News

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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A BID for £13.4million of Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF) by the National Railway Museum to redevelop the Great Hall and build interactive attraction has been rejected. Back in 2011, the NRM failed in a bid for £7m from the Regional Growth Fund that also would have been used to re-vamp the Great Hall. The latest…

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THE face of Derby station is changing rapidly as construction of its new island platform progresses rapidly. Part of Network Rail’s £198million remodelling programme, the new 320-metre long platform will increase the number of through platforms from five to six. Step-free access will be provided by new lifts from the footbridge as well as new…

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TRANSPORT SECRETARY Chris Grayling has called an end to the loss-making East Coast franchise, jointly run by Stagecoach and Virgin, under the Virgin Trains East Coast brand. From June 24, the franchise will be run by the Department for Transport (DfT), using an operator of last resort, which will revive the London North Eastern Railway…

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CONSTRUCTION of new servicing facilities for East Midlands Trains HSTs and Class 222s is well underway at Barrow Hill depot in Derbyshire. Two former storage sidings alongside the HNRC depot have been relaid to a high standard to accommodate five-car Class 222s, and will feature access platforms and lighting, enabling cleaning and light maintenance to…

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By Ben Jones MAJOR changes to timetables across the country brought disruption to Thameslink Southern Great Northern (TSGN) and Arriva Northern passengers from May 20. More than four million services had to be rescheduled, six times the usual workload for planners, as various infrastructure enhancements were due to be completed. However, delays to key projects…

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THE Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) has described the latest lorry strike on the rail-over-road bridge at Broadway station as “frustrating and infuriating”, after the newly restored structure was hit again on May 1. On this occasion the driver of a flatbed articulated lorry approached the bridge, which carries the railway over the B4632 Station…

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GREATER Anglia has released images of the front of the new Class 745/755 trains which are being built in Bussnang, Switzerland, by Stadler. The units are part of the ‘Flirt’ family, with GA having ordered 38 bi-mode and 20 all-electric versions. The first of the sets was due for completion around the end of April,…

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