Table of contents for Issue 1006 in RAIL

rail@bauermedia.co.uk @RAIL PASSENGERS are coming back. Latest figures from the Office of Rail and Road show a 20% increase in numbers last autumn, compared with autumn 2022. Revenue has jumped a similar amount. That’s hugely welcome. It leaves passenger numbers within touching distance of pre-pandemic figures, although it must be said that there’s still a wider gap in revenue. But today’s recovering railway is different to the one before COVID. There’s a greater emphasis on leisure travel and less on business. I’ve caught a few early morning trains south from York in the past few weeks. They’ve been emptier than I remember, but later trains look much busier. Commuting seems to be growing, too. Catching an 0802 train from Watford Junction, for an Institution of Mechanical Engineers seminar in mid-March,…

Alex Hynes is moving from Scotland’s Railway to become the Department for Transport’s director general for rail services. He moves on a two-year secondment in April. “Bringing a wealth of experience to this role, Alex is uniquely equipped to lead our plan to help deliver better outcomes for passengers in the years ahead, working in close partnership with industry,” said DfT Permanent Secretary Dame Bernadette Kelly. The Department said the new rail infrastructure and services group would combine its existing passenger services directorate and rail infrastructure group. It explained that this would bring oversight of track and train together, and was part of a wider restructuring of DfT. DfT is also creating a major rail projects group under Alan Over, who has been heading the DfT’s high speed rail group.…

The RMT is urging conductors (guards) working at Ayr, Dumfries, Glasgow Central and Stranraer to vote ‘yes’ for strikes, in a dispute about what it sees as the extension of driver-only operation (DOO) of trains. As a long-standing national policy, the RMT will not accept any extension or introduction of DOO. ScotRail had previously retreated from its plan to extend DOO to its newly electrified line to Barrhead, after a strike threat (RAIL 997). The RMT pulled back from strikes after ScotRail said “its preferred method of operation would be the Strathclyde Manning Agreement (SMA)”, which guarantees a second person on the train. ScotRail also agreed to pause SMA implementation for Barrhead until June 2024, to allow the union to “engage with members and for RMT members to have the…

The TSSA union has announced further strikes at ScotRail, in a dispute that started in 2021 over the terms and conditions of on-call working arrangements. Operations Team Manager grades will strike on March 30/31. Similar action took place in December 2023. Since then, and after high-level in-person talks between ScotRail and TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust, “the company has done nothing to suggest they are prepared to shift their ground”, the union said.…

As HS2 approaches the peak of construction, a small railhead near Quainton in Buckinghamshire, has now received one million tonnes of construction material by rail, carried by 646 trains. It has taken the equivalent of 101,000 HGV movements off local roads. Sited on an existing freight line north of Aylesbury, the railhead is expected to have a further 1,400 freight trains over the next two years, taking the material delivered to around three million tonnes. Once on site, most of the material - mainly aggregate for construction - is stockpiled before being moved up or down the new high-speed line on a series of dedicated haul roads.…

Transport for London is looking for “emerging approaches or alternative/innovative delivery methodologies” for its proposed Bakerloo Line depot upgrade and lineside infrastructure work, to allow it to introduce new trains. TfL is looking to assess the contractor market’s appetite for work covering power supplies, stations, civil engineering and structures, track, signalling and depot works. It notes that it might be 2030 before new trains arrive, but it is keen to upgrade its infrastructure by 2028 to support this new fleet.…

High Speed 1 is seeking ideas to expand St Pancras station, in order to relieve congestion caused by increased border checks and to expand capacity from 1,800 passengers per hour to 2,700 per hour by 2025. In the first stage of work, it wants to understand the maximum limit of passengers with its current infrastructure and then move towards increasing it. The first stage could look at bottlenecks in processes and infrastructure, it said in a briefing document in late February. HS1 expects the final draft report for Stage 1 to be complete by June 15, with the second and third stage reports by July 12 and August 9 respectively. Stage 2’s report should define a clear vision for St Pancras, while Stage 3 explains how to get there. Changes…

