58 Articles

AS I write this, Christmas is just two weeks away. Soon, millions will be criss-crossing the country to see families and friends for the festive period. ‘Tis the season to be jolly - the most wonderful time of the year. Or is it? When you find yourself on Christmas Eve in a ten-mile tailback on the M6, and running out of time to make it to your home town’s local pub. The AA has issued an amber warning for the weekend before Christmas this year, when it expects more than 30 million to take to the roads. But despite the jams, most travellers choose to drive rather than catch a train for the seasonal getaway. Will the trains be better? The run-up to Christmas is one of the busiest times…

3 min.

Roof work and remodelling to transform Huddersfield

HUDDERSFIELD station faces two 30-day blockades, one in September 2025 and a second in January 2027, as Network Rail remodels tracks to create more capacity as part of its Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU). Meanwhile, in five weeks of closures through Dewsbury ending on November 22, NR has replaced 3,128 metres of track and installed 101 electrification masts. The first Huddersfield closure will remove bridge decks over George William Street at the east end of the station, before replacing two to enable a twin-track railway to reopen while work continues to remodel today’s Platforms 5, 6 and 8 behind hoardings erected along Platform 4. The second blockade will see the station’s layout transformed into its final state. Meanwhile, NR continues current work to refurbish the roof that spans Platforms 1 and…

1 min.

Minister confirms: MML electrification to be completed by early 2030s

The government says electrification of the rest of the Midland Main Line is expected to be completed early in the next decade. In a House of Commons reply to Neil O’Brien (Conservative MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston) on November 21, Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “The electrification of the remainder of the route to Nottingham and Sheffield via Derby - the Midland Main Line electrification programme- is in development, and currently it is planned to be completed by the early 2030s, subject to business case approvals and wider affordability considerations.” O’Brien also asked: “Will the Rail Minister meet me to ensure that we avoid any risk that future electrification works lead to a further withdrawal of late and early services to Market Harborough?” Greenwood said the government was “concerned…

1 min.

Grand Central applies for ten-year extension

Grand Central is applying to extend its existing track rights into London King’s Cross for a further decade. The open access operator’s existing rights in Yorkshire and the North East expire at the end of 2027, but it has now applied to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for an extension until 2038. GC currently operates services from King’s Cross to Bradford Interchange and Sunderland, stopping at stations such as Pontefract, Halifax and Hartlepool. The application, submitted in early November, is separate to one submitted to ORR in May for two additional daily return services between Bradford and King’s Cross, an early morning York-London train with a late-evening return, and the introduction of a stop at Seaham on its Sunderland route. GC said that if its application is successful,…

3 min.

Haigh launches “national vision of transport”

AS one of her last acts as Transport Secretary, before her resignation over a previous criminal offence, Louise Haigh launched the beginning of an integrated National Transport Strategy on November 28, with the intention of kick-starting a revolution in local transport networks. Speaking in Leeds (the largest city in Europe without a mass transit system), Haigh outlined how the new strategy will provide a “clear vision” for local authorities in England and a blueprint for developing a more seamless experience for passengers. Haigh has taken inspiration from the French city of Dijon, which has a fully integrated transport system alongside a degree of financial autonomy. The city, which has a population of just over 100,000, has also utilised technology, with all modes of transport in the regions available through a…

2 min.

A LIFE REMEMBERED: John Prescott: 1938-2024

As well as some great achievements, Lord (John) Prescott will be remembered by the transport industry for making profound multi-billion-pound investment promises that were well-intentioned but amounted to very little. The former Labour Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Environment, Transport & The Regions died on November 21, aged 86, after a long period of poor health. Prescott was always passionate about all things transport, when it was apparent that many of those around him in government were not on his side. His Strategic Rail Authority was intended to keep privatised companies in check, but it was a £250 million failure and only lasted three years before his successor (and later Chancellor of the Exchequer) Alistair Darling closed it down. On a much larger scale, his £180 billion…

1 min.

New Transport Secretary Alexander ready to face “mammoth task ahead”

Heidi Alexander (pictured) has been named as the new Transport Secretary, following the resignation of Louise Haigh. Haigh stepped down on November 28, after reports emerged of a criminal conviction from 2014 (before she was an MP), when she incorrectly told police that a work mobile phone had been stolen during a mugging. After being announced in the role on November 29, Alexander said: “It’s an incredible honour to have been asked to take on this role. “Louise Haigh was formidable. I will do all I can to ensure we have a transport system that drives economic growth, connects our communities, and protects the environment. A mammoth task ahead.” Alexander had been a justice minister since Labour’s General Election win in July. The Swindon South MP represented Lewisham East from…

1 min.

