Tabla de contenidos para Issue 1005 en RAIL

Comment rail@bauermedia.co.uk @RAIL IT’S 20 years since the Department for Transport published a White Paper called The Future of Rail, in which it detailed the problems with a lack of accountability and strategic direction, cost and performance, and the gap in the relationship between Britain’s rail infrastructure provider and train operators. In a section titled ‘What we are going to do’, the White Paper said: “The government will take charge of setting the strategy for the railways.” In doing this, it abolished the arm’s-length guiding mind it had created just a few years earlier called the Strategic Rail Authority. It also pledged that Network Rail would be given clear responsibility for operating the network and its performance, that train and track companies would work more closely together, and that there…

A £29.2m contract has been let by Cornwall County Council with Network Rail for its Mid-Cornwall Metro Enhancement Scheme. This will provide infrastructure enhancements to increase services on the Newquay branch, extending them onto the Cornwall Main Line and Falmouth branch. One of the scheme’s objectives is to build an ‘access for all’ footbridge at Par. Service levels on the branch will increase from eight trains a day in each direction to one train per hour between Newquay and Par. This will subsequently support the introduction of a new hourly direct service linking Newquay, St Austell, Truro, Penryn and Falmouth. It’s the next step in the project, which started with a feasibility scheme and strategic outline business case (SOBC) for Mid-Cornwall Metro. This won £1.5m from the Department for Transport.…

Rail Minister Huw Merriman says that he is pushing for Chiltern Railways to lease the five ex-TransPennine Express locomotive-hauled Mk5 coach sets. The almost-new trains are stored after TPE decided to withdraw them to improve its services. Questioned by the House of Commons Transport Committee about overcrowding on Chiltern due to an increase in age-related failures of its DMU fleet, Merriman said: “I have, myself, been pushing for the five units that have come off TransPennine Express. “I have been working with Conrad Bailey (Director General for Rail Strategy and Services, Department for Transport) and his team to try to get these put on.” Added Bailey: “A procurement notice was released to the ROSCO market in December 2023. We are taking that through our governance at the moment within the…

After nearly 20 years of direct control by the Department for Transport, except for devolved services in Scotland and Wales, the National Audit Office has concluded that Britain’s railway “too often loses sight of the customer”, “misses opportunities to meet the needs of the communities it serves” and “lacks clear strategic direction”. It adds that none of these three problems are new, nor are the other three problems it found - the rail system is fragmented with unclear accountabilities, needs to become more productive and struggles to innovate and adapt. The NAO now says that the DfT should “develop its understanding of how it can successfully deliver rail reform” and learn from the way it has failed to deliver such reform so far. In a report published on March 8,…

■ Bordesley Chords (2026-33) – cost £900-£950m: Two new viaducts to link services from the South West and East Midlands into Birmingham Moor Street station, with extra platforms for fast services and a link to HS2 at Curzon Street. ■ Nuneaton (2026-33) – cost £100-£120m: Reinstatement of underpass or construction of flyover from the West Coast Main Line (or reversal from Nuneaton station) for direct services between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham. ■ Leicester Corridor (by 2026) – cost £150m-£200m: A series of pinch-point improvements allowing faster new and existing services from Birmingham. ■ Integration with HS2: Dozens of additional daily services to and from Birmingham Moor Street, a shared Station Square with Curzon Street station, and improved pedestrian access to nearby New Street.…

HS1 has started the search for a design team to look at options to increase passenger capacity at St Pancras International. An Invitation to Tender (ITT), published on February 29, is a bid by the station’s owner to deal with post-Brexit border problems that are severely restricting the number of passengers it can process – and therefore the number of trains that can run through the Channel Tunnel. While Eurostar has yet to restore its pre-COVID frequency, the station no longer has the passenger capacity, due to new border rules. Also, a number of other operators have recently revealed their intentions to start international services to London. Tenders for the St Pancras International Capacity Enhancement Study must be received by April 11. The successful bidder needs to create additional passenger…

The Chancellor’s Spring Budget 2024 came and went without funding replacement stock for London Underground’s Bakerloo line, leaving Mayor Sadiq Khan to express his disappointment that there was nothing being done to improve the capital’s public transport system. The DfT has set December 2029 as the date when the Bakerloo will technically have to shut down because the current 1972 Stock fleet will no longer be fit for use. TfL is continuing with its application for an exemption from disability access rules for the carriages that serve the line’s 25 stations until the end of the decade. This considers that the option for replacing the fleet with Siemens Mobility units similar to the new Piccadilly line fleet expires in November 2026. If no decision is forthcoming, an extension will have…