Nameplates from Great Western Railway’s short-lived ‘Castle’ class High Speed Trains fetched a total of £21,700 at March’s sale by GW Railwayana Auctions. A nameplate from 43009 Nunney Castle topped the list, being sold for a hammer price of £5,100. The other four nameplates were Chepstow Castle (power car 43170, £4,000), Raglan Castle (43171, £4,300), Acton Castle (43027, £4,200), and Dunster Castle (43122, £4,100). Other notable sales at the auction included nameplates from 58039 Rugeley Power Station (£4,200), 60044 Ailsa Craig (£3,400), 59201 Vale of York (£3,800), and 50049 Defiance (£3,200, with the nameplate only carried in preservation).…

Female apprentices West Midlands Railway says it is looking for “creative, inquisitive and collaborative” women to join it as engineering apprentices. Training is at Birmingham Metropolitan College and WMR sites over four years. The salary is £18,861. Trackwork for trams No trams ran between Wednesbury and Edgbaston over March 23-April 9, as the Midland Metro Alliance worked on construction of trackwork that will eventually allow trams to travel between Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley. Sign language screens LNER is to introduce British sign language announcements on its departure screens, initially at Durham, Doncaster, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Peterborough, because these stations have the latest display screens.…

The Government has announced £35 million to speed up design work on the upgraded Manchester-Liverpool route that will use part of the axed HS2 line, slashing end-to-end journey times from 50 minutes to 35 and increasing the number of services to at least four an hour. The commitment to re-use parts of the abandoned HS2 parliamentary bill for the £12 billion scheme was made by Transport Secretary Mark Harper on March 25. This move confirms that it will proceed with Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR). It also recognises the strong support to retain a station at Manchester Airport and provide better facilities at Warrington Bank Quay. This early money will also allow preparatory business case work on changes at Manchester Piccadilly, the approaches to Liverpool Lime Street, and the new station…

BOTH Rail Minister Huw Merriman and his opposite number Stephen Morgan are to take part in Rail Live, with Merriman delivering a keynote speech. With competing visions of the future of the railways, the Conservative and Labour politicians’ presence at Britain’s foremost outdoor railway industry show during an election year is expected to draw key interest. Early bookings for the event, to be held by RAIL at Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre on June 19/20 have been significantly higher than in previous years - with registrations in their first week 135% up on 2023. Exhibitor numbers are also up on the equivalent period, by more than 15%. Confirmed speakers at the 2024 event include Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines, Great British Railways Transition Team Interim Lead Director Rufus Boyd,…

The Government has given the green light to the Oxford-Bedford section of East West Rail. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the Budget on March 4 that work would be accelerated to allow services to run by 2030. He said that delivery of work on the Bletchley-Bedford section would be brought forward, supported by £240 million from existing budgets. Thirty-seven homes in Bedford could be demolished along the preferred route through the town, with a further 28 losing part of their gardens. Completing East West Rail has “quite a powerful strategic case” despite having a poor benefit:cost ratio (BCR), MPs have been told. The project to connect Oxford and Cambridge via Bedford has a BCR of between 0.5 and 1.1, meaning that costs are likely to outweigh the measurable benefits. The…

Locomotive Services Limited’s 60081 left Toton on a low loader on March 18, heading for Margate after cosmetic attention that included a full repaint into Great Western Railway green. The Class 60 will be fitted with cast Isambard Kingdom Brunel nameplates and 60081 numberplates. It has been earmarked as a static exhibit at the One:One Collection in the old Hornby factory in the town, which is due to open to the public possibly next year. The lorry that delivered 60081 was then reloaded with 47841 which is returning to Crewe to donate parts.…

THE ambitious project to build a new English Electric Type 2 ‘Baby Deltic’ is getting closer to completion at Barrow Hill, although the group undertaking the work - the Baby Deltic Project (BDP) - is not being drawn on a date as to when it will be finished. The BDP was established in late 2010. Having found and purchased the last-known remaining Deltic T9-29 engine used in the Class 23s, it decided to acquire a Class 37 (due-to-be-scrapped 37372) as the donor to provide the body, albeit much shortened. The bogies were essentially the same as those under a Class 20, so two were acquired from a scrap Class 20, meaning that the three key components of body, engine and bogies were essentially sourced. Much work has been ongoing at…