Review into fare evasion under way

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has begun its independent review of how train operators tackle fare evasion. Now-departed Transport Secretary Louise Haigh announced in November that she had asked the regulator to assess enforcement practices after a series of “egregious” prosecutions. ORR has now begun its review, which will assess revenue protection enforcement practices, including the use of prosecutions and whether ticket conditions are clear and effectively communicated, with conditions correctly applied. In her letter to ORR CEO John Larkinson, Haigh said her priority was “to ensure that fare evasion is addressed, but while always treating passengers fairly and in accordance with the correct procedures”. She added: “I would like the review to assess and make recommendations on two main areas: operators’ and retailers’ consumer practices, such as…

1 min.

Train fares rise five-fold since 1987

Train fares in 2024 are five times higher than in 1987, according to inflation figures from the Office of National Statistics. Bus and coach fares rose sixfold over the same period, while motoring costs are three and a half times higher. The rate of road fuel duty has been frozen since 2011. In the Budget on October 30, Chancellor Rachel Reeves also continued a ‘temporary’ drop of 5p in fuel duty introduced by the previous government in 2022. This means that, in real terms, driving a car continues to become cheaper relative to travelling by rail. Regulated rail fares rose by 4.9% in 2024 and are due to increase again by 4.6% in January 2025. The increase is one per cent above the rate of inflation as measured over the…

1 min.

Advance changes at Northern

Northern has reduced the amount of time that passengers have to purchase Advance tickets. Previously available up to five minutes prior to departure times, they are now available until 15 minutes in advance of travel. Northern said that sales of such tickets were up almost 10% in the last year, rising from 2.23 million in 2023 to 2.43 million in 2024. The change to 15 minutes brings machine and online sale times into line with ticket office purchases, something that’s understood to have been inconsistent across the network.…

7 min.

Strategy offers a chance to reset local transport planning

AT this early stage, it wouldn’t be wise to second guess the government’s exact plans for its newly announced Integrated National Transport Strategy, which is at its very early stages. However, there a few clues as to how the Department for Transport wants to frame it. The announcement was made in Leeds - the largest city in Europe without a mass transit system. It’s also a city which has been doggedly pressing (to little avail) for an integrated transport system for two decades. The government press release that came with the announcement had a bus and some e-bikes in the foreground. Tellingly absent from this picture was any form of tram or train. And in the first two paragraphs of her speech, the since-departed Transport Secretary Louise Haigh intimated that…

1 min.

News In Brief

Quatre ans for Le Truck LeShuttle Freight has celebrated four years since the opening of Le Truck Village, a space for lorry drivers to use as they travel through the Channel Tunnel. Since it opened in 2020, more than 400,000 lorry drivers have used the service, which is based off the A16 motorway in Coquelles, northern France. Guildford hosts AGM The British Regional Transport Association is holding its AGM in Guildford in July 2025, as it campaigns to restore the line linking the Surrey town with Cranleigh and Horsham. The original line opened in October 1865 and closed to all traffic in June 1965.…

1 min.

‘395’ runs through buffers at depot

An investigation is under way into how a Southeastern Class 395 Javelin unit went through the end of a siding. The electric multiple unit (395008) hit the buffers in a siding parallel to the line towards Minster, at the western end of Ramsgate maintenance depot, shortly before 1920 on November 28. While no cause for the derailment has been given, RAIL understands that the issue was not adhesion related. As this issue of RAIL went to press, it was hoped the unit would be recovered over the weekend of December 7/8, after which more detailed examination could take place to assess the damage and work out the cause of the derailment. A Southeastern spokesman said it was working with Network Rail on a plan to remove the unit “at a…

5 min.

Go-op targets 2026 start for open access to Taunton

THE chairman of open access operator Go-op is confident that the company will be a success, as it looks to raise around £2 million in start-up costs with the aim of starting services in 2026. Go-op was given the go-ahead by the Office of Rail and Road in mid-November to start running trains between Swindon, Taunton and Weston-super-Mare. Chairman Alex Lawrie was “over the moon”, telling RAIL: “It has been such a long journey to get to this point. I am fully aware that ORR approval does not mean that we’re actually running any trains, and they’ve set us some fairly stiff conditions that we have to comply with, but even so it represents a real breakthrough moment for us. “This is the point at which a completely independent, completely…

1 min.

December 15 date for Ashington

The long-awaited opening date for the Northumberland Line has been confirmed. Services between Newcastle and Ashington will commence on Sunday December 15, more than 60 years after the line closed to passenger traffic. The 18-mile route will open with just one intermediate stop, at Seaton Delaval. Another station along the route, Newsham, is due to open in early 2025, with three more -Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, and Northumberland Park - set to follow later in the year. Two daytime services will run per hour Monday-Saturday, with one an hour in the evenings and on Sundays. Journeys will take around 35 minutes. Northern has recruited 20 new drivers and 18 conductors for the route, with plans to train up to 100 more drivers and 82 conductors in total. Driver training on the…

2 min.