Derwent erosion repairs Network Rail is allowing no trains over the River Derwent Viaduct near Workington while it repairs erosion around two pillars. The work will take at least six weeks, it said on March 8. Nexus points renewal Nexus plans to renew Prudhoe Street crossover, between Monument and Haymarket stations in Newcastle, over March 16-17 and the Easter weekend. Bird for West Coast Avanti West Coast has appointed Jo Bird as interim communications director following Richard Scott’s departure.…

Policy & leadership theatre ■ Playing politics with the railway.■ Building a bridge to GBR - rail’s relevance in 2025 and beyond.■ Recruitment & retention - attracting new people to the railway.■ Safety on the railway.■ Financing the future of the railway.■ Freight Escape Live in association with Network Rail.■ Rail Reform – securing the long-term future of the railway.■ A railway in crisis...? Discuss.■ Shining a light on innovation: buyers & suppliers.■ The role of the railway: 2025 and beyond. Engineering theatre ■ Tackling a rapidly changing climate – capacity and resilience.■ How do suppliers get ahead of the railway’s needs?■ Future signalling – progress and prospects.■ Unlocking rail freight’s potential.■ Solving the track access equation.■ Retaining what we’ve learnt from HS2.…

The last HS2 tunnel boring machine (TBM) in the West Midlands started digging the second bore of HS2’s Bromford Tunnel into Birmingham on March 5. Local school pupils named the TBM Elizabeth after Dame Elizabeth Cadbury. It is due to finish its journey in autumn 2025. The 125-metres-long, 1,600-tonne TBM has started its journey between the east portal at Water Orton (North Warwickshire) and the west portal at Washwood Heath (Birmingham). The 3.5-mile twin-bore tunnel will take high-speed trains in and out of Birmingham, while a series of viaducts between Washwood Heath and Curzon Street station will take trains to the city centre. The first TBM, launched in June 2023 and named Mary Ann, has completed around one-third of its journey digging towards Birmingham. It will break through at Washwood…

The National Railway Museum is celebrating a £15 million slice of the government’s Levelling Up Fund to drive forward reconstruction of its two sites in the North. This is on top of the £18.6m awarded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport back in 2019. Work can now push forward with the commercial development of unused railway land in York as the City Quarter, a new central hall, and redesign of other buildings and leisure areas. Locomotion at Shildon is also having its main building extended in time for next year’s Stockton & Darlington 200 celebrations. ■ The Chancellor’s Budget on March 6 also included a permanent extension to tax relief for museums and galleries.…

Following its ‘eviction’ from the One:One museum at Margate, two vehicles from the sole-surviving LMS Class 503 electric multiple unit have been removed and taken to Cockshute in Stoke for short-term store, pending developments. The vehicles have been offered to any group serious on restoring them, but are more likely to go for scrap (RAIL 1004). Driving trailer M29289M and centre trailer car M29720M are to be disposed of, as the project to restore them says it cannot justify restoring them and does not have the parts to do so. Driving Motor Brake Second car, M28690M, will be retained and restored.…

THE return to main line operation of a BR/Sulzer Class 45 ‘Peak’ for the first time in 17 years is moving closer, with just some small ‘niggles’ to be ironed out on the overhaul of 45118 Royal Artilleryman. The locomotive will then have a repaint into BR blue, have its nameplates refitted, and then be returned to its owner - Locomotive Services Limited. The overhaul has been carried out by Harry Needle Railroad Company at Barrow Hill. It has been fitted with the necessary Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS), On-Train Monitoring Recorder (OTMR) and Global Systems for Mobile Communications-Railway (GSMR) equipment needed to meet main line standards. Already LSL has advertised a charter train to be hauled by 45118 – from Bristol Temple Meads to Chesterfield on July 27.…

