Sommaire pour Issue 1023 de RAIL

ROYAL Mail’s decision in July to retire its mail trains was bigger news than it might have been for any other freight customer of the same size, for three reasons. Firstly, it seemed to be travelling in the wrong direction for rail freight in general, making it that little bit more difficult to hit targets set by the previous government. Secondly, you might have been forgiven for thinking (as you might on hearing news of an old rock or movie star you’d not heard of for decades) that it’s surprising only because you thought they’d passed away ages ago. Thirdly, mail trains hold a special place in the public imagination. The Travelling Post Office was introduced to sort mail en route as early as 1838. The exchange of mail bags…

THE Office of Rail and Road is dealing with more than 80 track access applications for the next three timetable changes (in December this year and May and December 2025). It follows a call earlier this year for bids, thought to have been made to avoid the issues experienced recently on the East Coast Main Line, where controversial changes to the December 2024 timetable had to be postponed. ORR asked for bids from those wanting access to key areas including Euston-Nuneaton, the Birmingham area including Water Orton, Birmingham-Derby, Derby-Sheffield, the Sheffield area, King’s Cross-Edinburgh and Leeds, Oxford, Gloucester and Cardiff. It said the list was based on Network Rail’s assessment of where existing applications or aspirations interact. It added that “as capacity analysis work progresses, it is possible further locations…

The trade body that represents passenger train companies and freight operators is to be wound up early next year. Rail Partners has announced it will not continue providing services after the end of the current financial year in April, as the Labour government prepares to bring passenger operations back into the public domain. The organisation was set up after the 2021 Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail to “help deliver a better railway for customers and taxpayers within the framework envisaged by the previous government”, which was for a “reinvigorated public-private partnership” between Great British Railways and train operating companies. “That vision has not materialised. Following the General Election earlier this year, in contrast to the Williams Plan, the new government has instead legislated to nationalise DfT-contracted train operations- the vast majority…

THE identities of the first passenger train operators set to be taken over by the Department for Transport could be known within weeks. Transport Secretary Louise Haigh told the House of Commons Transport Select Committee on November 13 that the announcement will be made when the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill is given Royal Assent. As this issue of RAIL went to press, the Bill was entering its final stages, having gone through the House of Lords. During her two-hour appearance before MPs, Haigh said she expected “all services currently operated by private operators to be brought into public operation over the next three years”. Of the ten private operators, two (South Western Railway and c2c) have contract expiry dates of May and July 2025, although Haigh did not…

A heritage railway line is to trial WiFi on its steam-hauled services and at stations. The government has awarded a £163,000 grant to Dorset Council to establish the technology on the Swanage Railway. The council said it would be the first heritage steam railway in the UK to offer WiFi connection. The satellite-linked public WiFi is being installed at Purbeck Park car park, Norden station, and on trains from early 2025. Gavin Johns, chairman of the Swanage Railway Company, said it was “a great opportunity to show that old and new can work together for the benefit of rural communities and our customers and staff”. The money has come from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as part of its rural connectivity programme. The WiFi is being provided by…

RAIL union RMT has accused online ticketing platform Trainline of misleading customers, overcharging, and selling invalid tickets. Following an RMT survey of more than 2,600 rail workers, the union claims the company is prioritising profits over passenger needs, leading to hidden fees, confusing fare options, and inaccurate information. Trainline has strongly refuted the claims, arguing that many of the claims are baseless and incorrect. Ninety per cent of survey respondents claimed that Trainline sold tickets that are invalid for passengers’ journeys, forcing them to pay additional fees or risk penalties. RMT members also claimed that fees were consistently higher than necessary, with 60% reporting that the platform failed to apply discounts. Trainline disputes this, telling RAIL that it sells the same ticket types as train operators with the same terms…

Chiltern Railways has made changes at Banbury station, after a two-month-old baby suffered a head injury when their pram rolled into the side of a moving train. The baby was hurt when a CrossCountry service from Reading to York entered Platform 2 on June 8. The train was travelling at an estimated 35mph when the baby’s parent briefly let go of the pram as she picked up luggage before boarding. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said the platform sloped towards the track, but the “small degree” meant it was “unlikely to have been apparent” to the parent. While platform signage stating ‘Sloping Platform Apply Brakes’ was in place, RAIB said their design meant they were not clear enough and that the pram or other passengers may have obscured them.…

Transport for London is inviting bidders to be the delivery partner to set up solar farms for the London Underground. TfL says solar farms could provide up to 64MW of clean energy, which would make up around 5% of the electricity needed to run the LU network. The operator is aiming to use 100% renewable source electricity by 2030, with work to date including reducing carbon in major construction projects. It also aims to have emission-free deliveries by 2030 and diesel-free sites by 2035.…