Operators to move ‘in-house’ every three months

NEW Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has announced that passenger train operations will transfer to government control at an average of one every three months. The government confirmed on December 3 that South Western Railway, c2c and Greater Anglia will be the first to have its services transferred to DfT Operator Ltd (previously known as DfT Operator of Last Resort Holdings Ltd) in 2025. SWR will be first, on May 25 when its national rail contract expires, followed by c2c on July 20 and GA in the autumn. GA’s contract runs until September 2026, after its core-term deal expired in September this year, but the government will activate a clause allowing it to end the agreement with a minimum of 12 weeks’ notice. The announcement comes after the Passenger Railway Services…

1 min.

HEx responds to decline in numbers

Heathrow Express managers remain optimistic about the service’s future, after the latest passenger rail usage figures showed another year-on-year decrease. Data published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) showed passenger numbers between Heathrow and London Paddington in the April 1-June 30 quarter were down 12% compared with the corresponding three-month period in 2023. It was the fourth time in the last five quarters that Heathrow Express recorded a year-on-year decrease. At the same time, the number of passengers flying from the airport is at a record high. In its latest report, ORR noted: “Heathrow Express had the largest decrease with 12% fewer passenger journeys than the previous year. Increased competition with the Elizabeth line for journeys between Heathrow and London Paddington may have contributed to this reduction.” Mark…

1 min.

Mines traffic not on rail immediately

Iarnród Éireann’s rail freight business has suffered a blow, after confirmation that Tara Mines ore traffic will not return to rail immediately, following the announcement that production would resume at the mine near Navan (north of Dublin). The Bolden-operated site, Europe’s largest zinc mine, was mothballed in July 2023 with the last remaining stockpiles of ore shipped to an unloading terminal at Alexandra Road, North Wall, Dublin Port in September. Before the suspension of rail operations, IÉ operated up to three trains a day to the port, Monday to Friday. IÉ confirmed to RAIL that ore traffic will not go by rail for at least 18-24 months because of Dublin Port’s work on the Alexander Tramway, which connects the unloading terminal to the IÉ network.…

2 min.

Class 180 handles 125mph running during ETCS tests

The latest tests of in-cab signalling have been declared a success, after a stretch of the East Coast Main Line was closed over the weekend of November 30/ December 1. Fifty-six journeys were completed as a Grand Central Class 180 diesel multiple unit and a Great Northern ‘717’ electric multiple unit, fitted with European Train Control System (ETCS) technology, were used for a range of scenarios to examine how the on-board equipment interacted with that on the lineside. The Class 717 was used for tests between Potters Bar and Biggleswade, performing intermediate runs along the ECML as well as running to the fringes of ETCS’s reach on the Royston branch and Hertford loop. Meanwhile, the ‘180’ reached 125mph in high-speed runs between Finsbury Park and Huntingdon. Ricky Barsby, Network Rail’s…

2 min.

ECML timetable deal imminent

A breakthrough in the East Coast Main Line 2025 timetable is close, with details expected to be announced later this month by the Department for Transport. The long-awaited timetable change has been deadlocked since phase one of the East Coast Main Line’s power supply upgrade was completed in 2022, as various operators wrangled with the DfT and Network Rail over access to the new slots. Delays to the upgrades by Network Rail also affected the timetable changes. One of the biggest winners of the new timetable could be LNER, with its application to begin a fast train every hour between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley expected to be given the go-ahead. The promise of a four-hour train journey between the two capitals was originally planned and announced when the…

1 min.

No extra trains on Cross-City South

Passenger hopes that the southern part of Birmingham’s Cross-City Line could see a restoration in the near-term of its six trains per hour service appear to have been dashed. Instead, West Midlands Trains looks set to use the spare capacity on the route for the new Camp Hill services. The Cross-City Line runs from Lichfield in the north to Bromsgrove and Redditch in the south. Prior to COVID, there were six trains per hour in both directions at all stations. The service pattern was reduced to just four trains per hour during the pandemic, and has stayed the same ever since. West Midlands Trains (WMT) has now applied to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for access rights to use the spare slots on Cross-City south, to help serve…

4 min.

Arterios in service, but delays extend by two years

SOUTH Western Railway says it could be another two years before its entire fleet of 90 new Class 701 Arterio trains is in service. The Derby-built trains are already five years behind schedule. They were ordered in 2017 to start carrying passengers from November 2019. SWR has five trains now in daily use. It will add ten more over the next seven months. They currently run only on Windsor and Shepperton services. From February they will operate on the Hounslow loop, and from March they will run to Dorking and Guildford. From June they will make the longer journey to Reading. The announcement was made following a ceremony at Waterloo on November 28, when former England cricketer Stuart Broad named a ‘701’ Nighthawk. SWR called the announcement a “major milestone”…

1 min.

