News

  • Legends of the Great Western for Old Oak Common open day

    Legends of the Great Western for Old Oak Common open day

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    A PUBLIC open day to mark 111 years of Old Oak Common depot is being planned by GWR for September 2. Under the banner of Legends of the Great Western, there will be a unique display of locomotives and units, old and new. The line-up is still being agreed, but is expected to include some…

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  • Untitled post 1832

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    Mixed messages from the DfT – do they give a damn about the future of rail? THERE’S often a nagging feeling that information from Government lacks thought and co-ordinaton. Take Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s suggestion that private motorists should now hesitate before buying a diesel car and buy the “least polluting vehicle they can”. Yet…

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  • Rare public opening at Downs LR to celebrate restoration project

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    THE private Downs Light Railway at Colwall, near Great Malvern, will celebrate the completion of a major restoration project on its 9½in-gauge miniature rail line with a gala on April 30 and May 1, writes Peter Nicholson. The railway first opened in 1925 and over the last four years substantial drainage and engineering repairs have…

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  • National Express to lose Midland Metro concession

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    NATIONAL Express, which operates the Midland Metro tram network under a concession agreement, will not have it renewed when it ends in October 2018. Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) – the transport arm of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) – says it will take over the day-to-day running of the network, a move that…

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  • Great Central begins construction of MML bridge

    Great Central begins construction of MML bridge

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    CONSTRUCTION of the 30m-long bridge that will carry the preserved Great Central Railway over the Midland Main Line at Loughborough has begun. This follows the signing of final contracts, land transfer and lease agreements in mid-March. Specialist rail contractor MPB is on site to complete the bridge abutments and prepare the ground for bringing in…

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  • Chance for RM readers to ride the railmotor on a GWR branchline

    Chance for RM readers to ride the railmotor on a GWR branchline

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    GW Railmotor to mark 60th anniversary of last Chinnor passenger service THE Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway (C&PRR) and Mortons Media have teamed up for a special offer for readers of The Railway Magazine and its sister titles, Heritage Railway and Rail Express. The Didcot-based, 1907-built Great Western Railway Steam Railmotor No. 93 and Trailer car…

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  • RM selects Railway Children charity for 120th anniversary railtour to Glasgow

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    THE PROCEEDS of The Railway Magazine’s 120th anniversary railtour will be donated to the Railway Children charity, specifically its UK-based safeguarding on transport programme. ‘The Caledonian’ tour will run from London to Glasgow on October 7. The safeguarding initiative was launched by Railway Children in close partnership with British Transport Police and the rail industry…

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  • Freight grant cuts will hit rail

    Freight grant cuts will hit rail

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    CUTS to the Mode Shift Revenue Support, which helps companies move goods by rail instead of road, could impact the Daventry to Grangemouth and other intermodal services. In what has been called a ‘penny-pinching move’ the Department for Transport is cutting £4.2million from the current support grant of £19.9m, with a further cut to £15.2m…

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  • Stagecoach loses South West Trains to First/MTR after 21 years

    Stagecoach loses South West Trains to First/MTR after 21 years

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    By Ben Jones FirstGroup and Hong Kong’s MTR have been awarded the lucrative South West Trains franchise, ending Stagecoach’s 21-year association with one of the country’s busiest operations. Starting on August 20, 2017 for seven years, First MTR South West Trains will oversee a £1.2billion investment – £80m of which will come from the franchisee…

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  • San Diego extension begins

    San Diego extension begins

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    AFTER around 30 years of planning and discussion construction is now underway for the biggest extension to San Diego’s light rail system. The new 17.6km-long Mid Coast Trolley route will cost around $2.1billion, around half of which is being funded by the Federal Government. The line will extend the system’s Blue Line route north from…

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