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Sam Hewitt

  • Vivarail loses trial funding after train fire

    Vivarail loses trial funding after train fire

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    FUNDING that would support the trial of the prototype Vivarail Class 230 DMU has been withdrawn following a fire on the train at Kenilworth on December 30. There were 10 staff on the train and all were evacuated safely, with the incident being reported to RAIB by West Coast Railway Company, which was crewing the…

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  • ‘Jacobite’ operation extended

    ‘Jacobite’ operation extended

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    WEST Coast Railway Company will further extend its scheduled Scottish steam operation after the success of its Christmas ‘Jacobite’ trains. In 2017, the season will start with ‘Easter Eigg’ specials on April 14-21, with the main operation running from April 24 to October 27 (weekdays) and June 17 to October 1 (weekends). A break in…

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  • Tweedbank gets passenger facilities

    Tweedbank gets passenger facilities

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    SOME 15 months after opening, the Borders Railway terminus of Tweedbank received its shop and coffee bar, and also toilet facilities. Called a ‘customer hub’, the much-needed facilities are open seven days a week and have created two full-time jobs. Funding was jointly provided by Transport Scotland, ScotRail, and the Scottish Government, through the Borders…

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  • Main line ‘King’ in May as 6023 prepares for West Somerset trials

    Main line ‘King’ in May as 6023 prepares for West Somerset trials

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    DIDCOT’S blue Collett 4-6-0 No. 6023 King Edward II could return to the network in early May. This will be the first time in five years that a Great Western ‘King’ has graced the main line, and almost 60 since the bark of a single-chimney example was heard in full cry. The Great Western Society is…

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  • National Express sells c2c franchise to Italian Railways

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    By Ben Jones TRENITALIA, the national passenger subsidiary of Italy’s Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FSI), has agreed to pay £70million to acquire the Essex Thameside franchise from National Express. The franchise, better known as c2c, operates commuter services from London Fenchurch Street to Tilbury, Southend and Shoeburyness. National Express is reducing its UK rail activities…

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  • Tornado returns scheduled steam-hauled services to the Settle-Carlisle

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    TIMETABLED steam-hauled passenger trains will return to the national network in mid-February for three days only when ‘A1’ No. 60163 Tornado ‘Plandampfs’ the Settle & Carlisle (S&C) between Skipton and Appleby. The new-build Peppercorn Pacific and a rake of Mk2 coaches will deputise for Northern’s usual DMU on the 10.45 from Skipton to Appleby on February…

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  • Major delays hit return of ‘Brighton Belle’ to mainline

    Major delays hit return of ‘Brighton Belle’ to mainline

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    THE 5BEL Trust saw its hopes dashed of returning the ‘Brighton Belle’ to service in the same year that Flying Scotsman finally re-emerged on the main line. After a frustrating year, beset by problems with the complex re-wiring of the motor third carriages, the trust reluctantly took the decision to leave its home at Barrow…

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  • ‘Silk Road’ freight train from China arrives in London

    ‘Silk Road’ freight train from China arrives in London

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    By Keith Fender HISTORY was made at DB’s London Eurohub terminal in Barking (the old Ripple Lane site) when the first container train from China to the UK arrived on January 18. The train was operated by the InterRail Group, a multi-national transport operator based in Switzerland, on behalf of Chinese Railways subsidiary CRIMT (China…

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  • DfT finds £300million for Brighton line improvements

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    An ADDITIONAL £300million emergency fund for improvements to the London to Brighton line has been confirmed by the Department for Transport. The extra money is intended to increase the ‘resilience’ of the infrastructure along the route and reduce delays and cancellations. Work will include replacement of worn-out signals, track and points, rebuilding of bridges, improving…

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  • Fatal signals at Stechford

    Fatal signals at Stechford

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    Still reeling as the implementation of Dr Beeching’s Reshaping the Railways programme of station and line closures pressed ahead, the railway experienced a bad year in 1967. In the first of a series marking the 50th anniversary of 1967 railway accidents Fraser Pithie considers a fatal collision on the West Coast Main Line at Stechford…

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