DRS extends Tesco contract

Direct Rail Services has extended its deal with Tesco to continue carrying its goods across the UK. The partnership between the rail division of government-owned Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS) is already 12 years old, with a new three-and-a-half-year extension announced on November 25. DRS transports more than 12,000 Tesco containers every month, running a total of 98 trains a week from Daventry-Mossend, Mossend-Teesport, Daventry-Tilbury (x2), Tilbury-Coatbridge, Daventry-Wentloog, Daventry-Teesport via Doncaster, Mossend-Inverness and Daventry-Manchester, the last of which began on October 1.…

1 min.

‘377/1s’ heading to Southeastern

Southeastern is to receive 13 Class 377/1 electric multiple units over the next 12 months from Govia Thameslink Railway. Currently in use with Southern, the first two sets (377121 and 377122) will arrive in time for the December timetable change, when the operator is introducing more than 200 weekly services. The remainder (377123-133) will transfer before December 2025. GTR Engineering Director Steve Lammin said the move was being made possible by the arrival of 30 Class 379s (RAIL 1023), which are due to start work on its Great Northern lines from London King’s Cross over the new year. The four-car sets had been in storage since 2022, when no longer needed by Greater Anglia.…

2 min.

Possible £20m bill after nine HS2 bridges found to have welding defects

Nine HS2 bridges and another owned by Network Rail are among 12 identified by a steelworks contractor as having welding defects. Severfield announced that the issues - all on projects that are either ongoing or completed within the last four years - could cost around £20 million to fix. In a statement, Severfield Chief Executive Officer Alan Dunsmore said the issues “all arise out of a particular bridge specification and related sub-optimal choices of welding procedures, exacerbated by limitations in the specified weld testing regime for these projects”. He continued: “A comprehensive review is currently being undertaken by the Group, in conjunction with its affected clients, relevant industry authorities and insurers to fully understand the extent of the actions required to resolve the issue, which has not affected the safety…

2 min.

Stock faults force Pathfinder to cancel trains

AFTER a series of faults with its rolling stock hired from West Coast Railways, Pathfinder Railtours has been forced to cancel the three trains it had planned for the final weeks of 2024. Its November 23 Gloucester to Edinburgh excursion ran with some coaches that had no lighting, no heating, and other defects including unusable toilets. This resulted in the company complaining to its main train operating company and rolling stock provider. The coaches were a mix of those already owned by WCR and some of its recently purchased Riviera Trains vehicles. There were reports of passengers in Premier Dining having paid £300 a head only to have no heating or lights. It followed a similar level of complaints from UK Railtours over its November 9 trip from Euston to…

2 min.

Scotland promises to be ‘the place to be’ for 2025 charters

A joint venture between the Scottish Railway Preservation Society and Locomotive Services Limited is starting to bear fruit, with a series of charter trains announced for 2025. The highlights will be a pair of Class 20s visiting Kyle of Lochalsh and a Class 50 debuting at Oban. The trains will use mostly Mk 1 coaches, supported by some LSL Mk 2s as required, and haulage from the LSL heritage traction fleet of Classes 20, ‘37’, ‘45’, ‘47’, ‘50’ and AC electrics, along with the SRPS’s own 37403 Isle of Mull. The first train is set for February 8 with a Carlisle to Inverness trip featuring 37401/403. A month later (on March 8) comes an Edinburgh to Preston trip via Carlisle featuring two Class 20s, two Class 37s and 50050 Fearless.…

1 min.

Could CrossCountry take more ‘221s?’

CrossCountry is rumoured to be in talks to take the remaining six Class 221s of the 18 diesel-electric multiple units being released by Avanti West Coast, in a bid to address overcrowding. XC wouldn’t confirm the speculation, merely saying: “We are taking an additional 12 Class 221s. Three are already in service, with the remaining nine currently planned to come into service with [us] at the May 2025 timetable change. “The destination of the remaining off-lease Class 221s is a question for Beacon Rail Leasing.” The 18 units are coming off-lease following AWC’s introduction of Class 805s and more recently Class 807s on the West Coast Main Line. In addition to 221107-118, industry insiders have indicated to RAIL that 221101-106 could also make the switch. This would give XC 221101-141/144,…

1 min.

TPE marks five years of Novas

TransPennine Express has celebrated five years of operating its Nova trains, although only two of the three fleets remain in use following the decision to dispense with the Mk 5 locomotive-hauled coaches last December. The Nova 1 Hitachi Class 802/2s and Nova 2 CAF Class 397s have collectively covered more than 21 million miles across the network, with more than 28 million passenger journeys made on the Nova 1s and more than 14 million on the Nova 2s. ■ TPE 185143 has had the ends of its two driving cars wrapped in a festive livery promoting the ‘cash for kids mission Christmas’ campaign.…

1 min.

