News

GWR has started testing the short 2+4 HST sets following completion of the conversion of the initial batch of carriages from slam door to plug doors at Wabtec Doncaster. On March 19-22, the four trailers and two power cars – Nos. 43016 and 43093 (Old Oak Common) – worked with trailer Nos. 48101 (ex-42168), 48102 (42177), 48111…

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BY THE time this issue of The Railway Magazine hits the newsstands, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s extension to Broadway will be officially open. Lord Faulkner of Worcester was to have the honour of formally opening the re-created station on March 30, unveiling a commemorative plaque, before the line’s flagship locomotive – ‘Modified Hall’ No. 7903 Foremarke…

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SIEMENS could build a new train assembly and commissioning facility in Goole if it is successful in winning further orders for the UK market. The German company, which announced its intention to merge its train building business with Alstom last year, has signed a long-term agreement to lease a 67-acre site close to the M62…

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NETWORK Rail has blamed poor weather and engineering train failures for pushing back the reopening of the Preston to Blackpool North line until April 16. Services were due to restart on March 26 after a five-month blockade of the route, having been suspended since November 11 to allow electrification work, resignalling and track replacement to…

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AN INVESTIGATION has started after a Virgin East Coast HST hit the end of a 129m-long section of surplus rail at Cradlehall, south of Inverness, that was fouling the rail head. The train was working the 07.55 Inverness-King’s Cross ‘Highland Chieftain’ and was travelling at 53mph. The rail had been left in this position following…

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THE first completed TransPennine Express Mk5 set with a passenger driving trailer has arrived at Velim, Czech Republic for testing with two Class 68 locos that have arrived from the UK (see p98). The smart-looking five-carriage set was built in Spain and shipped to Bremerhaven, Germany. It is seen passing Königstein, Germany, close to the…

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THE Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway reconnected Toddington with Broadway on Good Friday, March 30, completing a long standing aim to take steam trains back to the popular Cotswold tourist spot after a gap of 58 years. Arriving on a train from Toddington, many VIPs and the press joined volunteers and the public at Broadway where Lord…

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EAST Midlands Trains has named one of six power cars transferred from Grand Central in tribute to the support and response from the emergency services when Nottingham station caught fire on January 5. Power car No. 43467 carries a slightly modified version of the East Midlands Trains livery and was named Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service…

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THE first two Class 365 ‘Networker’ express units have moved to storage in Papworth Sidings, Ely. Another pair were expected to join them by the end of February. On February 15, debranded unit Nos. 365501 and 365505 were hauled by Rail Operations Group from Hornsey to Ely, using DRS Class 57 No. 57301. Class 365s were built…

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