Indice dei contenuti per Issue 998 in RAIL

CONSIDERING the magnitude of the sums of money being talked about, the announcement on December 4 of an extra £3.9 billion cash injection into the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) seemed quite low-key. It is great news, of course, but I haven’t heard of any street parties being organised. Perhaps it’s because it is consolation for the loss of the northern leg of HS2 to Manchester, the cancellation of which was announced only a few weeks previously. Cynics might say that if the Government is really serious about decarbonising our economy, we should actually have both. Instead of having a new super-fast route to the South, Manchester will be better connected instead to Huddersfield, Leeds, York and Hull. So, what does £3.9bn really mean on a project that is now not…

Eurostar is conducting an inquiry into how 700 passengers were stranded for eight hours on November 30, after overhead wires fell onto a London-Brussels/ Amsterdam service, causing a total loss of power. The 0816 service from St Pancras was 30 minutes into its journey when it failed at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, a location which made it difficult to organise a rescue. Eurostar said the back-up battery power on board expired after a few hours, putting the lighting, air-conditioning, heating, toilets and public address systems out of service. Passengers were angry about the shortage of food, because only one item each was offered. They were later taken back to London and offered free hospitality. They will also receive substantial compensation and a free future ticket. The last major…

RMT members are voting on a 21.3% pay increase for guards at Transport for Wales. Crucially, it will bring Sundays into the existing 35-hour working week from May 2025. Currently operated as voluntary overtime (on double time), it means that Sunday working will be pensionable, with the bonus of additional rest days. A further change is that ‘New Days’ will be part of the working week, implemented on January 1 2025. The three-year deal, backdated to April 2023, takes the full-time salary from £38,440 to £47,035 in April 2024. A further (yet to be determined) increase will be paid at the rate of RPI-inflation from April 2025, covering year three. Included in the increase, 2.15% payable from April 2024, is a restructuring premium which the RMT says is “significantly better…

ALISTAIR Darling, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer who died on November 30 aged 70, will also be remembered for his four years as Secretary of State for Transport from 2002-06, when he successfully created Network Rail from the ashes of Railtrack, shut down the Strategic Rail Authority, and cancelled four UK light rail schemes. This was only part of a long career in politics for Baron Darling of Roulanish, and tributes have been paid to the way this decisive but non-confrontational politician later helped to bring British banks back from the brink in 2008 during a long and painful worldwide recession. Being in charge of the Department for Transport was just a stepping stone to higher office, and he certainly made his mark after years of scandal and mistrust…

Twenty-five desk-based professionals have gained hands-on experience in electrification. Staff from the Office of Rail and Road, Transport for Wales, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and an array of railway suppliers donned PPE at Network Rail’s Swindon Electrification Training Centre. During the Practical Electrification Challenge event, organised by the Permanent Way Institution, they learned how to install overhead electrification equipment. This better understanding of electrification construction will help them make better decisions, improve planning, safety and reduce costs. The event was delivered by Furrer+Frey, SPL Powerlines, and AtkinsRéalis in collaboration with Network Rail.…

DB Cargo and Network Rail staff were honoured with the Team Award at the Railway Benefit Fund’s Heart of Gold Awards in London on November 23, for raising more than £250,000 over the last four years for the Martin House Children’s Hospice. The team of David Jenkinson, Quentin Hedderly, Richard Corser, Ross Taylor, Andrew Denton, Jonathan Lawton, Mark Bridel, Jerry Dickinson and Kevin Adlam volunteer in their own time to support the West Yorkshire charity, which provides bereavement services and makes home visits. The Rising Star Award (sponsored by Furrer+Frey) was won by Merseyrail’s Hannah Tabassum, who organised a series of wellbeing events. The Lifetime Achievement Award (Railpen) went to Ronnie Hardman, also from Merseyrail, for his counselling work during his 46-year career. The Rail Hero (Freightliner) is Laura Warwick,…

SOUTH Western Railway is poised to undertake a “soft launch” of its long-delayed Class 701 Arterio electric multiple unit, according to sources at the company. The Derby-built unit has been due in service in 2019. SWR had promised the rolling stock would enter passenger service in 2024 - a promise echoed by the Department for Transport in a statement last May, which said the trains would run “this calendar year”. It is now thought that a single unit will run off-peak Monday to Friday between London Waterloo and Windsor, in order to fulfil that commitment. It will either make one single round trip each day or work between 1000 and 1600. A driver manager and guard manager will operate the service, and the company will carry out “in-service training”. The…