GB Railfreight has fitted new light clusters to 66738 Huddersfield Town, to almost the same style fitted to the first Class 66s when they arrived in the UK in 1998. EWS’s 66001-250, delivered between 1998 and 2001, were fitted with light clusters manufactured by BMAC. However, other operators such as Freightliner, GBRf and Direct Rail Services ordered new ‘66s’ fitted with new, circular lights, known to many enthusiasts as ‘bug eyes’. Not all new Class 66s received the ‘bug eye’ designs, and BMAC-style lights were fitted new to 66401-420, 66538-581, 66607-622, 66708-727 and 66951/952. These differ from the ‘66/0’ style by having two lenses rather than three. Other GBRf ‘66s’ built with the larger lights are expected to follow 66738 in having the BMAC-style lights. Meanwhile, imported 66308 entered traffic…

Tram drivers win 13.5% West Midlands Metro drivers have been awarded a 13.5% pay increase from April 1. The wage for a fully trained crew member has now risen by a third since June 2022, from £22,000 to £30,100, and follows a campaign by the Unite union. Croy drainage fixed A long-standing landslide problem area on the Edinburgh-Glasgow main line has been eliminated with the successful completion of a £3.5 million, 12-month project to improve drainage in a cutting between Croy and Dullatur. Reading West grows Great Western Railway opened a new station building at Reading West on March 19. Costing £5 million, it features an information desk and shops. It also now has ticket barriers at its Oxford Road and Tilehurst Road entrances. Smart for Glasgow ScotRail is introducing…

Opinion IN my youth, I would go on demonstrations and sometimes wonder whether I really supported the cause we were protesting against. Inevitably, the chant of ‘What do we want?’ would soon be ringing out, and those around me always seemed confident of the answer which they shouted out with relish. I could never quite join in, even for what I considered as obvious causes such as unseating Mrs Thatcher or freeing Nelson Mandela. Knowing what you want is more difficult than knowing what you don’t want. And that’s where the Labour party is today with the railways. Its mantra is that it will take the franchises back in house by not renewing the contracts as they expire. That’s all well and good, but it is really at the ‘Maggie…

Some final thoughts from the team at RAIL @RAIL Send contributions to: mike.wright@bauermedia.co.uk Congratulations to Mike Davis from Croydon; John Dinning from Stonebridge; and Katie Elkins from Dursley. Mike, John and Katie are this year’s winners in our annual Stop & Examine quiz. They win copies of the Clapham Train Accident (written by RAIL contributing writer Greg Morse and published by Pen and Sword Books) and Made From Girders (written by Barbara Henderson and published by Luath Press). This year’s quiz (RAIL 1001) was an alphabetic one - about stations on the UK network. We asked: which station shares its name with… and the answers were: A Atherton (Michael). B Balmoral - the station in the suburbs of Belfast, in Northern Ireland (as in the United Kingdom of Great Britain…

A total of 417 million rail passenger journeys were recorded in the final three months of 2023 (compared with 348 million in the corresponding period in 2022), bringing passenger totals close to pre-pandemic levels. Fares income is also on the rise. Figures released by the Office of Rail and Road reveal that the 20% increase in journeys made is matched by 20% uplifts in revenue (to £2.6 billion) and in journey distances (to 15.2 billion passenger kilometres). The encouraging figures are despite seven days of large-scale industrial action, which meant few or no services on most UK routes. Some operators also won business back because they returned to normal timetables after slashing them by half last year. Aside from the Elizabeth line, Avanti West Coast recorded the greatest growth at…

“NOBODY wins” was the response from the Rail Delivery Group to a new set of rolling strikes and an overtime ban from April 4-9 announced by train drivers’ union ASLEF. It is the latest step in a 20-month pay dispute with the 14 passenger operators controlled by the Department for Transport. Once again, it will cause widespread disruption as around 96% of train drivers are ASLEF members. The dispute started in May 2022. ASLEF wants a ‘no-strings’ pay increase, while the RDG says increases must be linked to “implementing necessary, sensible reforms that would enhance services for our passengers”. Those reforms include Sunday working as part of the rostered duty, rather than relying on volunteers. “We want to resolve this dispute, but the ASLEF leadership needs to recognise that hard-pressed…

