News

THE first of 665 ‘Aventra’ vehicles for Greater Anglia is approaching completion at Bombardier’s Litchurch Lane works in Derby. Several cars were well advanced on the production line in late-June, alongside Class 345 and Class 710 EMUs for Crossrail and London Overground. Closest to completion was five-car set No. 720503, the third of 89 sets…

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By Cliff Thomas THE recent heat wave which saw Porthmadog named as the hottest place in Britain produced problems for Welsh narrow gauge lines. By far the worst affected was Vale of Rheidol Railway (VoR), which had to halt operations on June 28 when a major hillside fire broke out in the Rheidol Valley. VoR…

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DELAYS to repair work have forced the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust to withdraw No. 60163 Tornado from a busy programme of trains it was booked to haul over the next two months. Bans on steam operation because of the recent long spell of hot weather – both on heritage railways and much of the main line…

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BOMBARDIER Transportation and Hitachi Rail Europe confirmed in July they will submit a joint bid for the £2.75billion HS2 trains’ deal. On the same day that announcement was made, the shortlist was boosted back to five with the addition of Spanish company CAF. All three companies have UK manufacturing facilities, with Bombardier and Hitachi supporting…

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EIGHT train operators will not change their timetable in December as usual following May’s chaotic timetable problems. The eight are: Northern, Govia Thameslink, Great Western Railway, CrossCountry, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express, West Midlands Trains, and London Overground. Incoming Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines was commissioned by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and NR chairman…

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A THREE-year agreement between train operator Greater Anglia and the Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) will lead to the heritage line storing new Stadler rolling stock. The deal was announced at the railway’s AGM and will lead to changes to the line’s infrastructure, which will be undertaken by Sonic Rail Services, and bring long-term benefits to the…

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TRANSPENNINE Express has scrapped plans to use two short rakes of Mk3 carriages, hauled in top-and-tail mode by Class 68 locos, on Liverpool to Scarborough workings from July. The use of two four-carriage sets formed from the former Virgin West Coast and more recently Greater Anglia WB64 set was aimed at improving passenger capacity problems,…

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VIRGIN Trains, GWR and ScotRail have marked the annual LBGT Summer of Pride events by adding coloured vinyls to one train in each fleet as a public show of embracing diversity.‘Pendolino’ No. 390045 was renamed Virgin Pride and had a completed driving car appear in a revised livery with rainbow vinyls. GWR added stripes to the…

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GB RAILFREIGHT has confirmed it will buy 16 Class 56 locos from Leicester-based UK Rail Leasing, which will be used as part of its future expansion. In addition to the locomotives, GBRf has bought spare parts and other materials. GBRf says the locos are a mix of stored, serviceable and non-running donor locomotives, which GBRf…

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THE first of 19 Hitachi Class 802 Intercity Express Trains (IET) destined for use with TransPennine Express, was unloaded at Southampton on June 11. This followed a journey from Japan that began in April and included passage via the Pacific Ocean and Panama Canal. Set No. 802201 has been moved by road to Hitachi’s Doncaster depot…

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