Table of contents for Issue 999 in RAIL

Comment @RAIL A Merry Christmas to all our readers, as we reach the 999th issue of RAIL. As you might imagine, we’re planning a number of special features for our celebration Issue No. 1000, which is now only a fortnight away and well worth looking out for. Before then, it is the time when we plan our New Year resolutions. Just in case our politicians, business leaders and strategists aren’t sure how they should change their ways, I’ve been asking a couple of colleagues for some suggestions to add to mine - and this is what we’ve come up with. All of them actually abound in common sense and seem to be achievable. They are designed to lift us out of the doldrums of 2023, learning from our mistakes and…

Highfurlong Brook Viaduct in Northamptonshire has become the first on the HS2 project to have all its deck beams installed. One of 50 major viaducts being built as part of HS2, it is 163 metres long. Comprising seven spans, it crosses the brook at a height of around nine metres. Each span is made up of four long U-shaped beams, up to 25 metres long. Each weighs 45 or 56 tonnes (depending on length), and they were lifted into position over two months to form the backbone of the structure. They are supported on 36 piles, sunk 48 metres deep. The beams were manufactured off site and delivered overnight to reduce road disruption.…

Claire Mann, managing director of South Western Railway, is returning to Transport for London as chief operating officer. Mann (pictured) will be responsible for TfL’s directly-operated and contracted services - including the London Underground, Overground and Docklands Light Railway, as well as the bus and tram networks, cable car and cycle hire. She will also have responsibility for the management of TfL roads and road infrastructure, security of the transport network, and regulation of the taxi and private hire industry. Mann is returning to TfL after three years at SWR, where she has led one of the largest rail concessions through a series of disruptive strikes, as well as overseeing the consequences of the delayed £1 billion order for 90 new Class 701 Arterio trains (above), and dealing with a…

Nottinghamshire County Council says it will take a decision early in the New Year on whether to sell off a 52-acre site at Toton, now that a large part of it is no longer needed after the cancellation of the HS2 extension. The land close to the marshalling yard, once valued at £22 million, was bought by the council for the new interchange station and industrial development. It already has planning permission for 288 homes, but an additional 4,000 are now on the cards. Whatever happens to the site, HS2 backers will be disappointed that it will never achieve what the Government hoped for the East Midlands when it was purchased, creating 10,000 new jobs for the area. While other councils along the now-abandoned Phase 2a route to Manchester have…

TENS of thousands of rail passengers have been disrupted by a series of overhead line failures. The most serious incident involved a Great Western Railway service at 1830 on December 7, when thousands of passengers climbed down from stranded trains onto the tracks. And services on the East Coast Main Line were cancelled for several days following an incident near Grantham on December 10. In the December 7 incident, a GWR service “struck debris” on the Down Main from Paddington at Ladbroke Grove in west London, with overhead lines hanging beside the train. Network Rail and GWR both described the cause being a train “striking an obstruction”. The incident left the GWR service and four Elizabeth line and two Heathrow Express trains stranded. Most of the 4,000 passengers on the…

Infrastructure company Balfour Beatty has purchased two Class 20s from Harry Needle Railroad Company - the second time it has used the type. “I can confirm the purchase of 20901/905. They will be used to support the company’s plant fleet,” Balfour Beatty Media Manager Tom Boorman told RAIL. The ‘20s’ will be used mostly to move track machines, plant and wagons to BB’s sites, to support infrastructure renewals work. The company already has a Train Operating Licence. The two locomotives are in unbranded GBRf livery, and so are expected to be repainted in BB’s colours. It had previously hired 20142/189 for a short period from Michael Owen, and they were painted in its white and blue livery. As well as selling the two ‘20s’, HNRC is also returning 20302/311 to…

WESTERN Castle Cary: The Great Western Railway station car park has been extended by 190 spaces, at a cost of £3 million. Bath: Repairs to Green Park station are under way following the roof fire on April 23 (only days after it had been reglazed). The Grade 2 Listed Somerset & Dorset Railway terminus, closed in 1966, is now a Sainsbury’s supermarket and shopping centre, but retains many of its original features. Newquay: The new A392 road bridge over the line to Nansledan has space for the reinstatement of double track. This will allow two level crossings to be closed. Theale: The new footbridge at the West Berkshire station has been installed. It will be ready for use in spring 2014. EASTERN Doncaster: Moss level crossing on the East Coast…