After four days of public sector workers’ strikes affecting health, education, transport and other sectors in Northern Ireland, a pay deal has yet to be reached. Workers in the three public transport trade unions (UNITE, GMB and SIPTU) voted by 70% to reject a 5% pay increase plus a one-off £1,500 payment for the 2023-24 financial year. The unions have now agreed to re-enter discussions with Translink, to try to achieve a resolution. More than 150,000 workers have seen their pay frozen for two years, due to the lack of a functioning Stormont Executive, after the DUP collapsed the institutions in protest against post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland. The Westminster Government offered £584 million to address public sector pay issues, as part of a financial package of more than…

GREAT Western Railway’s ‘fast-charge’ battery train, 230001, is now undergoing a 12-month trial on the Greenford branch in west London, to assess its technology and consider whether it could be used on other lines. The train has shoegear underneath that allows it to recharge on-board batteries from a larger bank of batteries held in two storage containers at West Ealing. These batteries then draw power from the National Grid on a trickle basis. GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood explained that research from the trial would help GWR understand what was needed to roll out this technology onto Thames Valley branch lines and those in Devon and Cornwall. GWR Engineering Director Simon Green told a media briefing on March 15 that the fast-charge technology was being used for the first time…

Nottingham Trams Limited must improve procedures in its control room to prevent incidents such as the derailment of a tram on faulty points on June 12 2023. In the incident, a southbound tram derailed on spring-loaded points at Bulwell that were not in the correct position after the passage of two other trams heading north. A Rail Accident Investigation Branch report published on March 27 made the recommendation to improve procedures. It also reminded tram drivers not to make assumptions about the status of signals or indicators based on previous experience. In its investigation, it noted that the driver of the derailed tram had not checked the visual indicator alongside the points, having probably become conditioned not to expect any problems there. Nottingham’s tram route reduces from double-track to single…

HS2 has gained planning approval for a cut-and-cover ‘green tunnel’ in Burton Green, near Kenilworth, after Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council approved the revised design, which includes noise barriers. It includes a relocated Kenilworth Greenway, with extensive tree planting, new footpaths and cycle paths alongside the railway and better connections to local woods and communities. The designs respond to community feedback, focusing on bigger and better green spaces around the railway, after public engagement events in October 2019 and March 2022. The plans for the southern end of the structure have already been approved by Warwickshire District Council, where the railway will travel in a 400-metre green tunnel. This means the railway will be hidden, and the roof covered with landscape planting and new footpaths in order to sensitively integrate the…

NORTHERN’S 0518 Preston to Barrow-in-Furness on March 22 derailed as it approached Grange-over-Sands station, where it was due at 0605. Network Rail said that it had found a void in the track around 150 metres behind the train, which was formed of two three-car Class 195 diesel multiple units, with 195104 leading and 195133 on the rear. Only the front unit derailed. Within the void there are water pipes which RAIL understands were used to pump water from a golf course on one side of the line out to Morecambe Bay on the other side. The line approaching Grangeover-Sands from Preston runs along the sea front. It has a section of salt marsh then a sloping stone wall, topped by a low vertical wall from which the derailed unit dislodged…

Sir Christopher Benson, the driving force behind the London Docklands redevelopment and Crossrail, has died aged 90. After a career in commercial property, in 1984 he became chairman of London Docklands Development Corporation, established by Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine. Benson successfully won Tory ministerial support for the then-underfunded and unreliable Docklands Light Railway (at the time, a simple two-route, seven-mile system), and also negotiated leases for the multi-billion-pound development of Canary Wharf. After leading redevelopment of the area, he was then seen as the natural candidate to advance the Crossrail project, now the Elizabeth line. He was appointed the first chairman, from 2001 to 2004, of Cross-London Rail Links, a joint venture of Transport for London and the Strategic Rail Authority established to advance the Crossrail project from the drawing…

South Western Railway stopped selling cheaper advance fares on popular peak services from March 1. However, after a social media backlash from passengers, SWR reinstated them within a week, although with fewer seats on offer at the lower price. The withdrawal had caught passengers unawares, as they had only seen an announcement that advance fares would rise by 4.9% on March 1, in line with regulated fares. One passenger travelling from Poole to Waterloo to arrive before 0900 found the £33 fare had risen to £66, no matter how far ahead it was booked. Another complained that the cost of travelling between Salisbury and Waterloo return had risen from £29 to £40, booking a month in advance. SWR confirmed it had removed advance fares from peak services on Tuesdays, Wednesdays…