The North Norfolk Railway is entertaining visits from Class 33 D6515 Lt Jenny Lewis RN and 50008 Thunderer for its June 7-9 diesel event. And to get them there, they will arrive on a charter train with the London Underground’s 4-TC set. The charters are operated by Hanson & Hall, with the Branch Line Society managing bookings. The northbound train is set for June 6 and will be top-and-tailed from Eastleigh, with the ‘50’ leading the Class 33 to Humberstone, and running via Basingstoke, Slough, High Wycombe, Dorridge, and Leicester. The ‘50’ will then be repositioned to the rear of the train and the ‘33’ will lead to Norwich via Peterborough. The ‘50’ will then lead to Cromer and the ‘33’ will work forward to the NNR station at Sheringham.…

Opinion Industry Insider INTENDED rail reform has left untouched the core principle of the Railways Act 1993, which provided the framework for the privatisation of British Rail. The centrepiece was that the railway network should be available for the use of train operators willing to pay appropriate access charges, provided operational competence to meet safety standards was demonstrated. As an economic structure, the concept is not very different from the provision of a road network made up of motorways, trunk roads and secondary infrastructure, where an access charge is paid through vehicle licensing, with standards applied for vehicle worthiness and driver behaviour. But the comparison ends with the way the network is used, as there is not unlimited access to rail capacity, with Network Rail as the infrastructure provider controlling…

CROSSCOUNTRY (XC) is bidding for train paths to deliver more services from the December 2024 and May 2025 timetables. The key changes scheduled for May 2025 are: ■ Reintroduction of a near-hourly service on the Reading-York/ Newcastle corridor. ■ Reintroduction of missing Cambridge-Stansted and Birmingham-Stansted services. ■ Significant uplift of seating capacity on the long-distance network. It follows an increase in services at the May 2023 timetable change and is in response to overcrowding, which has led to complaints and poor performance as station calls are extended due to the number of passengers travelling. The changes from May 2025 are also a DfT requirement under XC’s National Rail Contract, which started in October 2023. From the December 2024 timetable, XC will start a daily through Cardiff-Edinburgh service in each direction.…

THE first open access services on the West Coast Main Line have been approved by the Office of Rail and Road. ORR will allow Grand Union Trains to run four return services a day between Stirling and London Euston, starting in 2025. The trains would call at Larbert, Greenfaulds (for Cumbernauld), Whifflet (for Coatbridge and Airdrie), Motherwell and Lockerbie, and in England at Carlisle, Preston, Crewe, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes Central. Larbert, Greenfaulds and Whifflet would all gain their first direct services to London. The route avoids busy Edinburgh and Glasgow stations, which Grand Union said would offer faster services with no change of train necessary. The company said it will use Class 22X trains that are stored off-lease. In the longer term, it aims to use electric or bi-mode…

Siemens Mobility has started a flexible leasing model for regional trains in Germany, with plans to extend it “throughout Europe in the medium term”. Through its new Smart Train Lease subsidiary, it is supplying its battery, hydrogen and electric Mireo Smart trains. Siemens says that with maintenance provided where required, they “offer fast and flexible adjustment of fleet capacity” and enable “customers to easily test innovative and sustainable” technologies. “We want to make renting trains as easy and simple as renting a car, and help accelerate mobility transition,” said Smart Train Lease CEO Benjamin Dobernecker. “This will enhance the attractiveness of rail for passengers and enable our customers to react quickly to fluctuating demand.”…

Slip shuts Telford line A landslip on March 8 closed the line between Oakengates and Telford. Network Rail said 5,000 tonnes of material slipped from an embankment. It said the line would likely be closed until March 25. Golborne station plan Over 3,000 people responded to a consultation on plans to build a station at Golborne near Wigan. Detailed design work now starts before Transport for Greater Manchester writes a final business case for the government. Hamilton replaces Rice Jason Hamilton is taking over from Matt Rice as Network Rail’s route director for North and East. He starts in April as Rice moves to train operator Northern.…

■ 24 extra passenger services an hour, including 20 to and from Birmingham Moor Street, taking pressure off Birmingham New Street, the UK’s busiest station outside London. ■ More London-Birmingham services will be extended from Moor Street to Snow Hill station, while the Cross-City Line will become ‘turn-up-and-go’, with a train every ten minutes. ■ The Birmingham-Leicester timetable will be doubled to four per hour. ■ Two extra trains per hour from Birmingham to Derby. ■ Two fast trains between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham for the first time since 2004. ■ Two extra commuter services an hour on the Camp Hill Line between Kings Norton-Birmingham Moor Street, via Hazelwell, Kings Heath and Moseley. ■ An extra service per hour from Birmingham to Nottingham, Worcester (extended to Hereford), Cardiff and Bristol.…