WITNESSES at December 6’s Transport Select Committee laid bare the consequences of Department for Transport inaction since the COVID-19 pandemic struck almost four years ago. Committee Chairman Iain Stewart gathered the day’s three witnesses to ask about rolling stock, as Britain faces the prospect of closing factories owing to lack of work. That comes despite several train operators needing new trains to replace ageing fleets. These include Southeastern, Northern and Chiltern Railways. All three have trains dating from the 1980s and 1990s that arrived in the days when British Rail ran the network. Before the pandemic, companies winning the right to run rail franchises from the DfT would often order new trains as part of their bids. This resulted in TransPennine Express bringing in three new fleets after taking over…

Getting the Highland Spring Rail Freight Facility to the point of opening and operating has been a complex task and everyone involved should be immensely proud of their achievements.” So said Nicola Sturgeon on August 31 2022. Scotland’s then First Minister was in the village of Blackford to open a small yet hugely significant development on the country’s railway. In fact, the facility in this rural Perth and Kinross village, with a population of fewer than 1,000 people, sets the standard that the rest of Britain should follow. Blackford sits in a valley, with the Ochil Hills to the south and the mountains of the Highlands to the north. Sharing this broad, relatively flat valley is Allan Water, the A9 trunk road and the former Caledonian Railway main line from…

Some final thoughts from the team at RAIL @RAIL Send contributions to: mike.wright@bauermedia.co.uk Something a bit different for fans of the London Underground has emerged, in the form of the Under London jigsaw. “Who would have thought that our world-famous Underground had so many stashed in its tunnels? From ferrets to façades, stage lights to secret salad farms, Under London reveals the quirks of the capital’s belly,” says The Original Jigsaw Co - a London-based business founded by a brother and sister duo. All sorts of different LU rolling stock are captured in this special jigsaw including a special appearance from the former steam locomotive Metropolitan Railway No. 1, and even a Tunnel Boring Machine. “Under London is a jigsaw puzzle that will delight existing railway fans, but also those…

ONLINE rail ticket sellers have been told to clean up their act by the rail regulator, after an investigation found that passengers are paying more than they need to on some websites and apps. Warning online ticket retailers to be “up front” about fees, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has written to seven of the 19 third-party ticket retailers (TPRs) which did not include their fees in the upfront price. Threatening to take action about hidden charges (known as ‘drip pricing’), where an initial price is shown but additional elements are revealed later in the sales process, the ORR reviewed the prices of 19 TPRs. It found that booking fees ranged from £0.45 (per ticket) to £6.45 (per transaction), and that finders’ fees were between 10%-15% of the…

The first of a new generation of trains for Glasgow’s Subway entered passenger service on December 11, marking a key milestone in the upgrade of the underground line. The four-car Swiss-built Stadler trains, which can accommodate unstaffed operation, were originally set to enter passenger service in 2020. This was later put back to 2023. Earlier this year, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) executives had told RAIL that the testing of the rolling stock was “progressing well”. SPT expects to introduce more of the four-car units in 2024. They will replace the current three-car trains, which were built by Metro-Cammell at Washwood Heath between 1977 and 1979. SPT Project Director Mark Toner said: “We’re delighted that the trains have performed as well as they have and that, more importantly, our passengers…

Rocketing passenger numbers using Elizabeth line services have taken London Liverpool Street to the top of the charts as the UK’s busiest station, up from fourth place last year. The new grand total of 80.4 million journeys in the 12 months to April is an increase of 50 million on the previous 12 months. In the latest figures published by the Office of Rail and Road on December 14, the new £20 billion cross-London Elizabeth line service launched in May 2022 has also promoted Paddington (59.2 million entries and exits) into second place - overtaking the traditional winner Waterloo, which recorded 47.5 million visits. Tottenham Court Road is a new entry at number seven (34.9 million entries), thanks to its new Elizabeth line platforms. Another top performer is Farringdon, where…

Transport for Wales has postponed its planned increase in services, blaming storms in November for “several trains” suffering wheel damage. It made the announcement on December 6, just four days before the new timetable was due to start. Instead, increased frequencies on TfW’s Liverpool-Chester route (via Liverpool Airport) and Newport to Ebbw Vale branch will now happen on a yet-to-be-announced date “in January 2024”. This represents a “slight delay on the original plan”, said TfW, which described the delay as “a few weeks”. It added: “We have a comprehensive programme in place for repairing the damaged wheels on the trains affected, which will take most of December to complete.”…

British-based enthusiasts are being offered easy coach transport to the Downpatrick & County Down Railway’s diesel gala in Northern Ireland on January 6 next year. Táilte Tours will be running the 100-mile return service from Dublin Airport to provide easy access to the preservation centre, which is not main line-connected. The modern traction expected to feature is Metrovick ‘A’ A39, GM ‘141’ 146, ‘Thumper’ DEMU 458 Antrim Castle, and Deutz ‘G’ shunter G617 to Inch Abbey and Magnus’ Grave.…