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has assured Merseyside of greater government commitment, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram at the official opening of the new £80 million Headbolt Lane station. It commits the Department for Transport to working more closely with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Network Rail and the Great British Railways Transition Team, although with no details as to how this will be developed. Harper said that it gives local authorities more power and will “pave the way for easier, cheaper and more accessible journeys across the city, providing better connectivity to jobs, education and business opportunities”. Headbolt Lane station is served by Northern services and the new Merseyrail battery-powered Class 777 units.…

DC Rail has agreed to buy 56301 from the Class 56 Locomotives Limited, which will leave sister company the Class 56 Group with just one locomotive (56006) as a preserved vehicle at the East Lancashire Railway. The C56G bought 56040 from EWS in September 2005. It was considered to be the best of a batch of eight Class 56s offered for sale in July that year. However, despite returning it into running condition in March of the following year, it sold 56040 for scrap to part-finance 56301, which was offered for sale in February 2011 from the receivers after its previous owner Fastline Freight went out of business. Buying 56301 with full main line registration was too good a deal to turn down, and by hiring it out to various…

West Coast Railways has secured a further extension to its exemption allowing it to operate passenger trains with coaches that are not fitted with Central Door Locking equipment. In a statement, the Office of Rail and Road said: “The ORR has granted WCR a new three-month exemption from December 1 2023 to February 29 2024 to enable it to operate while its Judicial Review is determined.” WCR has claimed that it would cost it £7 million to fit the Mk 1 and 2 coaches in its fleet that do not have CDL, and that includes the vehicles used for its Northern Belle and Jacobite operations - its biggest money earners. It does have some CDL-fitted Mk 2 air-conditioned coaches.…

Early in 2024, GB Railfreight should overtake DB Cargo in having the biggest fleet of main line locomotives in the UK. When its last Class 60s are withdrawn, following on from the withdrawal of its Class 90s, DBC should have 184 operational locomotives in its remaining fleet of Classes 66, ‘67’ and ‘92’. Meanwhile, GBRf will be close to accepting the last of its Class 69s, while the final European Class 66s are in the process of importing and converting for UK use. When both fleets are in, that will give it a fleet of 186 locomotives of Classes 47, ‘56’, ‘57’, ‘59’, ‘60’, ‘66’, ‘73’, ‘73/9’ and ‘92’. Freightliner has just under 150 locomotives of Classes 59, ‘66’, ‘70’ and ‘90’, with a solitary Class 47 used for route…

A landslip and flooding at Crewkerne tunnel in Somerset has closed the West of England Line for at least a week. South Western Railway announced there would be no trains west of Salisbury to Exeter before Monday December 11. The route closed following nine centimetres of rainfall on December 4. Passengers were warned not to attempt to travel on the route. Network Rail said 100 tonnes of clay, soil and vegetation would have to be removed from around the tunnel entrance - much of it dug by hand before being removed from the tunnel entrance by train. It added that remote sensing monitors embedded in the cutting side had detected the soil movement. Local residents spoke of the material blocking drainage channels. They said flooding of surrounding roads had also…

Train info on QR scan East Midlands Railway passengers using 46 of its smaller stations can get accurate information on the next three trains on their phones, following the application of QR stickers near platforms and in waiting rooms across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, and Lincolnshire. GA trips for refugees Greater Anglia has offered free tickets for day trips to help Ipswich-based refugees and asylum seekers adapt to life in the UK. They have been taken on ‘Welcome Walks’ around Saxmundham on the East Suffolk Line, and the Minsmere coastal bird reserve. Poppy Appeal success This year’s Poppy Appeal at South Woodham Ferrers station and other locations in the Essex village raised £4,693.93 for the RBL Poppy Appeal - double last year’s total. Young station adopter Northern’s youngest station adopter is…

