News

THE first Class 802/2 five-car bi-mode for UK testing and destined for use with TransPennine Express left Hitachi’s Kasado works in Japan on April 17, embarking on a two-month voyage to the UK. Set No. 802201 will be one of three pre-series sets being built in Japan for testing, the remainder of the fleet will…

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GB Railfreight Class 47 No. 47749 City of Truro (still in Colas livery) failed with a loss of power on Old Hill bank on April 21 while working Pathfinder Tours’ ‘The York Moors Venturer’, from Newport to Scarborough. It took more than three hours to get a rescue loco to the stricken train, No. 66518…

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By John Heaton FCILT and Gary Boyd-Hope THE bold attempt to run at up to 90mph from King’s Cross to York on April 14 with No. 60163 Tornado suffered an expensive and disruptive fate after its middle cylinder piston valve failed at Biggleswade. The ‘A1’ took its 12-coach train up to Potters Bar on the…

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OPEN ACCESS operator Grand Central is embarking on a £9million refurbishment of its fleet of 10 Class 180 ‘Adelante’ DEMUs. The first unit was completed at the end of March. The refurbishment programme will run for the rest of the year and include the five sets acquired from GWR. The interior and exterior has been…

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HAWAII has a rich railway heritage, with at one time multiple railways operating. These supported either the sugar, pineapple and other agricultural industries, or the US Navy, whose major base is at Pearl Harbour, near Honolulu. Most of these railways have ceased operation, but there are some regular heritage tourist railways, and there are also…

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MORE than 6,000 passengers travelled over the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway’s extension to Broadway over the Easter week as people flocked to be among the first to reach the village by rail in almost 60 years. The formal opening of the extension on Good Friday (March 30) was the precursor to a record-breaking few days,…

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By Keith Fender TRANSPENNINE Express presented its new CAF-built Mk5A ‘Nova 3′ push-pull trains to stakeholders and media in mid-April at the Velim test centre in the Czech Republic, where dynamic testing of the new train with Class 68 locos began on April 11. CAF is building 13 five-coach rakes of carriages as permanently coupled…

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HEATHROW Express Class 332 EMUs will become redundant as a result of a new 10-year agreement that guarantees the future of the fast airport service until at least 2028, with GWR running the operation under a management contract. The current Heathrow Express (HEX) operation and the 14 train sets are owned by Heathrow Express Operating…

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GWR has announced it will introduce Class 769 trains from spring 2019 that have three power sources. The deal between Porterbrook Leasing and GWR will build on the former’s development of fitting two MAN diesel power packs into a Class 319 (as a Class 769), adding to the unit’s third rail and 25kV capabilities. GWR…

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