Porterbrook is to buy the freehold of the 135-acre Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre, Warwickshire, which it has operated since June 2021. The rolling stock owner has struck a deal with owner St Modwen Properties to buy the site for an undisclosed sum. “This deal provides absolute clarity for our business, our shareholders and the wider rail industry over the long-term future of Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre,” says Porterbrook CEO Mary Grant. The former Royal Engineers’ Second World War supply depot, which continued in use until the 1990s, has been completely transformed by Porterbrook, which has already invested £13 million in its upgrade. Connected to the Worcester to Oxford line, the site now has asphalt roads, upgraded lighting and a new, state-of-the-art security system. One of the largest upgrades…

The RMT’s pay dispute with Hitachi Rail, which saw up to 12 LNER trains a day cancelled in February, has been settled. A ballot of 475 members, employed by Hitachi to maintain LNER’s fleet, accepted an improved pay offer by two to one. The deal includes ‘legacy’ sites (Craigentinny and Bounds Green) where staff transferred from LNER to Hitachi, plus Hitachi’s sites at Doncaster and North Pole. The three-year deal, covering 2023-25, includes a 6% pay increase, plus a £1,000 lump sum and an extra day’s leave in year one (from January 1 2023). Year two (2024) includes a 5.2% pay increase, £250 lump sum and one extra day’s leave. Year three’s pay increase will be at December 2024 RPI, with a minimum of 2% and maximum of 6%, plus…

The possibility of running HS2 trains to Crewe, Manchester and Liverpool is being examined by the Department for Transport (DfT), says Rail Minister Huw Merriman. With the cancellation of Phase 2 and the decision to retain the original contract to build the same number of HS2 trains, the DfT is examining its options. The key issue is the length of trains: a Pendolino is 264 metres, and the HS2 stock is 200 metres and 400 metres. A typical HS2 train will be formed of two units, although single shorter train lengths would be deployed on some services depending on demand. Addressing the House of Commons Transport Committee, DfT Rail Infrastructure North, Midlands and Integrated Rail Plan Director Nick Bisson said: “Within the evaluation of overall capacity and the use of…

Alstom has revealed itself as the operator behind new open-access rail operation Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway (WSMR) in a partnership with SLC Rail. To mark its formal application being submitted to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) on March 14, photo calls were to be held with Alstom Services Managing Director UK & Ireland Peter Broadley and SLC Rail Managing Director Ian Walters at Wrexham General and Walsall stations. “As the country’s leading supplier of rolling stock and train services, it makes perfect sense that we now move into operating our own fleet to serve passengers directly. We’re excited to enter this new era as an open-access operator,” says Alstom UK and Ireland Managing Director Nick Crossfield. The proposal has Government support – it has already instructed Avanti…

THE deadline is rapidly approaching for companies to enter RAIL’s 2024 National Rail Awards. Just a week remains before the March 28 cut-off, after which the opportunity to enter Britain’s most respected, valued and highest-profile rail awards will close. RAIL’s NRAs celebrate the achievements of people, companies and initiatives demonstrating innovation and excellence (including individuals on the front line and senior management), as well as safety triumphs, major engineering successes, and environmental sustainability. They recognise outstanding accomplishments over the past year, but particularly look to highlight initiatives which demonstrate innovation and deliver measurable improvements in performance. By doing so, the NRAs seek to promote the industry’s longer-term success and sustainability, which depends on a highly skilled, diverse, motivated and engaged workforce, and exceptional leaders. And NRA judges are keen to…

Northumberland Line passengers will be able to travel over the entire route from Ashington for less than £3 when it opens in the summer. The fare structures, announced by Northern on March 9, still with some detailed numbers missing, includes a maximum off-peak single fare, with selective pricing to combine peak and off-peak tickets to get the best-value travel. New ‘Pop Blue’ single tickets bought on a smart card by passengers under age 21 will start at £1 and will also cover them to ride on the Tyne and Wear Metro, with daily caps of £1.60 for under-16s.…