Testing starts on April 27 for Network Rail’s latest section of line controlled by European Train Control System (ETCS) signalling- Welwyn to Hitchin, on the East Coast Main Line. It follows similar work on the Northern City Line to Moorgate, where some trains have been running under ETCS cab signalling since November 2023 rather than conventional colour lights. NR expects the testing for Welwyn to Hitchin to take 12 months. It will check that the end of ETCS movement authorities coincides with red lineside signals, before moving on to check that all routes work and that trains correctly switch to and from ETCS as they enter or leave the Welwyn-Hitchin section. Teams will also ensure that trains correctly switch between the two radio block centres that transmit movement authorities to…

Tap in on Merseyrail Liverpool is introducing ‘tap in, tap out’ ticketing using cards linked to passengers’ bank accounts from this autumn at Merseyrail stations. It plans a second phase in 2025 which will allow passengers to use bank cards directly, or phones or smart watches. EMR explains digital East Midlands Railway hosted an event at Nottingham station on March 22 to explain to passengers how digital tickets work, how they can be downloaded to mobile phones or printed, and how to use them with ticket barriers.…

WEAK management and a small team of civil servants who were out of their depth have been roundly blamed for the £4 billion overspend on London’s Elizabeth line (Crossrail) and its opening four years late in May 2022. These are the principal findings of a damning joint report by the Department for Transport and the Infrastructure & Projects Authority (IPA), published on March 18. For major future projects, it says that people must be found who are suitably qualified to take on the lead roles, having proved that they have done a good job on similar large schemes. The report notes that danger signs that Crossrail was drifting seriously off-course were detected back in 2016, and that the target opening of late 2018 was not going to be achieved. However,…

South Yorkshire Supertram’s return to public ownership on March 22 could be the springboard for extensions. Management of the Sheffield operation by Stagecoach has ended after 27 years, with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) taking over. While Supertram serves Sheffield and Rotherham well, neighbouring Doncaster and Barnsley help pay for it even though it does not serve their areas. This could change if more lines are approved. The 25 Siemens trams, which will now receive a livery change, are also due for replacement. From now, Stagecoach bus tickets will no longer be valid on Supertram. But SYMCA is offering a 10% celebratory discount on some services for the first 100 days of the new business (until June 30). A new operating company, South Yorkshire Future Tram Limited, has…

Several Direct Rail Services Class 68s have been stripped of their nameplates and their TransPennine Express livery wrap, in preparation for their return to Beacon Rail. Those that have returned to their base blue livery and are now nameless are 68020 Reliance, 68021 Tireless, 68022 Resolution, 68023 Achilles, 68024 Centaur, 68028 Lord President, 68029 Courageous, and 68030 Black Douglas. Still to be ‘defrocked’ are 68019 Brutus, 68025 Superb, 68026 Enterprise, 68027 Splendid, 68031 Felix and 68032 Destroyer.…

THE proportion of deep sea shipping containers moved from Southampton by rail has increased sharply in the past six months. Container terminal operator DP World has been offering cargo operators a financial incentive to switch from road haulage for journeys previously considered too short to be viable by train. That incentive appears to be working - in the first six months of 2023, only one container in five went by train: 21%. The incentive scheme started in September 2023, and by December rail’s share had risen to 26% (one container in four). By the end of February, it had risen to 35% (more than one in three). DP World offers a £100 incentive for each laden container heading by train to a railhead within 140 miles of the port. It…

The March 28 start of West Coast Railways’ popular Fort William-Mallaig ‘Jacobite’ steam-hauled service was postponed with just seven days’ notice - until April 1, and probably beyond. The trains normally sell out months in advance, owing to the popularity of the Harry Potter films that feature Glenfinnan Viaduct. Bookings for the rest of the season have also been stopped. The postponement follows the removal of WCR’s exemption to operate non-central door locking (CDL) coaches, after the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) successfully defended WCR’s challenge in a Judicial Review in December 2023. WCR also provides traction, stock and crews for a range of companies within the rail industry, from route conducting to ‘Thunderbird’ duties on the East Coast Main Line. This business is unaffected - the ban relates…

