News
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South Western Railway may be nationalised after firm loses £137m
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Train operator South Western Railway (SWR) has acknowledged it could lose its franchise contract after recording a loss of £137 million.
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Stadler sets spread their wings in the east
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GREATER Anglia introduced Class 755 units on Ipswich to Felixstowe services from November 19. The move is part of the expansion of operations of Stadler bi-mode units. Greater Anglia is in the process of cascading its remaining Class 170 ‘Turbostar’ units to Transport for Wales, and the rollout of Class 755s is increasing. Sets are…
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Class 90 visits Swindon for electrical testing
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ONE of the most unusual movements this year has seen freshly painted Class 90 No. 90035 move from Crewe to Swindon. The train has been put together by Network Rail’s electrification project team in order to carry out mechanical and electrical testing of the OLE between Bristol and Cardiff, although initial tests were between Swindon and…
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Locomotive Services buys Class 86 and 87 from ETL
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TWO former West Coast AC electric locomotives have been bought by Locomotive Services Limited from Electric Traction Ltd (ETL). The last mainline Class 87 – No. 87002 Royal Sovereign – along with 86101 Sir William A Stanier FRS had been hired by ETL to GB Railfreight for working empty stock from the Caledonian Sleeper between London Euston…
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‘Pacers’ to work with PRM compliant units
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GWR and Northern have indicated how they will combat restrictions placed on the use of Class 142-144 ‘Pacer’ units from January 1, 2020. Both will run a non-compliant ‘Pacer’ with a compliant unit of another type to provide accommodation for passengers with limited mobility and also access to a fully accessible toilet. The restrictions have…
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‘Black Fives’ back in the Hope Valley
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IAN Riley’s Stanier ‘Black Five’ duo of Nos. 44871 and 45407 pass through the remains of the old Masborough station with the Railway Touring Company’s ‘South Yorkshireman’ on November 3. The tour, which replaced a previously advertised but cancelled ‘Tin Bath’, took the two Class 5s from Blackburn to Manchester Victoria, then over to Wakefield Kirkgate…
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Crossrail could be delayed until autumn 2021
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The heavily delayed Crossrail is now expected to open in autumn 2021, according to the outgoing commissioner of Transport for London Mike Brown.
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New cylinders delivered for Gloucs-Warks’ No. 3850
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THE new cylinders for ex-GWR ‘2884’ 2-8-0 No. 3850 were delivered to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway on December 6 following machining by Roach Precision of Brierley Hill. The delivery followed the arrival of the new front-end extension frames in mid-September, which had also been completed by the Brierley Hill firm. Having the cylinders on site will…
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Hitachi wins £350million order for new West Coast trains
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Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe factory will deliver a new fleet of 23 trains for Avanti West Coast in 2022. The completion of Intercity Express Programme (IEP) and ScotRail Class 385 EMU orders are on the horizon, and the £350million deal is a further boost for the County Durham facility after securing the contract to supply bi-mode…
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Tornado’s 2020 tour diary takes shape
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PEPPERCORN ‘A1’ Pacific No. 60163 Tornado looks set to have another busy year on the national network in 2020 as more dates are added to the locomotive’s main line calendar. The first confirmed booking is the ‘Fen & Fells Flyer’ on April 4, which starts diesel-hauled in Cambridge, running via Ely, March and Peterborough, and down…
