Sam Hewitt

THE UK’s first tram-train operation is now carrying fare-paying passengers – a decade after it was first mooted and many millions of pounds over its original budget. However, the excitement of the opening day was short-lived after one of the dedicated Class 399s (No. 399204) was derailed and damaged in a collision with a lorry a…

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AN ENGINEERING assessment undertaken by Porterbrook has indicated there is a case for the conversion of a Class 350/2 EMU into a battery/electric bi-mode. The units are one of the most reliable in service, and Porterbrook says with addition of the latest battery technology, the ‘BatteryFLEX’ – as its been dubbed – would be able…

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THE culmination of one of the most remarkable restoration project’s came to a conclusion on October 19 when North Eastern railcar No. 03170 was relaunched into traffic by Stephen Middleton, chairman of the NER 1903 Electric Autocar Trust, and Sir Ron Cooke, chairman of Yorkshire and Humber Heritage Lottery Fund Committee. The petrol-powered autocar – a…

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By Tony Miles COMPLETION of the £140million upgrade of Liverpool Lime Street station was marked by Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling when he unveiled a commemorative plaque on the station concourse on October 15. Network Rail said the reopening coincided with the first ever #StationsDay, which celebrated the £5.2billion investment “to regenerate Britain’s…

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By Nick Pigott IN a scenario worthy of his flamboyant lifestyle, the remains of Flying Scotsman saviour Alan Pegler were scattered in the firebox of his beloved locomotive as it stormed up Stoke Bank on October 13. The extraordinary send-off had been Alan’s personal request and was fulfilled by his daughter Penny Vaudoyer, who carefully…

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By Tony Miles ScotRail operated its first refurbished HST set in passenger service on October 15 as the 2+4 formation worked the 09.07 Aberdeen-Edinburgh. The provisional first diagram is 09.07 Aberdeen-Edinburgh, 13.30 Edinburgh-Aberdeen,16.39 Dyce-Edinburgh and 21.43 Edinburgh-Aberdeen. Ahead of the service debut ScotRail presented the refurbished HST to the press on October 10 with a…

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WITH less than three months before the planned introduction of Vivarail Class 230 DMUs on Bedford to Bletchley services, the first unit – No. 230003 – arrived on September 18 to begin tests. The two-car set, complete with London Northwestern Railway branding as well as ‘Marston Vale’ decals, arrived by a circuitous route from Long…

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SEPTEMBER 13 saw the first of 665 Class 720 EMU vehicles for Abellio Greater Anglia (GA) unveiled to stakeholders and the media at Bombardier’s Derby Litchurch Lane works. Three part-finished cars from five-car set No. 720501 were displayed, offering visitors a glimpse of the next generation of East Anglian commuter train. Bombardier is building 89 five-car…

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THE first ‘Flex’ Class 769 has moved to the Great Central Railway at Quorn for testing following a number of lengthy delays because of a raft of technical issues. Porterbrook has been heavily involved in the project to convert what was an EMU to a tri-mode unit able to operate on 25kV, 750v DC and…

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TESTING has started on the West Coast Main Line of the first fixed formation of an order for 13 five-car carriage rakes from CAF for use with TransPennine Express. The sets, known by TPE as ‘Nova3’, are being hauled by Class 68 locos provided to TPE by Direct Rail Services. Each set has a driving…

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