Mid-Norfolk Railway acquires ‘47s’

The Mid-Norfolk Railway has acquired two Class 47s from the Stratford Class 47 Group - 47580 County of Essex and 47596 Aldeburgh Festival. Both locomotives, which were based in East Anglia for much of their working BR careers, have been based at the Mid-Norfolk Railway for several years, although 47580 was registered for main line use and hired by West Coast Railways until September 2018. The MNR said: “The relationship between the Mid-Norfolk Railway and the Stratford 47 Group has been built on mutual respect and shared passion for heritage rail. “Both organisations have worked closely together to ensure these locomotives remain active and accessible to the public, enhancing the railway’s operations while offering visitors an authentic glimpse into Britain’s railway history.” Both ‘47s’ have working electric train supply and…

1 min.

NR Class 150 to be withdrawn

Network Rail has confirmed that its two-car Class 150-derivate Infrastructure Monitoring train will be withdrawn and disposed of. The two-car diesel multiple unit (950001) was built as part of the Sprinter production run of the mid-1980s purposely for use as a track monitoring unit. It was new in 1987 with vehicles DB999600/601. Network Rail Programme Manager Mark Chestney told RAIL: “We plan to replace 950001 with a two-car ‘153’ next year. “The ‘950’ is unique, whereas we now have a fleet of ‘153s’, so much more efficient to have a fleet of the same type of trains. “Also, the ‘950’ has obsolete technology on board that is no longer supported.”…

1 min.

WCR’s ‘Jacobite’ coaches return

The end of the ‘Jacobite’ season has seen West Coast Railways return the last of the vehicles used on summer operations. On November 17, 37518 Fort William was used to work the 1151 Fort William-Carnforth, with tools van 94225 and coaches 1861, 3232/50/60/62, 9391, 99318. WCR now has several of its Mk 1 coaches, which it cannot use on passenger trains on the main line, on loan at many heritage railways. At the South Devon Railway are 4905/60/73/94; the Spa Valley Railway has 5035 and 99328, the Churnet Valley Railway is hiring 5216; the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway has 4940/84, 99327; and 4951, 5032, 99326/329 are at the East Lancashire Railway.…

1 min.

More Class 756s at work in Wales

Transport for Wales introduced Class 756s from mid-November, with 756105/107/114-117 already carrying passengers. On November 15, 756107/116 entered traffic, followed by 756117 on November 18 (the official launch date, RAIL 1023), 756105 on November 21, and 756114/115 the following day. TfW has also added the first of its European Train Control System-fitted Class 197/0s into traffic, with 197030/033 working the 0805 Holyhead-Cardiff Central on November 19 and 197003 used the following day on shuttles on the Llandudno Town branch.…

1 min.

Freightliner gives ‘70’ a retro look for 60th anniversary

Freightliner has repainted 70008- although not (as expected) in its orange livery, but in a new special yellow and green livery in a nod to the company’s past. A Freightliner spokeswoman said: “As we are celebrating our 60th anniversary in 2025, we have taken the opportunity to celebrate this with a special livery. We will also be marking our 60th year with other celebratory plans throughout the year.” When sold by BR, Freightliner used a version of the old BR two-tone grey livery, before moving to a new green livery with yellow cabs - first for its Class 57s and then its ‘66s’. The arrival of the first Class 70 in 2010 resulted in a new ‘PowerHaul’ livery being introduced that was latter applied to a handful of Class 66s,…

1 min.

West Coast Railways supplies snowplough locomotives

West Coast Railways provided two snowplough-fitted Class 37/5s to Network Rail to perform snow patrols, due to adverse weather being expected as a result of Storm Bert. On November 15, 37668 and 37685 Loch Arkaig ran light from Carnforth to Carlisle. Two days later, they ran light to York to collect two independent snowploughs which they then worked as the 1352 York Yard-Carlisle High Wapping Sidings. The following day, these were taken to Perth. On November 19, 37668 ran light to Inverness to be on standby for snow duties, followed by 37685 the next day. Their stationing at the Highlands capital meant that on November 21, 37668 was able to work the 0935 Inverness-Kyle of Lochalsh and return. The locomotives stayed in Inverness for a few days, with 37668 used…

1 min.

First ‘175’ moves to Laira - but no deal signed yet

THE first of 27 Class 175 diesel multiple units expected to move to Great Western Railway was collected from store at Ely on November 26 and taken overnight to Devon via Hereford. Rail Operations Group facilitated the move of 175002 to Plymouth using 37510 Orion and 37407 Blackpool Tower. GWR said: “The unit is not ours yet, and no lease deal has been signed as yet,” although the signing of an agreement with Angel Trains for the 11 two-car Class 175/0s and 16 three-car Class 175/1s is expected to be a formality once the Department for Transport signs off the relevant paperwork. RAIL understands that movement of the ‘175’, expected to be followed by a three-car unit, will enable GWR to get a head start in commissioning the units and…

1 min.

