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Sam Hewitt

  • Freight grant cuts will hit rail

    Freight grant cuts will hit rail

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    CUTS to the Mode Shift Revenue Support, which helps companies move goods by rail instead of road, could impact the Daventry to Grangemouth and other intermodal services. In what has been called a ‘penny-pinching move’ the Department for Transport is cutting £4.2million from the current support grant of £19.9m, with a further cut to £15.2m…

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  • Stagecoach loses South West Trains to First/MTR after 21 years

    Stagecoach loses South West Trains to First/MTR after 21 years

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    By Ben Jones FirstGroup and Hong Kong’s MTR have been awarded the lucrative South West Trains franchise, ending Stagecoach’s 21-year association with one of the country’s busiest operations. Starting on August 20, 2017 for seven years, First MTR South West Trains will oversee a £1.2billion investment – £80m of which will come from the franchisee…

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  • THE GREAT RAILWAY DEBATE: Should Britain’s railways be RE-NATIONALISED? YES or NO

    THE GREAT RAILWAY DEBATE: Should Britain’s railways be RE-NATIONALISED? YES or NO

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    IN THE APRIL 2017 ISSUE The Labour Party has pledged to bring train operating companies back into public ownership if it wins the next election – and will encounter fewer legal obstacles in that task once Britain has left the EU. But is taking the nation back to the days of British Rail sensible or…

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  • KEE SYSTEMS KEEPS RAIL SAFETY ON TRACK

    KEE SYSTEMS KEEPS RAIL SAFETY ON TRACK

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    Kee Klamp guardrail fittings and BoxBolt fixing solutions have been installed along a new railway line to provide safety for pedestrians, drivers and maintenance teams accessing electrical boxes along the train track. This installation, which saw Kee Systems provide the safety products, forms part of an £89 million project to improve commuter times into London…

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  • San Diego extension begins

    San Diego extension begins

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    AFTER around 30 years of planning and discussion construction is now underway for the biggest extension to San Diego’s light rail system. The new 17.6km-long Mid Coast Trolley route will cost around $2.1billion, around half of which is being funded by the Federal Government. The line will extend the system’s Blue Line route north from…

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  • Chinese steam – little left but Sandaoling is still going strong

    Chinese steam – little left but Sandaoling is still going strong

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    OVER the years we have recorded the reduction in steam operation in China, but at current rates the reports won’t continue much beyond this year. The recent policy of the Chinese government to restrict coal production and to close unsafe mines means that locations that used steam locos during early 2016 no longer do. The…

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  • Luxembourg’s last GM in regular service

    Luxembourg’s last GM in regular service

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    ONLY one of the 20 1800 Class Co-Co diesel locos built between 1963 and 1964 by La Brugeoise et Nivelles (BN) remains in service in Luxembourg with state operator CFL. The locos are fitted with an EMD 16-567C engine and were based upon the very similar Class 55 design, also built by BN for neighbouring…

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  • Indian narrow gauge shrinks further under Project Unigauge

    Indian narrow gauge shrinks further under Project Unigauge

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    THE long-term strategy of Indian Railways to convert almost the entire network to broad gauge (1,676mm) – known as Project Unigauge – is leading to the conversion of some of the few remaining truly narrow gauge 2ft 6in/762mm lines. Prior to this the plans had seen the closure and subsequent conversion of thousands of miles…

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  • Double-deck coaches for long-distance services

    Double-deck coaches for long-distance services

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    RZD has introduced a variety of double-deck coaches and sleeping cars in the last few years as it modernises the stock used on some routes. The new coaches are built by the Tver carriage works north of Moscow and are air conditioned and wi-fi equipped. They operate in 15-coach rakes at up to 160km/h on…

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  • ‘One million km’ milestone for RZD’s first EP20 ‘Olympus’ locos

    ‘One million km’ milestone for RZD’s first EP20 ‘Olympus’ locos

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) has announced some of its Class EP20 or ‘Olympus’ electric locos have accumulated one million kilometres in traffic – within three years of entering service. RZD ordered 200 of the Bo-Bo-Bo locos from leading Russian rail engineering firm Transmashholding (Transmash) in 2010. The first EP20 locos entered service in time for the…

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