Avanti West Coast made a surprise offer to ASLEF in mid-March for a new rest-day working (RDW) agreement, in a bid to reduce cancellations and provide capacity for driver training on its 13 new Class 805 Hitachi electric multiple units. In a move agreed with the Department for Transport, drivers would be paid £600 per rest day, in addition to their normal baseline salary. AWC says it is “similar” to RDW agreements at other operators. Previously, drivers were paid £125 per rest day shift plus an hourly rate. This totalled £421-£495 depending on whether a driver worked an eight- or ten-hour shift. The 12-month deal was due to start on Thursday March 28 (after this issue of RAIL went to press) and run until March 29 2025. Rollout of the…

ASLEF Tube train drivers will go on strike on Monday April 8 and Saturday May 4 in a long-running dispute about terms and conditions. They previously held a one-day strike in March 2023. Accusing London Underground of “broken promises”, ASLEF organiser Finn Brennan said the dispute is over LU’s “failure to give assurances that changes to our members’ terms and conditions will not be imposed without agreement and that all existing agreements will be honoured”. He claimed: “Despite a previous commitment to withdraw plans for massive changes to drivers’ working conditions, LU has established a full-time team of managers preparing to impose their plans. ‘They want drivers to work longer shifts, spending up to 25% more time in the cab, and to remove all current working agreements in the name…

Greater Manchester’s Bee Network is looking to add rail services across several local lines, according to Mayor Andy Burnham. Speaking at a northern transport summit on March 21, Burnham revealed the eight routes. They are Southport-Stalybridge, Manchester-Rochdale (stopping services), Manchester Piccadilly to Glossop/ Hadfield, Rose Hill, Buxton and Alderley Edge, Victoria-Wigan, and stopping services to Manchester Airport. “We’ve identified eight commuter lines across the city-region,” he said. “What that will mean, for people served by those stations, you’ll tap into the station and you’re into the Bee Network cap like in London, so you can use buses and trams and it’s all capped at a certain price within a given day.”…

Network Rail used Northern Class 331s to test its newly electrified route between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge overnight on March 12-13. Once passenger services had finished, 331025 and 331027 completed three round trips from Victoria, NR told RAIL. It also confirmed that wiring the seven miles cost £450 million, although this includes the latest remodelling of Stalybridge, as well as work at Miles Platting and track renewals. The figure also includes installing two miles of overhead line equipment (OLE) from Stalybridge to Guide Bridge, on the already wired Piccadilly to Hadfield line. On the other side of the Pennines, NR said that it planned to energise new OLE between Church Fenton and Colton Junction this July, with test trains running in late summer and passenger trains using the wires by…

POLITICAL leaders in northern England voted unanimously to ditch Avanti West Coast as the operator of long-distance trains from London Euston to Birmingham, Manchester, North Wales and Scotland. The vote took place at Transport for the North’s board meeting in Leeds on March 20. TfN has no power to strip Avanti of its operating deal, but it can provide statutory advice to the Transport Secretary, who does hold that power. The vote followed a testy debate in which Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham led attacks on AWC, saying the company had inflicted “huge damage” on Greater Manchester’s economy and accusing the company of “being in denial”. He said: “I have run out of patience. I cannot accept this railway being left in this perennial state of chaos.” AWC’s owner is…

North Yorkshire County Council is considering a retrospective planning application from National Highways for its work to infill a former railway bridge near Tadcaster. The bridge carries the A659 road over the old Church Fenton-Harrogate line. National Highways infilled it in 2021 claiming, according to campaigners the HRE Group, that it was working to prevent an emergency. The group adds that such work has to be removed within 12 months, or formalised with council consent. As this issue of RAIL went to press, the council had received 72 public comments on NH’s plan, all of them objecting to it. In 2023, NH was forced to remove infill it had placed in 2021 in the arch of a bridge near Great Musgrave, Cumbria, after the local council refused retrospective planning permission.…

Avanti West Coast must consult passengers, user groups, Network Rail and other operators about running Boxing Day services at least six months before the December 2024 timetable takes effect. The requirement sits within AWC’s contract with the Department for Transport, which instructs AWC to report to the Transport Secretary on its view on whether Boxing Day trains are commercially viable and what impact they will have on costs and revenue. The contract makes clear that operating such trains is at the Transport Secretary’s discretion.…

