News

By Keith Fender THE ‘Pullman Orient-Express’ – a set of 1920s-built Pullman cars, preserved and maintained in operational condition in France by national operator SNCF – made a surprise visit to London on November 2. The train was in London to promote the new film Murder on the Orient-Express, starring Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Johnny…

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DEUTSCHE Bahn subsidiary Arriva has pulled out of the race to win the new Wales and Borders franchise. The surprise move by the incumbent, which has operated as Arriva Trains Wales since 2003, leaves just three contenders for the controversial new devolved franchise – Abellio of the Netherlands, SNCF subsidiary Keolis, and Hong Kong’s MTR…

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MANCHESTER’S three main railway stations are now connected for the first time by the £85million Ordsall Chord – the centrepiece of Network Rail’s £1billion Great North Rail Project. The chord has caused much controversy, having been constructed across the 1830-built rail access to Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI), but the 300m double-track electrified…

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by Keith Fender  HYDROGEN-powered trains could be heading to the British rail network within a few years. Alstom has been developing the new technology in Germany for several years and has been discussing the idea with UK operators, ROSCOs and the DfT. The trains would be powered by hydrogen fuel cells, producing electricity which powers…

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ALSTOM, Bombardier, Hitachi Rail Europe, Siemens and Talgo have been invited to bid for the £2.75billion contract to design and build the first generation of ‘classic compatible’ trains for High Speed 2 (HS2). HS2’s outline specification calls for trains capable of operating at up to 225mph (360kph), with ‘unparalleled levels of reliability, speed and comfort’.…

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HITACHI Rail Europe has completed the first Class 385 EMU and delivered it to ScotRail at Craigentinny for commissioning and crew training. Set No. 385103 was inspected after a factory visit to Newton Aycliffe by Scotland’s Transport Minister Humza Yousaf, who also sampled a short ride on the four-car set. Hitachi is building 24 four- and…

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PLANS for 24 trains per hour through the Thameslink core, between St Pancras and Blackfriars, has been put back by 12 months to December 2019. The Department for Transport has agreed to the request, which has come from Network Rail and Govia Thameslink Railway, and stems from concerns too many changes and new services could put…

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By Phil Marsh A RECENT call-out by armed Thames Valley Police (TVP) officers to a Chiltern Railways’ service at High Wycombe led to four training days on the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway (C&PRR), using a Class 165 DMU. Under strict secrecy, Chiltern and the TVP contacted the C&PRR to see if the three organisations…

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SEVERAL rail projects throughout Great Britain should benefit from Government investment announced by the Chancellor Philip Hammond on November 22. An cash injection of £337million will be used by Tyne & Wear Metro towards procuring new trains. The 48-mile, 60-station network first opened in August 1980, but its fleet of 90 two-car trains, which were…

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