Eastern Rail Services plans two charter rakes

Eastern Rail Services is looking to prepare two full charter train rakes of coaches, after identifying a gap in the market caused by the sale of Riviera Trains coaches to West Coast Railways. ERS’s James Steward told RAIL: “Our first charter set is going through the approvals processes with freight operating companies,” adding that the company now has “two charter sets being prepared”. ERS has been providing coaches to various operators for non-passenger use, such as for Network Rail test trains and the Class 93 testing programme. It also has a Mk 3 kitchen car which will enable it to offer Premier Dining to customers. It recently bolstered its fleet by buying surplus vehicles from Vintage Trains. On November 23, 37510 Orion delivered Driving Van Trailer 82306 and Mk 2…

1 min.

Brodie to handle overhaul of Class 170s on hire to ScotRail

Kilmarnock-based Brodie Engineering has secured a contract from Porterbrook to undertake C6 overhauls on the fleet of 17 Class 170 diesel multiple units used by ScotRail. The contract is due to start in late October 2025 and includes the safety-critical overhaul of several components including (but not limited to) brake controllers, batteries, saloon and cab air-conditioning, doors, plus a partial interior refresh and full exterior paint and re-livery.…

1 min.

News In Brief

Class 150 reformed The latest conversion of a two-car Class 150/0 to a three-car Class 150 for Northern has been completed, with 150007 (comprising 150132 and 52226 from 150226) ready to enter traffic. There are plans for 150008 to be formed using 150111 and 57226. ‘66s’ on hire to Colas Colas Rail has applied its logos to 66790 Louise, which has been added to its fleet along with 66792 Collaboration. They join 66791, on long-term hire from GB Railfreight. ‘66s’ repainted in red Two more DB Cargo Class 66s have been repainted into its red livery, with 66120/186 the latest to lose their original EWS livery.…

2 min.

Review urges new approach on West Midlands projects

AN independent review of transport projects in the West Midlands, including for several new railway stations, has made recommendations designed to improve governance and streamline the process of building new infrastructure and delivering it on time and on budget. The review, carried out by consulting group Arup, was ordered by new West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker, following delays and cost overruns to several projects. Parker, who was elected in May this year, said he was concerned about a number of “significant issues” that had been brought to his attention regarding funding, delivery and delays to major transport projects. Arup gathered data and consulted project managers involved with several schemes - including plans to open new stations on Birmingham’s Camp Hill line, a new West Midlands Metro line from Wednesbury to…

5 min.

Regional News

Contributions for by far the UK’s most published column by the same author - now in its 43rd year - are most welcome from all sources. Personal observations, society magazines, website printouts and live links, transport group newsletters and media cuttings (with dates, please) are sought to maintain topicality. Please email your contributions direct to hj@howardjohnston.co.uk, or rail@bauermedia.co.uk WESTERN Dulcote: Two more sections of the Strawberry Line cycle route from Shepton Mallet to the coast opened on November 8. On the former GWR route via Wells and Cheddar (closed in 1964), they are the Dulcote extension and West Shepton link - a total distance of one and a half miles. Severn Beach: The miniature railway that ran until 1964 is to be revived by a local enthusiast, who wants to…

1 min.

Fewer bridge strikes, but they still cost NR £200m

Railway bridges were struck more than 1,500 times in 12 months, at a rate of one every six hours, Network Rail figures have revealed. Stuntney Road bridge in Ely was the most bashed, accounting for 18 of the 1,532 strikes between April 1 2023 and March 31 2024. NR has said the strikes cost the rail industry a total of around £20 million in delays, cancellations and repairs, with the delays adding up to 100 days (150,000 minutes). However, the total number of bridge strikes is the lowest figure recorded in five years, and 4% down on the previous 12 months. NR s ‘Wise Up, Size Up’ campaign reminds lorry drivers to check the height of their vehicles and plan their routes to avoid low bridges, while a team of…

1 min.

Memorial service for bomb victims

A memorial service has been held at Birmingham New Street station, to mark the 50th anniversary of the pub bombings in the city. Twenty-one people died and 220 more were injured when bombs exploded at the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town on New Street on November 21 1974. Relatives of those killed and survivors were joined by others including the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Lord-Lieutenant for the West Midlands, and Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips. The service included a one-minute silence, the reading of family names, poetry recitals, and musical performances.…

1 min.

News in pictures

Dawlish Sea Wall resists Bert battering Storm Bert caused chaos and disruption across the country over the weekend of November 23/24, but the reinforced Dawlish Sea Wall stood firm. On November 23, Great Western Railway 802107 passes with the 0903 London Paddington-Plymouth. Margate among upgraded stations Southeastern and Network Rail Alliance have completed a £2.6 million programme of station improvements at more than 20 stations - including Margate, where the booking hall and station cafe have been restored. Northampton tracks under water One of the areas of the rail network worst hit by Storm Bert was in Northampton. Flooding at the station severely damaged signalling equipment, leading to several days’ worth of disruption. New platform at Bradford Forster Square Work continues on the new fourth platform at Bradford Forster Square.…

7 min.