TUCKED away in the middle of a report pack for one of Transport for London’s committees is a bar chart that compares demand for London Underground lines with national rail operators. The chart shows that Britain’s busiest railway is LU’s Northern Line, with around 280 million annual journeys. Govia Thameslink Railway sits in second place on 250 million. Six of the top ten places go to Underground lines, and the remaining four places go to GTR, London Overground, Elizabeth line, and South Western Railway. A little further down the table, in 14th place, is the Bakerloo Line, sitting just ahead of Northern and Great Western Railway. They were two train operators that until recently were running some of Britain’s oldest trains. But Northern’s Pacers have now gone and GWR’s High…

@RAIL Send contributions to: mike.wright@bauermedia.co.uk There’s always Philp Larkin, of course, but we can’t imagine that the name of the great 16th century Italian painter and sculptor Michelangelo has ever been associated with Hull Paragon station before. But now TransPennine Express says that Signor di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni’s painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City bears similarities with the work of local artist Andy Pea. Andy did take rather less time than the four years that the Renaissance icon took for his The Creation of Adam. But then he has applied rather simpler adornments to the four walls and ceiling of the Ferensway entrance to the North Eastern Railway building, to commemorate its 175th anniversary. The Creation of Hull artwork at Paragon station will soon be…

A £3.9 billion cash injection into the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) makes it the first national scheme to get major investment following the cancellation of HS2‘s Manchester extension. The announcement by Transport Secretary Mark Harper on December 4 is seen as some compensation for Manchester, which will get a much better rail link to Huddersfield, Leeds, York and Hull, instead of London. The extra funding is on top of what is already committed to ensure that the congested trans-Pennine route is better able to run up to eight trains an hour, and to carry more freight. The latest enhancements will not delay completion of the existing TRU works, the date of which is now given as the mid-2030s instead of the previous expectation of 2041. At current estimates, the total…

The £1.4 billion East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) took a giant leap forward on November 27 when the first passenger trains ran using European Train Control System (ETCS) technology. Great Northern ran 12 scheduled trains in ETCS Level 2 mode over the Northern City Line between Moorgate and Finsbury Park, marking the latest milestone in the project that will result in the southern end of the East Coast Main Line switching to digital in-cab signalling by 2028. Overnight testing has been taking place to prove the system for many months. Operation will gradually switch over to ETCS as more drivers complete their training in 2024, with existing signalling and safety systems on the NCL removed once all drivers are trained. Oliver Turner, head of ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System)…

THE Office of Rail and Road has given the go-ahead for some of Grand Central’s trains to call at Peterborough - exactly six years after its most recent proposal was rejected. Arriva-owned GC is the first open access operator to be allowed to call at the station, which is a key interchange on the East Coast Main Line with routes from Stansted/Norwich to the West Midlands and North West. The approval will enable two existing daily GC services in each direction - one each from Sunderland and Bradford Interchange to London King’s Cross- to call at Peterborough from “early in the New Year”. Sunday trains will continue to run non-stop through Peterborough. The move falls short of GC’s pre-COVID proposal (rejected by the ORR in December 2017), whereby it also…

A special community celebration on November 20 marked two years of operation of the Dartmoor Line to the reopened station at Okehampton, during which time more than 550,000 passenger journeys have been made on the line. The £40 million project is claimed by the Government as the first of its Restoring Your Railway scheme, although construction was under way before the scheme was announced by then-Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. Doubling up services from two-hourly to hourly has proved a success. Okehampton is now awaiting confirmation that the new £13.4 million parkway station will be ready in two years, this time using Levelling Up funding.…

TRANSPENNINE Express was set to end its use of Class 68s and its new CAF Mk 5 coaches on December 9 (after this issue of RAIL went to press), with the coaches facing an uncertain future. Reports suggest that the lease on the vehicles, including the locomotives, which are hired from Direct Rail Services, will continue until May despite the vehicles not being used. The 13 five-car sets (including Driving Trailers) will not be replaced. TPE’s fleet of Class 185 diesel units will therefore be worked harder to cover for the shortfall, with short-formed trains of three cars instead of five and six cars on some routes inevitable. The operation of Class 68s on the Pennine route has been a costly and difficult one. Initially, the coaches were delayed into…