GB Railfreight and Freightliner are looking at undertaking a series of tests on Porterbrook Class 769 bi-mode multiple units, to evaluate them for high-speed logistics. Porterbrook has 27 of the four-car BMMUs, converted from dual-voltage Class 319s built in 1987-88 by BREL, and which have been returned to the rolling stock owner by Transport for Wales and Great Western Railway. The 19 converted for the latter never even entered traffic. Two (769922/959) have been converted for express freight use and painted in a deep blue. RAIL understands that a pair of ‘769/9s’ will be taken on by GBRf for express freight evaluation, while two ‘769/0s’ are being converted by Brodie for trials with Freightliner. However, while talk that Transport for Scotland and ScotRail could take on ‘769/9s’ for passenger use…

MORE new trains for various train operating companies are entering traffic - some to replace older trains which will be scrapped, some to allow cascade of older stock to other operators, and some to strengthen timetables with extra services. The first runs by an Avanti West Coast Class 807 were on October 26 (RAIL 1022). But on November 11, the first timetabled trains ran with the new seven-coach Hitachi units, following the introduction of two booked turns. The first turn is the 0901 Liverpool Lime Street-Euston and 1305 return, while the second diagram is the 0457 Wolverhampton-Euston, 0743 Euston-Liverpool LS, 1043 Liverpool LS-Euston, and 1705 Euston-Blackpool North. On the first day, 807001 worked the first turn and 807004 was used for the second. Unit 807006 has also now been accepted…

A rake of Mk 3 coaches that Network Rail acquired from Hanson & Hall last year is to be prepared to create a ‘Rail 200’ train that will tour the network in 2025-26 - the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Alan Hyde, Marketing & Communications, Railway 200, said: “Four Mk 3 coaches will be transformed into a Railway 200 exhibition train, called Inspiration. “It is expected to criss-cross Britain from summer next year for 12 months, so beyond the anniversary year.” Two of the coaches are being curated by the National Railway Museum. One will feature ‘Railway Firsts’ and ‘innovation’, while the other will be the ‘Wonderlab on wheels’ - an interactive STEM-based classroom environment. The third coach will focus on the diversity of…

THE UK’s first ‘tri-mode’ trains made their passenger debut in mid-November, when Transport for Wales’ first Class 756s entered service. The two four-car units (756116 and 756117) operated on the Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil lines on November 15. Between now and spring 2025, 14 of the 24 Stadler FLIRT units are set to enter traffic. Around two-thirds of those are four-car ‘756/1s’, with the remainder three-car ‘756/0s’. Powered by 25kV, 50Hz batteries or a diesel-electric engine, and reaching a top speed of 75mph, the units will initially run to Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare, before being introduced onto the Treherbert route next year. They will operate along those lines alongside a dwindling number of Class 150 diesel multiple units (DMUs) until late 2025, when the first of 36 new Class 398…

WHEN George Jackson Churchward superintended the opening of a vast new locomotive depot at Old Oak Common in 1904-06, the result was widely seen as the most up-to-date facilities in the country. Boasting four turntables, offices, stores and shops for carpenters, smiths and coppersmiths, it had everything needed to maintain and service Great Western Railway steam locomotives. Today, the site of Jackson’s pioneering locomotive depot is simply 33 stabling sidings, each capable of holding a nine-car, 205-metre Class 345. This is the type that runs Elizabeth line services across central London from Reading in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. Much of Churchward’s depot succumbed to demolition teams in the 1960s, as British Rail converted from steam to diesel traction. All but one turntable went, and…

WELCOME to the RAIL Crossword. In this issue, two successful solvers can follow the progress made in Upgrading the Isle of Wight’s Railway, courtesy of Pen & Sword Books (www.pen-and-sword.co.uk). In 2019, it was announced that the Isle of Wight’s iconic 1938 Stock Tube trains were to be withdrawn and replaced with a ‘new’ fleet of refurbished ex-London Underground trains, as part of a wider project to upgrade the Island’s ageing railway infrastructure. Upgrading the Isle of Wight’s Railway (hardback, 232 pages, retail price £22.50) examines in detail the events that followed: the infrastructure works, the withdrawal and disposal of the old trains, and the development and introduction of their replacements - all of it carried out in the midst of a global pandemic. What went wrong, and what went…

ROYAL Mail’s decision to scrap rail services “undermines” the government’s commitment to support the growth of rail freight, says DB Cargo Chief Executive Andrea Rossi. Rossi wrote to Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and Rail Minister Lord Hendy on July 10, after Royal Mail officially told the freight operator that it would be ending its contract in October (RAIL 1014). In his private letter to the government (obtained by RAIL under Freedom of Information laws), Rossi said he was “concerned about senior commitment to the growth of our sector”. He put the spotlight on the dual role of Keith Williams, who is non-executive chairman of International Distribution Services (IDS), which owns Royal Mail, as well as chairing the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) board of directors. He warned that scrapping…