A 19-day closure of the Ebbw Vale route has resulted in completion of the two-year, £70 million scheme to provide more frequent services into Newport. The latest line possession has enabled commissioning of the final section of new double-track between Crosskeys and Crumlin, and additional platforms at Newbridge and Llanhilleth, where there is a footbridge with lifts. The Park Junction area has also been resignalled. The project has been funded by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council via a loan from the Welsh Government, with the Department for Transport and Network Rail adding a further £22 million to include replacement of the Crumlin River bridge and strengthening of embankments. Since the Ebbw Vale line reopened in 2008, after 40 years, a new station has opened at Pye Corner at the southern…

The extensive overhaul of 45118 Royal Artilleryman is drawing to a close, and it is hoped that the Peak will be ready to be handed back to Crewe-based Locomotive Services Limited in the spring. The overhaul is being carried out by Harry Needle Railroad Company at Barrow Hill. Its main generator has been refitted and realigned with the engine. The turbochargers were being refitted in December, and it was hoped to have the Class 45 load bank tested before the end of the year. The new nameplates have been delivered and are awaiting refitting once the locomotive has been repainted. Although it has been seen in blue, this is not the correct BR blue and is merely an undercoat. It has been reunited with domino headcode boxes. Safety systems such…

FLINDERS Street station sits between Melbourne’s central business district and the River Yarra. It’s busy with electric trains serving the Australian city’s suburbs, but exudes an air of Victorian heritage. But it’s only Victorian in location - because Melbourne is the capital of Victoria State. If we’re being truly pedantic, the station dates from the Edwardian era, officially opening in 1910. Outside the station, trams rattle past -including the heritage service 35 which loops around the business district. Inside, trains roll to and from stations with familiar names, but shorn of any British geography. So, the train I caught out to Lilydale called at (among others) Burnley, Canterbury, Blackburn, Mitcham and Croydon! The line has also had some serious spending, with stations lifted or dropped from ground level to allow…

I’m starting in Westbury, which I visited in part 1 of this series (Portsmouth-Bristol, RAIL 955). On that occasion, I was approaching from the south on the Salisbury branch. This time, before boarding my first westbound train, I might have stayed over at the intriguingly named Lopez Arms (sic) - the only recommendation from Bradshaw. This historic Grade 2 Listed hostelry in Westbury’s Market Place - actually the Lopes Arms - was mostly 18th century and had been the Lord Abingdon Arms up to 1809, before being renamed after Sir Manasseh Massey Lopes bought the manor and borough in 1810. Sadly, I can’t rest my head here. Following some years of redundancy, the building was being converted into residences - ‘The Hops’, due for launch in 2023. That name, ‘The…

Hundreds more HS2 contracts are to be let next year, with opportunities for businesses “of all sizes”. With contracts ranging from £1 million to £500m, the ‘new procurement pipeline’ represents £1 billion worth of work. Already, 3,200 companies are providing materials and services to build HS2, with UK businesses having secured £17bn worth of work. And to enhance the prospect of local companies winning a share of the work, HS2 has published details of over 300 work packages its construction partners will procure in the next 18 months. The 140-mile HS2 network, with four new stations and two depots between London and Birmingham, promises “more opportunities” to get involved. “Forward planning is crucial for businesses, so we’ve worked closely with our stations and civils contractors to develop a simple procurement…

SOUTH Western Railway was expected to run the first passenger service using one of its new Class 701 Arterio trains as this issue of RAIL went to press. Industry sources suggested a single train would operate one mid-morning return trip from Waterloo to Windsor on two consecutive days, in the hands of training managers, and then be withdrawn again. It had been expected to take place in early December (RAIL 998), but new problems have emerged. The first working would enable the train operator and the Department for Transport to keep a promise made last May that Arterios would enter service “this calendar year”. Most drivers have yet to receive training on the new rolling stock. The 90 Alstom-built trains are now over four years late entering service. The £1…

The ambitious Mid Cornwall Metro scheme that will increase service frequencies on the county’s rail network has been given local approval. Cornwall Council has given its formal support to the scheme, which is being developed with the Government’s Restoring Your Railway money. There will be direct hourly trains between Newquay, Truro and Falmouth, alongside intercity services to Newquay, with longer-term plans to step this up further. The £57 million project budget will pay for lengthening of platforms at two stations in Falmouth, new signalling on the Newquay line, a second platform at Newquay, and a new passing loop at Tregoss Moor. Smaller stations will be upgraded, and a new footbridge and lifts installed at Par.…

