News

NINETEEN locomotives and 2,220 miles covered over four days made it GBRf Charity Railtours best-ever fundraiser. The five-legged charter, ostensibly celebrating 15 years of the TOC, raised more than £125,000 for charity. The company’s new celebrity BR green-liveried ‘66’ No. 66779 Evening Star (with matching chocolate & cream ‘support’ coach!) was the appropriate motive power to…

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A SUCCESSION of infrastructure upgrades across the north to allow longer and more frequent freight operations is just one of the propositions put forward by Transport for the North (TfN). The proposals follow the publication of TfN’s Northern Freight & Logistics Report on September 7. The report has been compiled for TfN by Mott MacDonald…

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DERBYSHIRE Dales MP Sir Patrick McLoughlin has officially unveiled ground-breaking plans to bring the country’s long-lost pioneering main line diesel locomotive LMS No. 10000 back to life. The former Secretary of State for Transport joined guests at Peak Rail’s Rowsley South station on September 3 to launch ‘Project Icon’. The ambitious plan is set to reconstruct…

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EVERY other year the trade fair centre in Berlin hosts the world’s largest railway trade exhibition. Many of Europe’s largest rail manufacturers use the show to highlight their latest products and future designs. The number of exhibitors at 2,950 was the highest in the history of the event, with more than 60 countries represented. More than…

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BUENOS AIRES, home to around 14 million people and capital of Argentina, has the most comprehensive commuter rail network in Latin America. Over the last five years large numbers of new trains have been ordered from Chinese manufacturer CRCC, backed by cheap finance provided by the Chinese Government. Until 2012 most commuter lines in Buenos…

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GWR launched its electric services on September 2. Class 387/1 units were initially used on Paddington to Hayes & Harlington services, with the service starting three days later. GWR will operate two four-car sets in multiple to replace a two-car Class 165 and in the process create an extra 1,400 peak-time seats. The units have…

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By Keith Fender A FULL-size conceptual model of a double-deck, high-speed train carriage able to operate on both the UK conventional network and high-speed lines was displayed at Innotrans in Berlin. The development work, paid for by UK rail standards body the RSSB, was undertaken by German engineers, led by the German Aerospace Centre, in…

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SCOTLAND’S transport minister Humza Yousaf has announced a review as well as a £14million package of improvements on the first anniversary of the reopening of Borders Railway. With well in excess of one million passengers having used the line – actual figures were due as we closed for press – Mr Yousaf said: “Not only…

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THE first Class 373 Eurostar train was poised to be sent for scrap as we closed for press – just as the sleek high-speed trains are about to turn 25 years old. Eurostar has signed a contract with Europorte and its UK sister company GB Railfreight to haul the sets from various locations (including France)…

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MORE than 280 passengers enjoyed the third of the Virgin Trains/DRS/Railway Magazine charters on September 3, the destination being a rather wet Scarborough. Running from Chester, Crewe and Stafford, the ‘Independent Yorkshireman’ – hauled by DRS Type 3 Nos. 37603/604 – took in Basford Hall yard, Crewe and the independent lines, before running via the…

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