A new open access operator has been given the go-ahead to launch a new regional service in the South West. Go-op, a co-operatively owned operator, plans to run trains between Swindon, Taunton and Weston-super-Mare, and Frome and Westbury, from as early as December 2025. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has approved track access rights until December 2030. Go-op plans to run five return services on its core route between Taunton and Swindon, but will also run a couple of daily trips from Taunton-Westbury, Frome-Westbury and Weston-super-Mare-Taunton. Trains will also call at stations such as Melksham and Castle Cary. “We would like to be in the December 2025 timetable, then phase services in gradually,” Go-op Chairman Alex Lawrie told RAIL. In her letter to Go-op, ORR’s Director, Strategy, Policy…

New barriers made of high-strength recycled rubber tyres have been installed at the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) in South Wales. The barriers have been engineered by Gramm Barriers with the intention of acting as a sound absorber for trackside noise. GCRE Ltd Chief Commercial Officer Kelly Warburton said the barriers would “support the industry to develop new and more sustainable methods of construction - in this case finding a way to reuse rubber tyres that would otherwise have to be disposed of”.…

Rail Minister Lord Hendy has described London Euston station as “no longer in a fit condition”, saying that marble columns are being held together by bands to stop pieces falling off. The former Network Rail chairman made the comments in the House of Lords on November 13, when asked about what is being done to improve the passenger experience. In October, a five-point plan was introduced in response to overcrowding and safety concerns. This included a commitment for more passengers to board trains 20 minutes prior to departure. The station was also subject to an Office of Rail and Road improvement notice in the autumn of 2023, after Network Rail “failed to put in effective measures to prevent risks to passengers and others during instances of surges and overcrowding”. “The…

Overhead line and signal and telecoms training has been added to a programme for prisoners at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk. Skills development organisation City & Guilds has expanded its rail training programme, which over the past two years has consisted of track engineering. The prison’s Centre of Excellence recruits inmates from prisons around the UK. They receive training before being returned to their original jails, to begin employment locally once released. Since August 2022, 144 prisoners have started the bootcamp training, with 81% of those completing post-release training in employment six months later.…

Southeastern is unable to say when its ticket vending machines (TVMs) will be able to accept the new King Charles III banknotes. Now in widespread use, the notes came into circulation on June 5. Before this, the Bank of England asked all businesses to upgrade their machines’ software, ready for the notes’ introduction. The only change to the notes is the monarch’s portrait. Responding to a Freedom of Information request, Southeastern said the new notes “cannot be read by the TVM without an equipment upgrade. We do not have a date by when they will be accepted.” It has told staff and marked the TVMs to make this clear. At non-staffed stations, passengers “will not be penalised if they are unable to buy a ticket, in line with the Penalty…

Train doors on all services at Birmingham New Street now close 40 seconds before departure. The change, agreed between Network Rail and all five train operators at the station, came into force on November 10. NR said the move will help more trains depart on time, with a third of services leaving New Street one minute late in the past 12 months. Previously, Avanti West Coast doors closed 40 seconds before departure, with West Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, CrossCountry and Transport for Wales doors shutting 30 seconds before.…

A scheme designed to transfer freight from road to rail has removed 64,300 truck journeys from roads in its first year, according to one of the UK’s largest port operators. DP World in Southampton started offering a financial incentive to move shipping containers by rail in September 2023. The aim is to make rail travel to distribution hubs in the Midlands more viable, taking lorries off the congested M3 motorway and A34 dual-carriageway. DP World imposes a £10 charge for every laden container arriving in the UK’s third-largest terminal. That money is used to reduce the cost of rail journeys of less than 140 miles. The incentive is £70 for each container. Containers travelling longer distances by rail have the £10 levy refunded. A year ago, only one container in…

Network Rail has received unanimous approval from the London Legacy Development Corporation for a masterplan to transform the 30-acre Bow Goods Yard brownfield site into a rail freight campus and last-mile logistics hub. The development, which will create up to 5,000 new jobs, aims to reduce congestion and emissions by shifting freight from road to rail. It will also provide a new centralised hub for NR. In addition to the industrial and logistics facilities, the masterplan includes plans for leisure and community spaces. The Bow Goods Yard was an integral part of the development of the Olympic Village in Stratford, ensuring building materials could be delivered to the central London location. It is the last parcel of land at the site to be developed. Network Rail Group Property Director Robin…

