THE feature by Fraser Pithie on the Morpeth Curve (RM Sept) was a fascinating read, which allowed me to re-live my involvement in the 1984 crash. We lived at 45 Low Stobhill at the time of the 1984 crash. I loved the fact there were trains at the bottom of my garden, and my son and…
With the end of the Virgin Trains franchise taking place at 01:59am on December 8 after 22 years of running trains between London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh, they’re going out with a bang!
By Tony Miles THE first of 19 five-car Hitachi Class 802 bi-mode trains entered passenger service with TransPennine Express on September 28. They had received clearance from ORR late the previous evening. Set 802201 operated the 06.03 Newcastle-Liverpool Lime Street and 09.25 return as a one-off working ahead of regular service introduction later in October. …
LNER launched its new Lincoln to King’s Cross ‘Azuma’ service on October 21, increasing the single daily service to five per day. A sixth service will be introduced at a later stage. A five-car bi-mode ‘Azuma’ will provide a two-hourly Monday to Friday service departing London at 10.06, 12.06, 14.06 and 16.06. Southbound services will…
By Tony Miles The future of the Northern franchise is hanging in the balance after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps addressed the Transport Select Committee on October 16. He said: “I can tell the committee that I have already issued a request for proposals from both Arriva and the operator of last resort (OLR), because I…
November 25 saw the first of five Hull Trains’ (HT) Class 802/3s make its debut in the company’s home city. The First Group-owned open access operator confirmed that the bi-mode trains will be phased into passenger service over the next two months, releasing its ailing Class 180s for transfer to East Midlands Railway (EMR). The…
TRIALS using a Vivarail Class 230 battery hybrid multiple unit were operated on September 9-10 between Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh. In addition to diesel power on its converted trains, Vivarail can harness battery power, with hydrogen eventually planned. The company is building on tests undertaken in 2018 when its development set No. 230002 ran 60 miles between…
THE end of Virgin Train West Coast franchise is just two months away, and an on-going repaint programme has led to the release of the first unbranded Class 390 ‘Pendolino’ set. The repaint work is part of the interim maintenance regime, which began in June 2017. Set No. 390137 was released from Alstom’s Technology Centre, at…