Work on the first of ten DB Cargo Class 66s to be re-geared for heavy haulage trainload duties has been completed at Toton, with 66221 now renumbered as 66651. The modifications reduce the locomotives’ top speed from 75mph to 65mph. Another nine DBC Class 66/0s are in the new WHBT pool, identifying them as those to be upgraded. They are expected to be 66149/156/161/164/167/ 171/181/183/194, although that could change. Indeed, 66174 was originally earmarked for conversion, but it has now been removed from the programme and replaced by 66164. The locomotives have been prepared to compensate for the removal of Class 60s from the DBC fleet, which had a higher haulage capacity compared with a standard Class 66/0. The 66/6 sub-class is used for re-geared locomotives. It’s not yet known…

Leicestershire’s Great Central Railway plans to move its locomotive depot – as it bids to link surviving sections of the main line that closed in 1966. Loughborough Motive Power Depot was built across the former double-track formation in 1973, but now hinders the connection of the GCR plc’s Leicester-Loughborough route with the Loughborough-Ruddington GCR (Nottingham). A new bridge has already been built over the Midland Main Line under the project to create an 18-mile line, but other works on the 500-metre section remain outstanding.…

The National Railway Museum at York has moved two of its pilot scheme exhibits to Locomotion at Shildon, with Class 40 D200 and Class 30 D5500 (in its later Class 31 guise as 31018) taken north on February 27. West Coast Railways’ 37676 Loch Rannoch and 47746 Chris Fudge top-and-tailed the move, which also included LMS Brake Corridor Third 5987, which dates from 1937. With the recent departure of Class 52 D1023 Western Fusilier to Didcot, and 33116 and Class 37 D6700 currently on loan at the Great Central Railway, it leaves just pioneer Class 20 D8000 (the very first main line diesel of the 1955 modernisation scheme), Royal Class 47, 47798 Prince William, and Deltic D9002 The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry as the only main line ex-British Rail diesels…

TRAIN services on the Isle of Wight have been reduced by half indefinitely. Instead of two Island Line trains per hour each way, there has been only one per hour since February 29. And this will continue except during peak holiday periods. RAIL understands that the Class 484 trains have suffered from excessive wheel wear. South Western Railway would only confirm that the trains require more maintenance than anticipated. The decision has been taken to run one of the five two-car former Vivarail trains at a time, while the others are worked on in the Ryde St Johns Road depot. “We have recently found that our fleet requires more maintenance. By running our trains less frequently we will have more time to complete that maintenance and will thereby increase their…

WHEN the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act was passed last summer, Rail Minister Huw Merriman said it would “give passengers certainty that they will be able to make important journeys on a strike day”. The law allows train operating companies (TOCs) to require operation of “the equivalent of 40% of the operator’s timetabled services” during strikes. When a strike affects infrastructure services, such as Network Rail, it requires “the provision of the specified infrastructure services over specified priority routes” only between 0600 and 2200. It also sets out provisions for ambulance services and fire and rescue services. ASLEF’s strikes in late January and early February, the latest in the long-running dispute over train drivers’ pay and conditions, were set to be the first test of the new legislation. But the…

ONE day, I hope to be able to write up a report from a government agency highlighting the success of a rail project or policy. However, this is not that day. Just as with other recent reports by various bodies on HS2 and the ticket office closures, the National Audit Office’s effort on the rail reform process is a devastating exposé of the failings and floundering of a dying administration that has failed to understand the value of having an efficient rail network. It is difficult to find the right words for what has happened in the five years since the May 2018 timetable changes exposed the very dysfunctional nature of the franchise system set up by the privatisation process of the 1990s. Most would involve Anglo-Saxon expressions that begin…

Transport writer Opinion CONVENIENCE is king when it comes to transport. That’s an unsurprising conclusion from work commissioned by Hitachi Rail that looks at the way people travel in and between cities across the globe. For many people, a car is the most convenient way to travel. And by convenience, Hitachi Rail says it means a combination of access to transport, its frequency and its speed. Cost also plays a role, as does crowding, but these vary across the world. It says: “For those who currently travel by car or plane as a default option, a significant majority of respondents around the world would choose to switch to rail if it were either cheaper or faster, with cost identified as the single most important factor.” This suggests that ScotRail…

WELCOME to the RAIL Crossword. In this issue, two successful solvers can journey around Britain from the comfort of their home, savouring the pictorial delights of Rails Across Britain, courtesy of Pen and Sword Books (www.pen-and-sword.co.uk). Rails Across Britain (hardback, 216 pages, retail price £25) is a collection of full-size colour photographs of trains that have operated in Great Britain from 1986 to the present day. Compiled by David Cable, a well-regarded author of several successfully published books showing many varying classes of trains throughout the world, it illustrates the various classes and colour schemes that have been used over the years - from the days of British Rail to the era of Privatisation. The contrast between the cash-strapped British Rail (an almost universal blue and grey colour scheme) to…