Rail freight sector must bide its time for a clear strategy

GOVERNMENTS rely on being popular for their survival, and it’s the sad truth that the UK’s rail freight business is never going to be a vote winner or loser. It is therefore not a top priority for Labour in its opening months in power. Its strategy for rail, published earlier this year, was heavily slanted towards a better deal for the passenger, although the current National Rail Plan does aim to increase the share of freight traffic by rail from 27% to 45% by 2030. There’s a lot of detail missing, but Network Rail has forecast major growth in demand in England and Wales between now and 2028-29, while at the same time admitting that wholesale creation of extra route capacity is not justified because many existing train paths are…

13 min.

Get costs and delivery under control

Sir Douglas Oakervee is no stranger to major projects such as HS2. He attended night school to gain his first engineering qualification, and he was a pupil of the highly respected Civil Engineer, James Rennie. In his mid-career, he set up his own engineering design and project management company in Hong Kong. The company was a member of a consortium led by Babtie - one of the key designers of London Underground’s Jubilee Line extension in the early 1990s. He had previously been chief tunnel engineer and construction manager for the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway, and in 1991 he became Project Director for the new Hong Kong International Airport, built on a man-made island in the South China Sea. He was responsible for the design, procurement, construction and commissioning…

11 min.

A bold experiment with industry benefits?

In May, Hitachi Rail began testing a five-carriage TransPennine Express Class 802 bi-mode unit that had been retrofitted with a battery, after one of its diesel engines had been taken out. It was a bold plan, designed to bring innovation to a train operating company which has struggled to operate - let alone innovate- over the past few years, as well as to a train manufacturing company which has been growing its presence since it entered the UK market in 2009, enhancing its reputation across the globe as an innovator in battery-train operations. As well as those two companies, the Class 802’s owner Angel Trains has been part of the project, ensuring that it has cross-industry support. Meanwhile, Sunderland-based Turntide Technologies has supplied the battery, making sure that any future…

6 min.

Time savings deposited at Bank

Upgrading railway stations can be complex and long processes. This is even more true of a station that sits at the epicentre of one of the busiest rail networks in the world. But the success of the Bank Station Capacity Upgrade over the course of a decade shows that collaboration, patience and perseverance is alive and well in the industry. This was one of the reasons why the judges at RAIL’s National Rail Awards 2024 chose Transport for London’s entry as the winner of the Major Project of the Year award. The team at TfL started this journey in 2013, with the aim of tackling the station’s ‘rabbit warren’ system of partially connected and standalone tunnels. Passenger flow modelling and data had shown that many passengers were avoiding the station…

13 min.

Into the Valleys…

For the latest of RAIL’s Mystery Shopper trips to see how the railway performs on a day-to-day basis, we’re in the Welsh Valleys and on the commuter routes emanating from Cardiff. This area of the network has been undergoing huge change in recent years, with more to come. Electrification of the main line to Paddington was completed in 2020, and wires are now being put up on various branch lines, with the new Metro system really beginning to take shape. New trains are also being introduced. The Class 197 and ‘231’ diesel units are in traffic, the first of the Class 756 bi-mode units have arrived (several of them stored in sidings at Barry on the day of RAIL’s visit), and Class 398 tram-trains are being delivered to a new…

7 min.

Custom and culture: twin pillars of Japan’s rail efficiency

THE news that Tokyo Metro, the state-owned company that runs part of the city’s underground network, is to help run the Elizabeth line has led to wry smiles among some commentators. They have been quick to trot out the old stories of people being squeezed into trains like sardines, by white-gloved attendants shouting incomprehensible instructions. They could not be more wrong. Tokyo has adapted to the growth in numbers by providing an astonishing service, and the days of pushing people forcibly onto trains are long gone. I am currently in Tokyo, and have spent much of the past week hopping on and off the Yamanote Line and other parts of this huge network. There are undoubtedly things we can learn from its operation. But there are other aspects that are…

10 min.

Awards reward restored railway survivors

The National Railway Heritage Awards enjoyed another successful competition this year, with a strong field of 58 entrants. These spanned the length and breadth of the British Isles, with entries all from all four nations. The winners received their plaques, and the runners-up appropriate certificates, from Ptolemy Dean OBE, the architect and historic buildings advisor, at the awards ceremony held at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall, City of London on December 4. The winning entries are described by ROBIN LELEUX, who has retired after many years as a Trustee following recent charities legislation. He now writes as a Patron of the Awards. THE GWR OPERATIONAL ENHANCEMENT AWARD: BRICKET WOOD The old LNWR opened its branch to St Albans in 1858 to serve that town, only for traffic to be lost to…

7 min.