Locomotive Services Limited collected its ex-Direct Rail Services 37409 from Harry Needle Railroad Company at Barrow Hill on November 29, after repairs. It returned to service the next day. The ‘37’ is staying in its large logo colours and is expected to be reunited with its Loch Awe nameplates. LSL sent 20096/107 to collect the Class 37 - along with Porterbrook’s 57303, which had been undergoing hand-back repairs before its transfer from DRS to GB Railfreight. The quartet of locomotives then headed to Worksop to collect Mk 2f TSOs (Tourist Standard Open) 5922/24, 5959, 6036, 6152, and then all returned to Crewe Diesel Depot. The Mk 2s have been stored in the Crewe Horse Landing sidings by the station. The following day (November 30), 37409 was paired with 37521 to…

The two Northern Class 150/2s that have been on sub-lease to Transport for Wales returned north on December 3, when 150269/270 worked the 1352 Cardiff Canton Sidings-Neville Hill TRSMD. Meanwhile, some of the Allerton-based three-car Class 331/0s are being swapped with four-car Class 331/1s based at Neville Hill, as trains on the western side of Northern’s operations require more seats. Rail Operations Group Class 37s moved the units over non-electrified routes to Skipton, from where the units continued under their own power to Leeds.…

Hanson & Hall (H&H) has sent 31106 Spalding Town to European Metal Recycling at Kingsbury, after aborting its plan to have the locomotive main line-registered. The Type 2 was moved by road on November 28, still sporting its nameplates. The locomotive was acquired from RAIL’s Howard Johnston in 2020 by H&H (which owns main line 50008 Thunderer), with a view to being returned to Network Rail compliance for hauling stock moves. It had been at the Nemesis Rail site at Burton. The locomotive has had issues with poor tyres, but it may not be broken up immediately as it is understood that European Metal Recycling has had interest from preservation groups. Meanwhile, 31210/235 have been made available for sale. 31210 is partway through an overhaul at the Dean Forest Railway,…

FIRSTGROUP is sitting comfortably as passengers return to its rail and bus businesses, as the problems cause by its (now-sold) troubled US bus venture recede. Unaffected by the current rail strikes, where the Department for Transport takes all the risk on loss of revenue, FirstGroup’s management fee provided a good contribution to its half-year results to September 30. Further potential comes from the variable fee paid when various performance targets are exceeded (though currently hampered by Avanti West Coast’s performance issues). Shareholders, long beleaguered by FirstGroup’s financial woes which left it heavily indebted and struggling in its then three market sectors, will be cheered by a 1.5p per share interim dividend, up from 0.9p last year. After a ten-year dividend hiatus, shareholder payments only re-started in July 2022. Also, the…

IT has been clear for a long time that the proposed legislation which would formally create Great British Railways was not going to be put forward in this Parliament. This was confirmed in the King’s Speech last month when, instead of launching the legislative process, it was announced that there will be the rather strange procedure of a debate over a Draft Bill, but with nothing going onto the statute book. The excuse that there is insufficient time does not hold water. There is indeed time for two transport bills - the Automated Vehicles Bill and the Pedicabs (London) Bill. While the automated vehicles legislation is the result of a four-year study by the Law Commission and is a thorough piece of legislation, it is about a mode of travel…

Opinion Industry Insider IT was once a cornerstone of operating policy to have sufficient resources to run a reliable timetable. This needed a back-up strategy which recognised that there would have to be contingency arrangements to deal with equipment and staffing failures. Traincrew depots would have cover drivers who could be placed into diagrams in the event of short-notice sickness and absenteeism. Locomotive maintenance depots would have stand-by traction to cover resource failures - a practice that continued in the recent past with ‘Thunderbird’ locomotives based at strategic locations to rescue failed trains. Relationships were also maintained with road transport operators, so that substitute bus services could be organised at short notice to cover more serious infrastructure failures, such as overhead line defects that took time to rectify. The Public…

Dublin Luas and Alstom are assessing whether the tram that was badly damaged by arsonists during violence in the city centre on November 23 can be repaired or is a write-off. Citadis tram 5037 was caught up in the disturbances in O’Connell Street that destroyed a number of buses, with shops and businesses also targeted. The tram was set alight from inside, and two of its centre cars were gutted. It was towed to its depot the following day for assessment. Because damage was also sustained to the overhead line, a revised service had to be hurriedly devised, with the Red Line operating between Tallaght/ Saggart to Smithfield only, and not to Connolly/The Point). Green Line trams worked from Brides Glen to St Stephen’s Green only (no service St Stephen’s…