BIRMINGHAM and Greater Manchester should be linked by a new railway to replace the cancelled plan to build High Speed 2, say Mayors Andy Street and Andy Burnham following analysis from a group of specialists under former HS2 Ltd Chairman Sir David Higgins. A statement from the West Midlands Combined Authority said: “Although more detailed work is still to be done ahead of final conclusions this summer, the group has provisionally concluded that a new line - running approximately 70 miles between HS2 at Handsacre and Northern Powerhouse Rail at High Legh - is likely to offer the best combination of costs and benefits.” Parliament had approved construction of HS2’s Phase 2a between the West Midlands and Crewe, before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled it last autumn. This prompted the…

Northern plans to recruit 108 drivers and 198 conductors in 2024, and says it is actively encouraging people with no rail experience to apply. The train driver roles are at Barrow-in-Furness, Blackburn, Blackpool, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Workington and York. They come with a starting salary of £23,000 a year, which rises to £54,500 after successfully completing a 64-week training course Northern needs conductors at Barrow-in-Furness, Blackburn, Blackpool, Buxton, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Skipton, Workington and York. Salaries start at £22,000, rising to £29,000 after a 16-week training course. The train operator says it has a small number of vacancies for qualified drivers at Darlington, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle.…

Passengers can now use Dore & Totley station’s new westbound platform, after Network Rail completed a nine-day engineering blockade on March 24. The first train called at 0522 on March 25. It was TransPennine Express 0515 Sheffield-Liverpool Lime Street, comprising 185139 and 185121. NR’s work closed Totley East Tunnel (1893) and Grindleford (1938) signal boxes, with control transferred to York Rail Operating Centre. Both ‘boxes closed at the beginning of the blockade on March 16. NR has removed the single-track bottleneck at Dore & Totley, with Dore Station Junction now double-track leading to a second line running through the new platform onto the Hope Valley line. To increase freight capacity, NR has lengthened the bi-directional, single-track Dore South Curve, which has shifted Dore West Junction further west. NR Hope Valley…

Crossrail, now known as the Elizabeth line, is considered one of the most transformational infrastructure projects ever delivered in the UK, adding 10% to central London’s rail capacity. It has brought 1.5 million people within 45 minutes of the capital, with ten brand new stations and 30 others refurbished. As well as rejuvenating town centres, it has directly connected the UK’s largest airport to the UK’s two major financial districts. Crossrail awarded 62% of its contracts to companies outside London, and created 55,000 new jobs. It generated more than 150 million journeys in its first year, and its 700,000 daily journeys made on midweek services are 40% above post-pandemic expectations. A new cross-London route from Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east to Heathrow Airport and Reading in the west…

EAST Midlands Railway is to spend £60 million refurbishing its regional train fleet. The fleet comprises 21 four-car Siemens Class 360 25kV AC electric multiple units, 26 two-car BREL Class 158 diesel multiple units, and 44 Bombardier Class 170 Turbostars (17 three-car and 27 two-car sets). The project is being delivered by Angel Trains, Siemens, Porterbrook and Eversholt, with significant private sector investment. All the work will be carried out in the UK. Together with the introduction of the new Class 810 Intercity Aurora trains, it means that all of EMR’s trains will either be replaced with new trains or refurbished. The Class 360s work EMR Connect and Luton Airport Express services between Corby and St Pancras. They will be upgraded to provide better facilities for passengers, including new 2+2…

GB Railfreight has continued to give its Class 60s names that were originally carried by BR’s Class 44 ‘Peaks’. The latest to be named is 60095 Whernside (once carried by 44006), with the nameplate in the same style as that fitted to the ‘Peaks’ in 1958-59. It follows the recent naming of 60085 Snowdon (44009), while 60021 is already named Penyghent (44008) and 60026 Helvellyn (44002). There is one anomaly, for 60002 has been named Graham Farish – 50th Anniversary 1970 - 2020 after the model railway manufacturer. It leaves 60047/056/076/087/096 to be named, although as these (apart from 60087) are still in old Colas livery pending repaints into GBRf livery, it is not thought they will be named until repainted. There are still six Class 44 names that GBRf…