Some final thoughts from the team at RAIL @RAIL Send contributions to: mike.wright@bauermedia.co.uk A control room train services manager for Govia Thameslink Railway is hoping to visit all 2,580 of Britain’s railway stations in just six weeks. In what he has termed his ‘Great British Rail Adventure’, Dave Jones expects to average 62 stations a day in England, Wales and Scotland. His trains must stop at every station for them to qualify. Dave (right) began his long-distance charity effort at Three Bridges station, home to the Sussex Rail Operating Centre where he works, on February 19. In the first week he looked to visit as many stations as possible when not on shift, and since February 28 he has been on just over a month’s leave to pack in maximum…

South Western Railway eight-car Class 450 Desiro 450092 derailed after hitting a piece of scrap rail on the track between Woking and Surbiton early on March 2. The incident near Walton-on-Thames happened at 0550, shortly after Network Rail engineering work had been completed. The incident closed all four tracks on the South Western Main Line throughout the day, with no services to London from Southampton, Bournemouth, Salisbury or Exeter. The train operator described the consequences as “extreme disruption” and issued a “Do Not Travel” instruction to passengers. The driver and guard on the 0454 Basingstoke to Waterloo service were unhurt, and all passengers were led to safety. The line speed at the location is 90mph. The train wheel fell between the running rail and conductor rail. The incident caused extensive…

Southeastern services will be extensively reconfigured when Blackheath Tunnel is closed for repairs between June 1-10. Rainwater leaks in the mile-long structure between Charlton and Lewisham, opened in 1849, have damaged brickwork, track and electrical equipment, resulting in nearly 17 hours of service delays over the last year. A new concrete lining is to be installed. Dartford-Cannon Street trains will be diverted via Greenwich, and passengers are being asked to make more use of the Docklands Light Railway to get to and from Greenwich. Charlton-Lewisham trains via Greenwich will call at Westcombe Park, Maze Hill, Greenwich and Deptford stations, which will see a short-term improvement in service.…

A new ‘capital-to-capital venturer’ from Cardiff to Edinburgh is proposed by open-access operator Alliance Rail (AR), starting in December 2025. It is the first open-access intercity service not focusing on London. An application is now under consultation, before being put to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), with permission sought by June. Five services a day in each direction (four on Sundays) are planned, calling at a number of major locations, offering end-to-end direct services, while also providing new direct journey opportunities and speeding up services. The proposed calling pattern is: Cardiff Central, Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction, Gloucester, Birmingham New Street, Derby, Sheffield, Doncaster, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Unspecified off-lease 125mph diesel rolling stock is planned, “potentially moving to new bi-mode (or other) rolling stock after a number of…

MIDLANDS Connect may get what it has been campaigning for – over £2 billion from the government for a raft of improvements that should transform rail travel across the region within a decade. The big concern now is that the funding for the Midlands Rail Hub – which is not hard cash, but future savings from the cancellation of HS2 to Manchester – is vulnerable to a raid by the Treasury. The money pot could easily be withdrawn at any time by any future government searching for savings if the UK economy fails to perform. The DfT states guardedly: “Subject to future decisions, this first phase of the Rail Hub could be completed by the early 2030s.” The first £123 million has been released to begin the design work. West…

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is formally investigating the collision of East Midlands Railway 158856 with a tree near Thetford on February 6. The collision, at 83mph, derailed the leading wheels of the diesel multiple unit. RAIB says it will look at the railway’s arrangements for controlling the risk of trees falling from outside its boundary and the structural crashworthiness of the train. It is already examining similar factors after a ScotRail HST hit a tree at Broughty Ferry on December 27 2023.…

EUSTON station, after years of indecision over HS2 and halted Network Rail development proposals, and despite around £500m being spent, may be lifted from its present doldrums if Camden Council has its way. Camden Council believes that London’s busiest inter-city terminus can contribute £41 billion to the UK economy in 30 years’ time, create 34,000 new jobs and sustain some 2,500 new homes. A new report commissioned by the council pulls no punches, describing Euston as a station in crisis: “After years of delay and indecision, much of it remains a building site. Homes have been ripped down, businesses lost, and open spaces destroyed. Communities living next to and around the station continue to face disruption and uncertainty.” However, Euston will regain some its momentum with the opening of HS2…