Milestones have been reached on the Hope Valley route upgrade between Manchester and Sheffield, with installation of lift shafts for the accessible footbridge at Dore & Totley station, and an 11-yard bridge deck installed at Bamford to create space for the new passing loop to Hathersage. Several overnight line closures are planned from December 27 until the end of March, and the next six months will feature track replacement at Grindleford, platform extensions, and widespread signalling improvements.…

Network Rail engineers will have to return over the Christmas holiday to a landslip south of Woking station, to complete repairs to an insecure cutting. The South Western Main Line was partially closed because of movement in the cutting next to St John’s Hill Road bridge, where cracks had opened 45 metres long, half a metre wide, and a metre deep (RAIL 998). Normally the busy section carries 16 trains an hour each way. This was reduced to three an hour, with hand signalling at low speed. South Western Railway had advised passengers not to travel between Basingstoke and Woking unless the journeys were “absolutely necessary”. Work was scheduled for December 6-10. But Network Rail said progress was slower than expected due to hard ground, and only 63 of the…

The managing director of Network Rail’s Wales and Western Region is to leave her job. NR confirmed that Michelle Handforth would “step down in the New Year”. The region has been beset by a spate of infrastructure failures in recent weeks. Four broken or cracked rails were found between London and Swindon in eight days in late November. More recently, overhead wires came down at Ladbroke Grove outside London Paddington on December 7, with 4,000 passengers walking to safety along the tracks after being stranded on trains for up to four hours (see pages 10-11). The Office of Rail and Road has launched an investigation into poor train punctuality and reliability in the region. It said that train performance “has continued to deteriorate”, while performance across the rest of the…

AFTER months of discussion, Direct Rail Services has sold five of its Class 37s, with 37401 Mary Queen of Scots joining Jeremy Hosking’s large fleet at Crewe and 37402 Stephen Middlemore 23.12.1954-8.5.2013 transferring to Andania Engineering. The deals, announced in mid-December, also mean new owners for three others. Europhoenix has taken 37069, 37218 and 37423 Spirit of the Lakes. They join 37510 Orion, 37601 Perseus, 37608 Andromeda, 37611 Pegasus, 37800 Cassiopeia, 37884 Cephesus, and 37901 Mirrlees Pioneer in the EP fleet. As 37218 was withdrawn with a main generator flashover, it is possible it could donate its bogies to 37069 to make one good locomotive out of two. However, given the company’s fleet is all alternator-fitted refurbished locomotives, both could be sacrificed for spares. 37423 is likely to either join the…

THE practical effect of the Government’s new anti-strike bill on the rail disputes in Great Britain is awaited, after the legislation was enacted. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels: Passenger Railway Services) Regulations 2023 came into force on December 8, after Parliamentary approval of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act. The Regulations, which implement the Act, apply to rail, border security and ambulance services. Under the new regulations, if a trade union calls a strike, the employer can issue a work notice setting out the number of staff needed, and the work they are required to do, to meet the minimum service level. The decision to issue work notices is at the discretion of employers. At the same time, the Department for Transport published guidance for train operators on how to…

IT is 30 years since I had a chat with then-Prime Minister John Major in the bowels of a freight Shuttle, hurtling under the Channel on the opening day of the tunnel. There were numerous contradictions about its conception. And those have continued to hamper its progress, which in many ways is a great disappointment. For a start, it was very strange that a Eurosceptic Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, should have initiated the project. But she was in many respects a visionary, so unlike the petty Conservative politicians of today. She saw it as historic, citing in her speech at the ceremony for the signature of the Canterbury Treaty in 1987: “I hope this time that we can rise above the hesitations of the past, that we can grasp the…

THE small Staffordshire village of Handsacre has recently become a focus of attention, after the Prime Minister announced at the Conservative Party Conference in October that he was cancelling Phase 2 of HS2 to Crewe and Manchester. Now the parish of Handsacre and Armitage, which is more often associated with the manufacture of bathroom fixtures, has another claim to fame - as the likely permanent end point for HS2. It was always intended that HS2 would join the West Coast Main Line at Handsacre. However, it was assumed that this would be the first of three connections that would allow trains to leave the new line and head north on the existing railway. The other two were to be located to the south of Crewe, and at Golborne to the…

OpinionIndustry Insider THE New Year is regarded by many as an opportunity to reset their way of life, promising themselves that they will keep to their resolutions to bring change. Corporate organisations also have the opportunity to offer improvement and continuity to their customers, suppliers and staff. But it can also be a benchmark for significant change, such as the grouping of the ‘Big Four’ railway companies from January 1 1923 and nationalisation from January 1 1948. The rail industry leaves behind a difficult year in 2023 without any firm commitment to introduce the changed organisation represented by Great British Railways, which is intended to scale back the prescriptive role of the Department for Transport in day-to-day decision-making. This may well be the overriding reason for delay, with the Government…