Alexander must deliver a rail way fit for the 21st century

SHE moved fast. And was gone. Louise Haigh’s tenure as Transport Secretary came to an abrupt end in the early morning of November 29, as she quit over a spent conviction for fraud over a lost-then-found mobile phone over a decade ago. The previous day, she’d been speaking at a set-piece event in Leeds to launch the Department for Transport’s integrated transport strategy that she said would be published next year. Her speech was more than a nod to Barbara Castle, the Labour transport minister in the 1960s who created local transport integration by way of Passenger Transport Executives (RAIL 1019), which co-ordinated buses and trains, unified fares and created consistent brands. Haigh said of Castle’s 1968 Transport Act: “At its core [it] was never a battle of car against…

14 min.

Euston’s HS2 green light… but questions remain

“Today, we are securing delivery of the project between Old Oak Common and Birmingham, and we are committing the funding required to begin tunnelling work to London Euston station, catalysing private investment into the local area.” These were the words of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, addressing MPs during her Budget speech on October 30. On the surface, the high-speed rail link HS2 receiving the go-ahead to Euston should be seen as good news for the area. The alternative was having the HS2 terminus in Old Oak Common in northwest London, where passengers would have to switch to services such as the Elizabeth line. But the problem is: this community in Euston has been here before, and there is little or no faith left in the project. Many think…

6 min.

Getting to grips with the ‘Euston Rush’

Euston station’s problems can only really be solved when HS2 arrives and the station is substantially rebuilt. On that, everyone is agreed. But for the long years until that happens, what newspapers delight in calling the ‘Euston Rush’ has to be tackled. The quick fix demanded by the now former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has been ridiculed in some quarters - probably unfairly. But the announcement did say that “improved flows through the station have been made possible by collaboration between Network Rail and the train operating companies”. Were they not collaborating before? If not, what were they doing? Haigh ordered Network Rail to turn off the giant advertising screen that had been installed last January to replace the now-removed main departure boards. NR hinted in November that “in the…

9 min.

Open Access

2 WAYS TO SEND RAIL YOUR VIEWS & OPINIONS WRITE TO US: RAIL, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough Business Park, Peterborough PE2 6EA. EMAIL US: rail@bauermedia.co.uk HIGH SPEED 2 HS2 at Euston must satisfy future capacity needs Any solution for HS2 at Euston needs to combine the minimum cost upfront with the maximum opportunity to expand as and when needs emerge. That is exactly what was offered by the original scheme in the Phase 1 Hybrid Bill. I have never heard a good reason why this scheme, exactly what we now need, was dropped. The concept of the Hybrid Bill scheme was that six platforms would be built on the site alongside the existing Euston station, to cater for the Phase 1 service. With Phase 1 in operation, long-distance…

5 min.

Go-op share prospectus

OFFICE of Rail and Road (ORR) approval of proposals by the Go-op Co-operative to operate open access services in Somerset and Wiltshire has been followed by the issue of what is described as a pioneer share offer. Go-op is seeking initial funding of £200,000 and offers the payment of interest in return for investment once services are profitable. Its prospectus states that passenger demand will amount to 150,000 in 2026 (expected to be the first year of operation), growing to between 350,000 and 400,000 after ten years. The forecast has six distinct elements described as the core Taunton-Westbury section, followed by diagram one to reach Swindon via Melksham, diagram two to serve Weston-super-Mare, and specific add-ons to cover Friday evening services, potential new stations, and income from a connection with…

3 min.

Crossword Competition

WELCOME to the RAIL Crossword. In this issue, our successful solver can immerse themselves in the London Underground, by winning a copy of Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube, courtesy of Profile Books (www.profilebooks.com). The iconic London Underground is the oldest metropolitan transport system in the world. Blending reportage, humour and personal encounters, author Andrew Martin embarks on a wonderfully engaging social history of London’s underground railway system (which, despite its name, is in fact 55% overground). First published in 2013 to coincide with the London Underground’s 150th anniversary, Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube (paperback, 288 pages, retail price £10.99) is a highly enjoyable, witty and informative history of everything you need to know about the Tube. Andrew Martin is a prolific author of fiction…

2 min.

Stop & Examine

@RAIL Send contributions to: mike.wright@bauermedia.co.uk “We are setting readers a challenge, to see if there is a worst example for an approach or entrance to a railway station,” writes Paul Johnson, from the Independent Brigg Line Rail Group. “We give you Station Road in Brigg, bought from Railtrack in 1996 by North Lincolnshire Council. “The authority has done absolutely nothing to improve the appearance. Constant requests for some Tarmac to lead up to the station front, so that customers do not get clarted in mud every time it rains, has fallen on deaf ears.” So, the gauntlet has been well and truly thrown down. Please send us your pictures on station entrances that could do with a bit of TLC. Email: mike.wright@bauermedia.co.uk. Each day, numerous emails arrive into the RAIL…

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RAIL Issue 1024 (Digital)

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