News

  • HS2: Not seeing the bigger picture

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    SO, NIGEL Wilson of Legal and General thinks HS2 should be scrapped in favour of a second Brighton Line? (RM October 2106) I would expect the leader of the Conservative Group on Brighton Council to push for this, but if the head of one of the largest funders of infrastructure is unable to see the…

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  • Facing a freight crisis

    Facing a freight crisis

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    BRITAIN’S rail freight companies are facing a crisis. In the past 18 months coal traffic has taken a substantial downturn, with the latest quarterly figures showing a 61.4% drop, not helped by the Government’s doubling of carbon tax and the decision to close all coal-fired power stations by 2025. With UK manufacturing facing an uncertain…

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  • Kee Klamp expands its range of tubular fittings

    Kee Klamp expands its range of tubular fittings

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    ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Kee Safety, a leading global supplier of safety railing systems, has expanded its Kee Klamp® range with the introduction of 12 new types of tubular fittings. Designed for installation on steeper gradients, the new slope fittings offer builders and specifiers an aesthetically pleasing option. The latest addition to the Kee Klamp® portfolio is…

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  • Unions advise Southern staff to accept contracts – but says still strike!

    Unions advise Southern staff to accept contracts – but says still strike!

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    THE long-running dispute between staff working for Southern over the role of conductors has taken a new turn after the RMT union advised staff to accept the new contracts on offer – but also to continue with planned strike action. The announcement came on Sunday 9 October. Prior to this, Southern had given the union…

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  • Virgin East Coast to recruit 78 new drivers

    Virgin East Coast to recruit 78 new drivers

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    Want to drive one of the new Virgin Azuma trains? Virgin Trains has begun the largest single recruitment programme for drivers on the East Coast route since the 1980s, challenging people who may not have previously considered becoming a train driver to think about whether they’ve got what it takes to take on this exciting…

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  • Campaign launch for £50bn upgrade project

    Campaign launch for £50bn upgrade project

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    BRITAIN Runs on Rail campaign has been launched by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) to raise awareness of the industry’s £50billion upgrade plan and why the investment is needed. RDG chief executive Paul Plummer has called for an “open and honest conversation” about the future challenges facing Britain’s railway. Mr Plummer wants the campaign to…

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  • Two injured after landslide derailment near Watford

    Two injured after landslide derailment near Watford

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    TWO passengers suffered slight injuries after a London Midland Class 350 EMU was derailed by a landslip on the northern approach to Watford slow tunnel on September 16 following torrential rain. Unit Nos. 350264 and 350117 were working the 06.19 Milton Keynes-Euston at 70mph when the train hit the chalk and earth debris, causing the…

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  • ‘4MT’ evokes spirit of the Bath to Binegar local

    ‘4MT’ evokes spirit of the Bath to Binegar local

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    IT IS arguably the most convincing Somerset & Dorset revival yet… The sight of a BR Standard ‘4MT’ tank and a solitary coach was a most faithful re-creation of the much-loved inter-county main line at the restored Midsomer Norton South station and its associated short-section of double track. Llangollen Railway-based 2-6-4T No. 80072 took on the…

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  • Tyseley plans triple ‘Castle’ dream with Defiant return

    Tyseley plans triple ‘Castle’ dream with Defiant return

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    TYSELEY’S dormant ‘Castle’ Defiant will be returned to steam in an ambitious £1million public sponsored project – to complete a unique in-house collection of three main line-registered locomotives from a single class. Defiant will be put through the Birmingham works once sufficient money has been raised to kick-start the project, with the intention of its…

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  • ‘A1’ meets former ‘A1’ at Severn Valley bonanza

    ‘A1’ meets former ‘A1’ at Severn Valley bonanza

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    A GRESLEY ‘A3’ met its Peppercorn express passenger Pacific successor at an historic and record-breaking Severn Valley Railway (SVR) show. In the wake of the contentious decision to abandon its traditional autumn gala format, the SVR revelled in a sell-out weekend, together with the major press coverage, that the Pacific Power event brought over five…

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