GB Railfreight has agreed to order 50 new Greenbrier box wagons. Financed through Porterbrook, they follow on from 100 intermodal twin wagons and 50 box wagons delivered to the UK rail network since 2022. The new wagons are due to arrive in the UK in the third quarter of this year. They will replace older wagons while also enabling an increase in the nation’s rail freight capacity. GBRf uses the wagons to transport bulk construction materials such as ballast and stone, to support the expected growth in freight for the construction sector. “Working in partnership with Porterbrook, we’re modernising our fleet by investing in 50 brand new box wagons,” said GBRf Commercial Director Liam Day. “These will drive further growth of the business and allow us to deliver more materials…

West Midlands Trains is preparing to introduce its new Bombardier Aventra Class 730s on the Bromsgrove/Redditch to Lichfield Cross-City Line. All 48 three-car Class 730/0s that will be used on this route have now been accepted into traffic. Their introduction will enable West Midlands Trains to return its Class 323s to Porterbrook. Already three Class 323s (323208/214/220), which date from 1992, have transferred to Northern, with 323202/203/205-207/209/210/212/213/217-219/241-243 all due to follow, although the exact numbers could change. As it stands, that means 323201/204/211/215/216/221/222/240 will be surplus and could be disposed of if no other train operator takes them. “We’re excited to bring this fantastic fleet to our customers on the Cross-City Line - one of the busiest commuter routes outside London,” said West Midlands Trains Managing Director Ian McConnell. “Our…

WESTERN Chilworth: The Railway Heritage Trust is trying to locate the final resting place of Henry Wicks, a 52-year-old railwayman who died in a rail mishap on February 29 1892 between Gomshall and Chilworth. He is commemorated by the trackside with topiary known as Jessie’s Seat. It is believed that the grave may be in Reading, where he lived. Cirencester: Structural repairs to brickwork and replacement of rotten timber at the former Great Western station (closed in April 1964 and empty for many years) have been approved. Cotswold District Council is meeting the £158,000 bill and is looking to find a user. Parracombe: The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway has scaled down its ambitions to extend the line from Killington Lane, following the expiry of planning permission to reach Blackmoor Vale.…

TRANSPORT for London certainly isn’t short of ideas on how to improve the UK capital city’s rail and bus network. But it is desperately short of money. New schemes are now backing up - some of them have been around for 20 years or more. But judging by recent comments from Transport Secretary Mark Harper, there is no love lost with those who run one of the world’s largest public transport bodies. TfL is mired by having to live hand to mouth, relying on government support that seems to be handed out begrudgingly - and then only for absolute essentials. Developers and investors, both of them job creators, complain that a long-term strategy is desperately needed to reap the obvious benefits of basics such as economic and social regeneration. Conspiracy…

GREATER Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham pulled no punches in March 20’s Transport for the North board meeting in Leeds. He wants rid of Avanti West Coast. And he may yet get his way, although ministers in London are holding the line at the moment. At the heart of the problem is Avanti’s poor performance, with too many cancellations. Protestations from FirstGroup, Avanti’s majority owner, fell on deaf ears in the meeting, during which local politicians voted unanimously to eject the company from its operating contract. They don’t have that power, so can only express their feelings in statutory advice to the Transport Secretary. That’s the same Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, who ditched First from the TransPennine Express operation following complaints from TfN’s board about poor performance. There are some glimmers…

Opinion Industry Insider PASSENGERS paid a total of £2.6 billion for rail travel in the final three months of 2023 - an astonishing increase of 20% over the corresponding period in 2022. The information is provided in the quarterly rail usage circular issued by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Published on March 21, it provides a range of statistics covering journeys, the types of ticket purchased, and fares. With the number of passenger journeys also rising by 20%, this is the first period for some time where there has not been a decline in the average fare paid - indicating that there is less price discounting in order to stimulate travel. A total of 417 million journeys were made in the three-month period, which means that demand has…

WELCOME to the RAIL Crossword. In this issue, two successful solvers can read all about William Adams (1823-1904), courtesy of Pen and Sword Books (www.pen-and-sword.co.uk). William Adams: His Life and Locomotives (hardback, 224 pages, retail price £18.75) tells the story of a man who was renowned for his locomotive designs for the London & South Western Railway. His years at Nine Elms were the culmination of a career which began formally in marine engineering, including a period at sea with the Royal Sardinian Navy, and then encompassed civil engineering and surveying before he joined the North London Railway as locomotive, carriage and wagon superintendent. His next move was to the Great Eastern Railway, where his designs met with mixed success, before moving south of the Thames to Nine Elms. Here,…