Electric
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Class 195 roll-out continues – but ‘Pacers’ will run into 2020
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DELIVERIES of new DMUs and EMUs to Northern by CAF are running late, although the company introduced a further nine Class 195s over the Calder Valley line between Leeds and Chester via Manchester and Warrington in October. It takes the number of ‘195s’ in traffic to 29, exactly half the order. Northern has said because…
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‘Azuma’ trains improve direct Lincoln services
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LNER launched its new Lincoln to King’s Cross ‘Azuma’ service on October 21, increasing the single daily service to five per day. A sixth service will be introduced at a later stage. A five-car bi-mode ‘Azuma’ will provide a two-hourly Monday to Friday service departing London at 10.06, 12.06, 14.06 and 16.06. Southbound services will…
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Class 313 charity farewell to Moorgate raises £10,000
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THE final two operational Govia Class 313s – Nos. 313064 and 313134 – worked a charity farewell special on October 23 from King’s Cross to Royston, then to Hertford North, before running to Moorgate where the train terminated. The sets were replaced by Class 717s on all Great Northern services by September 30, ending the…
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December debut for Hull Trains ‘Paragon’ fleet
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November 25 saw the first of five Hull Trains’ (HT) Class 802/3s make its debut in the company’s home city. The First Group-owned open access operator confirmed that the bi-mode trains will be phased into passenger service over the next two months, releasing its ailing Class 180s for transfer to East Midlands Railway (EMR). The…
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Former UK electrics have mixed fortunes in Bulgaria
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BULGARIA remains the main user of ex-BR built electric locomotives, but the competitive nature of freight operations has led to mixed fortunes for the Class 86, 87 and 92s exported there. Operator Bulmarket has work for its well-maintained Class 87s (Nos. 87009/17/23/25), however its Class 86s, which are around 10 years older, are reported to have…
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‘Plain Jane’ look for ‘Pendolino’
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THE end of Virgin Train West Coast franchise is just two months away, and an on-going repaint programme has led to the release of the first unbranded Class 390 ‘Pendolino’ set. The repaint work is part of the interim maintenance regime, which began in June 2017. Set No. 390137 was released from Alstom’s Technology Centre, at…
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Hull Trains reveals new fleet name
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THE five Class 802 bi-mode trains that will begin work with Hull Trains (HT) are to be called the ‘Paragon’ fleet. HT says it has significance in Hull from when Paragon station first opened in 1848, with the dictionary definition defining paragon as ‘a model of excellence’. In addition to the fleet name, HT has…
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Factory commissioning of Merseyrail Class 777 begins
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STATIC factory-based testing of the first of 52 Stadler Class 777 four-car EMUs for Merseyrail has started in Switzerland. When engineers are satisfied, the set will be moved to Germany for dynamic testing on Siemens Wildenrath test circuit, before the first completed set is delivered to Merseyside later in the year. The first trains of…
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Anglia ‘FLIRTs’ get formal launch
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By Ben Jones GREATER Anglia’s (GA) rural services are beginning to see a radical transformation as new Class 755 bi-mode ‘FLIRT’ units enter service. There was a ‘soft launch’ into passenger service on July 29, with GA officially introducing the new Stadler-built trains at Norwich on September 4. No. 755413 worked return trips to Great Yarmouth…
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Big Pacifics dominate RTC autumn/winter tours
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THE Railway Touring Company’s regular summer operations are over for another year, but there is a tempting selection of railtours for the autumn and winter months. October 12 sees one of its regular ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’ trips from Euston to Carlisle, utilising electric No. 86259 Les Ross as far as Carnforth, where one of the West…