THE UK’s largest outdoor railway event is back for 2024, promising more features and exhibitors than ever before - as well as (crucially) improved access to parking facilities. Rail Live will open its doors at Porterbrook’s Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre in Warwickshire on June 19, bringing together the best and most diverse talent from across the rail industry. Across two days, the country’s leading suppliers will showcase their latest and most exciting innovations, while leading railway experts discuss policy, challenges, safety and infrastructure, encouraging debate and intelligent critique. Brought to you by RAIL, this year’s Rail Live will introduce a second seminar theatre to run alongside the Strategy & Leadership sessions. The Engineering theatre will shine the spotlight on emerging technologies such as automation, AI and the ‘Internet of…

■ Station of the Year: Small.■ Station of the Year: Medium.■ Station of the Year: Large.■ Station of the Year: Major.■ Safety Achievement of the Year.■ Freight and Logistics Achievement of the Year.■ Customer Service Excellence.■ Major Project of the Year.■ Infrastructure Achievement of the Year.■ Fleet Achievement of the Year.■ Outstanding Teamwork Award.■ Passenger Operator of the Year.■ Environmental Excellence.■ Outstanding Personal Contribution (frontline).■ Outstanding Personal Contribution (management).■ Outstanding Personal Contribution (senior management).■ Outstanding Contribution to Society.■ Innovation of the Year.■ Great Place to Work.…

Siemens is to replace its current signalling factory in Chippenham, Wiltshire, with a new £100 million production, digital engineering and R&D facility. To be operational by 2026, it will meet “growing demand in rail technology,” says Siemens, and all 800 staff will relocate to the new site. The UK’s sole dedicated signalling and control facility, it was created by signalling contractor Evans O’Donnell in 1897. It is best known from 1920, when it became part of the Westinghouse Brake and Signalling Company. Siemens took ownership in 2013. The new facility is “poised to be a cornerstone,” says Siemens, for its “future projects, providing an efficient site to build the next generation of conventional and digital rail signalling and control systems for Britain”. The site, south of Langley Park at SouthPoint…

DB Cargo has offered another 16 Class 60s for sale, and this time they are in relatively good condition because all but one were beneficiaries of its Super 60 overhaul programme in 2011-13. The invitation for tender was announced on February 29, only to be withdrawn 20 minutes later and the same list reissued on March 6, this time with 60100 shown as being ‘designated’. They all have high engine hours. However, compared with locomotives sold recently to Cappagh and Land Recovery, they have not been heavily robbed (either legitimately by their owners or illegally). They were mostly withdrawn and stopped because they had reached their engine hours, which would have triggered an overhaul that DBC was not prepared to finance. Included in the sale are the first and the…

After repairs at Kidderminster Depot on the Severn Valley Railway, Rail Adventure’s ex-EMR HST power cars 43423/467 have been returned to traffic. They undertook an initial main line test run from Kidderminster to Leamington Spa on March 5. The two locomotives are still in unbranded and de-vinyled EMR livery, pending a repaint into Rail Adventure grey. They will join 43465/468/480/484 in the RA fleet, which run in back-to-back pairs to top-and-tail stock moves, mostly of new trains being delivered to the UK. Rail Adventure also owns 43296/308 as spare donor power cars. These differ from the other six locomotives because they do not have buffers fitted. They remain at Arlington Fleet Services’ Eastleigh Works.…

The East Lancashire Railway is running a Western Region weekend on April 13/14, using appropriate steam and diesel traction. The line-up includes three diesel hydraulics – Class 14 D9531, ‘Hymek’ D7076 and ‘Warship’ 832 Onslaught – as well as ‘Peak’ 45108 and 50015 Valiant. They will be supported by Class 122 railcar 55001 and steam locomotive 4079 Pendennis Castle. All three hydraulics will triple-head the evening 2030 Bury-Rawtenstall train.…

Network 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 Bideford: The Northern Devon Railway Development Alliance was launched on March 1, with the aim of securing a new rail link to Barnstaple and an upgrade of the North Devon (Tarka) Line from Exeter. Thirteen stakeholders will build on local council resolutions already passed and funding already allocated to develop a compelling case to be put to government. Didcot: A new access ramp is being installed at the station, to…