“WE will not weaken, and we will not walk away,” ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan has told RAIL in an exclusive interview. Speaking the day before the latest round of a series of one-day strikes, in the 18-month dispute with the 14 train operating companies (TOCs) controlled by the Department for Transport, Whelan was clear that ASLEF is ready to do a deal on the right terms. “We’ll be here for as long as it takes, but we are willing to talk,” was his message to the Government. He added: “We’ve done 14 pay deals in the last 12 months. We don’t have a problem in Scotland, we don’t have a problem in Wales, nor with open access operators, the Elizabeth line, Eurostar or anywhere else. We have a Westminster…

The reopening of the 18-mile Newcastle-Ashington Northumberland Line may be delayed until the end of 2024, because construction of two of the stations is behind schedule. RAIL understands that the problem is at Bedlington and Blyth Bebside, with unexpected engineering and subsidence issues to overcome, and that services may even start before they are completed. However, work is advanced at the other three stations. It is less than a month since Northumberland County Council announced a summer launch of the new half-hourly service, endorsed by Rail Minister Huw Merriman. The authority’s leader Glen Sanderson has now said that while the route will reopen next year, it is “too early” to give a precise date. Although the estimated cost of the project was put at £160 million last year, no accurate…

Work has been completed on a new skills facility for Camden, adjacent to the HS2 Euston site. HS2 Ltd has handed over the keys to the new two-storey Euston Skills Centre to Camden Council. Sited in the former construction accommodation building, it will support HS2’s “strategic legacy” around “employment opportunities for local communities and people from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups”. HS2 is providing £4.1 million for its delivery and to support the running of the centre. Camden Council will be its sole operator. Overlooking the proposed HS2 station at Euston, HS2’s station construction partner Mace Dragados has kept utility services and systems exposed as a learning aid for students. The ground floor includes a large covered outdoor workshop, for teaching of blockwork, carpentry, and wet trades. Classroom facilities are on…

Open Access operators have long argued that the provisions in the 1993 Railways Act work against them, when planning services to towns/cities without direct trains. At privatisation, concerns were expressed that non-franchised OA operators would set up predatory services to ‘cherry pick’ the best services and routes. To stop this, a Moderation of Competition (MoC) clause was created to protect franchisees. This prevents other train operators running services in competition where it would abstract revenue, therefore increasing government subsidy or reducing premia due. MoC was (and still is) used by incumbents to object to OA proposals. The Office of Rail and Road determines whether proposals will be granted. One of the most high-profile cases was when Virgin West Coast (VWC) objected to OA operator Wrexham & Shropshire (W&S) calling at…

Transport for Greater Manchester is working towards a 24-hour service on Metrolink and local buses, in an attempt to improve the local economy. This can only happen if current time extensions are a success, and TfGM is urging residents to make greater use of trams that are now running until 0100 on Fridays and Saturdays. Train times are also extended to midnight on weekdays, and later at weekends. Some 358,000 people work late at night. Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester Sacha Lord said: “The bar worker finishing a shift at 2am should have just as much ease getting home as the office worker finishing at 5pm. “We need to give people safe, affordable and accessible routes home when the party is over.”…

SWR shunter search South Western Railway is “exploring options for a replacement shunting unit” at Bournemouth depot and is “currently looking for the market to provide some options for consideration”. The requirement includes options for the procurement or lease of the unit, plus maintenance and spares support. Top apprentice Newly qualified Transport for Wales train driver Jamilla Fletcher was named Apprentice of the Year at the Skills Academy Wales Awards held at the Neath Port Talbot Campus.…

London Northwestern Railway was able to retire the last of its Class 319s from traffic on November 27, following the introduction into service of the new Class 730 Bombardier Aventra electric multiple units. The final operations involving LNWR Class 319s were on November 26, when 319433/457 worked the 2054 Euston-Bletchley and returned the next morning on the 0656 Bletchley-Euston. The last seven units in its fleet (319214/215/217/219/220, 319433/457) will be handed back to Porterbrook, but are expected to be sent straight for scrap. Meanwhile, Northern has made a start on withdrawing its Class 319s, with 319375 sent for scrap on November 20. Rail Operations Group’s 37800 Cassiopeia took it from Allerton to Sims Metals at Newport, and on November 29 it took 319378 on the same journey. The next units…

