeter St Davids station, while the GA one will be just north of Manningtree on the Essex/Suffolk border. The £40 million depot in Exeter will…

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  • HS2 bill receives royal assent

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    Approval by Parliament means construction of the high speed line from London to Birmingham can begin. CONSTRUCTION of the first phase of HS2 is expected to start within weeks now that royal assent has been given following approval by Parliament. The bill for construction was first published on November 25, 2013, and a total of…

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  • Last days of the ‘Westerns’

    Last days of the ‘Westerns’

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    I AM writing to say how much I enjoyed the look back at the lovely ‘Western’ class in your March Issue. Unfortunately there was one error that crept in when it was claimed that No. D1010 Western Campaigner worked the 1E45/ 07.30 Swansea to Leeds throughout on January 20, 1977. It was in fact No.…

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  • Sectorisation and the focus on freight

    Sectorisation and the focus on freight

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    British Rail arguably took the first steps towards privatisation in 1982, over a decade before it actually began, when the company moved from a geographic structure based on regions to one focused on separate business sectors. The biggest impact was to be on freight operations, as ‘Industry Witness’ describes. British Rail made a dramatic and…

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  • Boost for freight following investment at Tara Mines

    Boost for freight following investment at Tara Mines

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    The future of zinc and lead mining near Navan has been secured through to at least 2026, the ore being moved by rail to Dublin Port. THE Swedish owner of Tara Mines at Navan, which is Europe’s largest zinc/lead mine, plans to invest €44 million at the site after new resources were discovered. Boliden will…

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  • LEWISHAM ‘OFF’

    LEWISHAM ‘OFF’

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    On January 24, two of the wagons of the 6M90/03.56 Grain to Neasden loaded GB Railfreight sand train derailed at Courthill Loop Junction South in Lewisham (South London) while crossing from the Up Slow to the Up Courthill lines, resulting in all running lines being blocked. Three of the GBRf JGAs at the rear of…

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  • Arlington becomes new home for charter set

    Arlington becomes new home for charter set

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    Riviera Mk.1 set is now based at Eastleigh Works. RIVIERA Trains’ Mk.1 rake of coaching stock left Arriva Traincare’s Eastleigh TMD in January for a new base ‘over the road’ at Arlington Fleet Services’ Eastleigh Works site. To facilitate the new arrivals and enable servicing to be carried out, some changes have been made to…

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  • RSS expands its support

    RSS expands its support

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    The Warwickshire-based hire company has put its latest shunter acquisitions from DB Cargo immediately into use as more duties are taken on. JANUARY proved to be a very busy month for Railway Support Services, as no less than four of its new acquisitions from the DB Cargo clear-out made an immediate return to use. The…

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  • Off-lease Thameslink Class 319s move to Long Marston for storage

    Off-lease Thameslink Class 319s move to Long Marston for storage

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    Less than half the ‘319’ fleet is now in use on Thameslink services. THE introduction of more Class 700s by Govia Thameslink Railway in January saw further Class 319s taken out of traffic, reducing the active fleet on Thameslink services to just 39 sets. Several of the units that are off lease have been moved…

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  • Caledonian Sleeper traction shows improvements

    Caledonian Sleeper traction shows improvements

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    THE comeback of the Class 92s on Caledonian Sleeper duties took another step forward during January, as further locos were released from modifications at Brush Traction. The need to get the complex electric locos working reliably has been given further impetus by Freightliner requiring its Class 90s back so they can be deployed in pairs…

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