News

LOCO-HAULED trains are seen at Kyle of Lochalsh on a fairly regular basis, but four Class 37s in the station at the same time on April 16 was exceptional. Pathfinder’s ‘Spring Highlander’ tour of Scottish scenic lines, powered by DRS No. 37609 and 37259, was joined by a Network Rail infrastructure management train top-and-tailed by Colas…

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THE first-generation DMU era will finally come to an end in May when Chiltern Railways retires its two passenger-carrying Class 121 railcars (see Traction News). To mark the event, the Branch Line Society ran the ‘Bubble & Squeak Tracker’ on April 9, visiting various rare crossovers, loops and sidings on the Chiltern system, as well…

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PULLMAN Car Phoenix became the oldest rail vehicle to move by rail through the Channel Tunnel in late-March. It is part of the Belmond ‘British Pullman’ train. The 1927-built Parlour Car was moved by DB Cargo UK from London to Dollands Moor and over Eurotunnel metals to Frethun, before being taken forward to Clermont-Ferrand by…

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APRIL 2 saw two English communities regain rail services after their previous facilities were withdrawn in the 1960s, writes Mike Haddon. The long-anticipated reopenings took place at Low Moor in West Yorkshire and Ilkeston in Derbyshire. The locations have much in common, each having extensive car parking facilities, both costing in the region of £10million,…

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INDUSTRY support is growing for alterations to the track and station layout at Ashchurch enabling Tewkesbury station in Gloucestershire to increase flexibility, reliability and capacity. The Ashchurch, Tewkesbury & District Rail Promotion Group (AT&DRPG) is proposing an extension of the Down goods loop to join sidings behind the station and upgrading the loop to bi-directional…

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TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has compiled a ‘wish list’ of possible improvements to rail services aimed at coping with the capital’s rapidly growing population. The package of upgrades is valued at £3.6billion. The project would include preparatory work for Crossrail 2, linking north-east and south-west London, by quadrupling the Lea Valley route, platform lengthening schemes…

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NETWORK Rail took advantage of the four-day Easter weekend to undertake engineering work at more than 200 sites across the country. More than 13,000 staff worked on a range of projects, from the Ordsall Chord in Manchester to smaller improvements such as the completion of a new passenger subway at Hackney Wick, in east London.…

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A FLEET of 30 Siemens Class 707 EMUs will not be retained by the new operator for the South Western franchise, First/MTR. The fleet cost £210million and has not even entered service with South West Trains. First/MTR is planning a fleet of 90 new trains (750 carriages) for the Reading and Windsor routes plus other…

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VIVARAIL has repaired the damage to DMU No. 230001 and introduced a number of modifications. It has also used the opportunity to give the set a new livery. The work follows an engine fire that caused minor underfloor and smoke damage to the unit on December 30 last year. Gone are large panels of green livery,…

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IMPRESSIONS of how the livery might look on its HST fleet have been released by ScotRail. The majority of the ScotRail fleet is in the saltire livery, but the HSTs will be different with a pale grey bodyside and a silhouette of Scottish landmarks under the carriage windows. The power cars have a more prominent…

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