News

HITACHI’S first Intercity Express Train (IET) made its maiden voyage to Cornwall on June 22 as part of a through journey from London Paddington to Penzance. The Great Western Railway bi-mode Class 800 set Nos. 800003 and 800004 worked to the Cornish terminus as part of an expo event with Cornwall Council to showcase improved rail…

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A REPORT by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has blamed contractors for triggering the partial collapse of a bridge over the Midland Main Line at Barrow-upon-Soar on August 1, 2016. Engineers from a Network Rail contractor, performing core sampling work to investigate recent subsidence on the bridge’s footpath, disturbed a pressurised water main, causing…

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TRANSPORT for London (TfL) will not have to pay millions of pounds a year to the owner of the Heathrow airport rail link after the High Court upheld a ruling over track access charges for Crossrail trains. Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) challenged the Office of Rail and Road’s May 2016 decision that the airport owner…

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MARKET Harborough’s station car park is being relocated in the first phase of work to realign the Midland Main Line and eliminate a severe speed restriction through the Leicestershire town. A new 500-space car park will be built east of the current site, releasing land required for the straightening of the double track MML and…

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LONDON could soon have its own elevated linear park to rival New York and Paris if a proposal to transform disused North London Line viaducts in Camden gets the go-ahead. The 800-metre ‘Camden Highline’ would link Camden Town and King’s Cross, providing a new, elevated garden route for pedestrians and cyclists. The disused railway line…

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FREIGHT train movements in the UK dropped to 224,000 in 2016/17, a reduction of 5% over the previous year. A 39% collapse in coal traffic, a result of stricter carbon emissions targets and the closure of coal-fired power stations, is the major factor behind the decrease. In 2016/17, the total amount of freight lifted in…

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STANIER ‘Jubilees’ Nos. 45690 Leander and 45699 Galatea are seeing plenty of use on West Coast Railway Company railtours this summer, with ‘Royal Scot’ No. 46115 Scots Guardsman about to be withdrawn for overhaul. As well as the Carnforth operator’s regular ‘Scarborough Spa Express’ and ‘Fellsman’ trains, the pair of ‘5XP’ 4-6-0s are working various trains…

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JUNE 3 saw the UEFA Champions League final take place at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. As well as a significantly enhanced GWR service to/from the Welsh capital, two charters were operated using Belmond’s ‘Northern Belle’ set and West Coast Railway Company First Class/Pullman dining vehicles. DRS Nos. 68018 Vigilant and 68017 Hornet top-and-tailed the 15.30 London Paddington-Cardiff…

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THE Branch Line Society will run its first charter with the Rail Operations Group (ROG) on September 9. The tour will feature rare track and interesting traction and will employ a pair of ROG Class 37/7s and preserved Class 86/2 electric No. 86259 Les Ross traversing rare lines in the West Midlands, and the much-requested Royal…

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FORMER England football team manager Graham Taylor had a London Midland Class 350 ‘Desiro’ No. 350377 named after him on June 2 – the unit number chosen to match 1977, the year he joined Watford. Mr Taylor, who also managed Lincoln City, Watford, Aston Villa, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, died in January and still lived in…

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