News

THE Churchward County Trust (CCT) is expected to place the order for the main frame plates of what will be GWR ‘County’ class 4-4-0 No. 3840 County of Montgomery in the coming weeks after an encouraging start to the new-build project. Since it was launched in the February issue of The RM, the CCT has…

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LEASING company Eversholt Rail will join an industry consortium that will develop, manufacture and market the Revolution VLR (very light rail) vehicle. The consortium, led by Transport Design International Ltd (TDI), includes the University of Warwick, Cummins and other companies from the automotive and rail sectors. The DfT, through RSSB (Rail Safety & Standards Board),…

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HOPES of a revival for the beleaguered 3ft-gauge Tralee & Blennerville Railway on the west coast of Ireland have been raised after Kerry County Council (KCC) announced it is applying for funding for the restoration railway this autumn. No trains have operated over the abandoned heritage line since 2008, and in spite of efforts from…

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By Keith Fender          UK PRIVATE infrastructure manager High Speed 1 (HS1) is working with Eurotunnel, LISEA and SNCF Réseau to develop ‘ready-to-run’ paths from London to Bordeaux. Lisea is the French concessionaire for the Tours to Bordeaux high-speed line. HS1 says it is also developing direct routes to Geneva and Frankfurt from London. The infrastructure…

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By Keith Fender          VIVARAIL has developed a new battery powered version of its Class 230 train. The new two-car train – No. 230002 – has battery modules, each containing 60 24-volt lithium-ion batteries, replacing the diesel power-packs used on the earlier diesel version. The battery train has no diesel fuel tanks, but otherwise uses the same…

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South Western Railway (SWR) and Great Western Railway (GWR) got into the Royal Wedding spirit on May 19, providing additional services for well-wishers heading to and from Windsor. Around 45,000 passenger journeys were made on SWR services to Windsor & Eton Riverside, which were doubled to four direct, 10-car trains per hour from London Waterloo.Extra…

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KENILWORTH station opened for business on April 30, services being a hourly Class 153 DMU shuttling between Leamington Spa and Coventry. In a project costing more than £13million, the new station design is based on the previous one, with the new building housing a cafe, toilets and retail unit, which sells tickets on behalf of…

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VIRGIN Trains took the opportunity of naming the first scheduled ‘Pendolino’ to arrive at Blackpool North on May 21.Set No. 390013 was named Blackpool Belle by Virgin Trains driver Martin Gurr (right), who is also general manager of Heritage Operations at Blackpool Transport, and is seen with Michael Stewart, general manager of Virgin Trains Anglo-Scottish routes.The…

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GEORGE and Robert Stephenson’s iconic Liverpool & Manchester Railway 0-2-2 Rocket will make an historic return to one of the cities it was built to serve after an absence of more than 180 years. The remains of the much-rebuilt 1829 loco, which famously won the Rainhill Trials and paved the way for steam locomotive development…

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