A fundraising scheme has been launched to return 4-VEP Mk 1 electric multiple unit 3417 to main line certification for 2024. A figure of £50,000 is being sought. A statement by owner the Southern Electric Traction Group said: “Over the past few years, despite COVID-19 and the enforced pause in the restoration of the unit, the SETG has been patiently working towards bringing 3417 back into traffic on preserved lines. “It is now on the cusp of that goal and is working towards an event in the New Year which will formally launch 3417 back into traffic. As part of that upcoming announcement, the SETG is unveiling plans to raise significant funds which will underwrite works, including fitting GSM-R radio equipment and OTMR [On Train Monitor Recording] ‘Black Box’ systems…

EUROSTAR trains from Amsterdam to London will be suspended for six months from June 2024, due to refurbishment work at Amsterdam Centraal station. Phased platform closures will reduce capacity at the Dutch station until early 2025, meaning that UK border and security checks cannot be carried out. Although St Pancras International to Amsterdam trains will be able to operate as normal, passengers towards the UK will be forced to use other services and change at Brussels Midi. After unloading passengers in Amsterdam, Eurostar trains will return empty to Brussels. Despite months of negotiations between Eurostar, the Dutch Government, Netherlands Railways (NS) and Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail, the disruption is a blow to Eurostar as it seeks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and grow passenger numbers in a tougher post-Brexit…

WESTERN Bristol: The steel bridge near to the old Bristol West container yard that once allowed direct access for Taunton-Portishead trains has been removed. Ealing Broadway: December 20 marks the 50th anniversary of the high-speed derailment which resulted in the loss of ten lives and 94 injuries. A loose catch on the battery box of Class 52 D1007 Western Talisman (on the 17.18 Paddington-Oxford) struck a points machine and derailed the entire train. The locomotive was a write-off. Puriton: It is hoped that the existing rail connection to the Bristol-Exeter line can be revived to serve Tata’s proposed battery plant for future generations of road vehicles on the site of a former Royal Ordnance factory, although the bridge over the M5 motorway may need to be replaced. Theale: The new…

THERE’S nothing quite like travelling by overnight train - the palpable feeling of anticipation before an important evening departure, that sense of an exciting adventure about to begin. As passengers from all walks of life and many nationalities load bags and suitcases into their cabins, night trains transform into a unique rolling community - a United Nations of travellers sharing tips and experiences, or simply just trying to get a decent night’s kip. Then there’s the journey itself. Retiring to bed as you roll out of a big city and waking up hundreds of miles away in a new city, a different country, or a spectacular landscape such as Rannoch Moor can be an unforgettable experience. It’s no surprise that overnight trains have inspired countless books, films and songs -…

Metro Flow looked (on paper at least) a fairly simple exercise. You had some three miles of double-track. Network Rail owned one line, known as the ‘Jarrow branch’, on which one freight train ran per day. Nexus, operator of the Tyne & Wear Metro, owned the other line, on which some 200 Metro trains a day ran. These three miles comprised the only single-track section on the whole Tyne & Wear Metro network, yet it created a bottleneck that could be felt all the way from Sunderland to Whitley Bay. So, Nexus bought the Network Rail line, making its system double-track throughout. That process (RAIL 995), was complicated, generating numerous challenges that Nexus had to work hard to overcome. But overcome them it did, and on December 14 2022 Tyne…

WELCOME to the RAIL Crossword. This issue, our prize for three successful solvers is a copy of Discovering Amazing Women by Rail 2, courtesy of London Northwestern Railway. Back in the spring of 2018 (Stop & Examine, RAIL 852), a collaboration of rail organisations in Cheshire and the North West published Discover Amazing Women by Rail - a project that encouraged people to explore local lines by rail and at the same time learn more about 32 inspirational women and their stories. A special booklet featured short biographies on women such as leader of the British Suffragette movement Emmeline Pankhurst, novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, and singer and comedian Gracie Fields, plus the station/area with which they are connected. It also included information on other attractions that visitors and tourists can enjoy…