Freightliner is looking to evaluate the new Stadler Class 93s, ten of which have been built for Rail Operations Group (ROG), to assess their suitability for use on its trains. The operator is interested in the tri-mode Bo-Bo locomotives as possible replacements for diesel locomotives on flows that spend the majority of their time under the wires, but which currently need to be diesel-hauled at either or both ends of the journey because a railhead is not wired. Their current couplings will be removed before Freightliner assesses the design. 93001/002 are in the UK and have been undergoing limited testing on both the main line between Sheffield and Worksop and at the Rail Innovation and Development Centre at Melton Mowbray. Main line testing on the West Coast Main Line between…

All 30 Class 379 electric multiple units (379001-030) have now been accepted by Govia Thameslink Railway for use on its Great Northern operations out of London King’s Cross to King’s Lynn and Peterborough. GTR told RAIL: “We have accepted all 30 units, and these are now on lease. The plan is for the first train to enter service on one of the three AM and PM peak-only Letchworth Garden City-King’s Cross services that are being introduced in the December 2024 timetable as an eight-car formation - so the first service will run on Monday December 16.” In terms of training GTR staff, little is needed as the units are essentially the same as the Class 387s that have been in use with the operator for a decade. GTR added: “A…

Class 47 delivered Recently acquired from Harry Needle Railroad Company, 47714 was collected from Doncaster Works on November 12 and taken to its new home at Leeming Bar on the Wensleydale Railway. Hanson & Hall facilitated the move, using 50008 Thunderer. ‘66’ in DB cargo red Continuing its quest to repaint its Class 66s out of obsolete EWS livery, DB Cargo’s 66030/120 are the latest to be appear in DB Cargo red from the Toton paintbooth. Black repaint for ‘57’ Locomotive Services has had 57002 outshopped by Arlington Fleet Services in LNWR blackberry black colours, to match sister 57311.…

Speculation is mounting that Class 350/2s undergoing gauging trials in Manchester have been mooted for a possible move to Northern. The 37 Porterbrook units, which will soon become available once London Northwestern Railway starts to put Class 730/2s into traffic, could replace Northern’s 34 Class 323s. There is further speculation that the remaining ex-Avanti West Coast Class 221s that so far do not have a new home could be moving with the rest of the fleet to CrossCountry. The ‘221s’ had been mooted for the new Stirling to Euston open access operation, despite them being a diesel train running the entire journey under the wires. There is now talk that these trains could be worked by pairs of Class 350/2s reconfigured into an inter-city specification, although it is unlikely there…

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 Banbury: Station access improvements have been authorised. Evesham: The station footbridge is being repaired. Gunnislake: Darkey Lane bridge, half a mile short of the terminus, has received heavy repairs five years before its planned replacement, because of its poor condition. Tamar Valley services were terminated at Calstock during the work. Paddington: The Elizabeth line station is to be used for trials of a new design of barrier that will prompt passengers…

Some final thoughts from the team at RAIL @RAIL Send contributions to: mike.wright@bauermedia.co.uk The search is on for Young Railway Photographer of the Year, with the competition open for entries until January 31 2025. A selection of submitted images will feature in special exhibitions, and prizes include Fujifilm X-T5 digital cameras, heritage railway tickets, a GB Railfreight cab simulator experience, and a tour of Network Rail’s New Measurement Train. FUJIFILM UK has been announced as cosponsor of the Young Railway Photographer of the Year competition, organised by the National Railway Museum and the Railway Photographic Society. Fujifilm X-T5 Silver digital cameras with XF16-50mm lenses will go to the overall winner and to the winners in the two age categories - 18 and under, and 19-25. Shortlisted entries will be displayed…

“There are no plans to require LNER to run direct services between Sunderland and London King’s Cross beyond December 2024,” Rail Minister Lord Hendy has stated. Responding to a question from Lord Shipley about what plans the government has to “require LNER” to reinstate direct services to the North East city, Hendy said: “Sunderland will continue to have direct London services provided by open access operators. Additionally, improvements to the Metro network will improve connectivity in the North East.” Arriva-owned Grand Central runs five trains a day between London and Sunderland. These head southwards along the Durham Coast Line, calling at Hartlepool and Eaglescliffe before joining the East Coast Main Line at Northallerton. LNER operates a daily return Monday-Friday Sunderland-London King’s Cross service. This runs north from Sunderland, to go…

Restoration of the gantry at Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum is nearly complete. Visitors will soon be able to see glimpses of the repaired gantry crane outside the museum’s Power Hall. Historic water damage and rush has been removed, before repainting of the structure into its original dark red-brown colour. The gantry, dating back more than 140 years, will be fully repaired in time for the reopening of Power Hall: The Law Family Gallery in summer 2025.…

East West Rail is proposing to move a station as the consultation opens into its updated design plans. Updated proposals include moving Bedford St Johns station west to better serve Bedford Hospital, with a new plaza, platforms and footbridges planned. EWR also proposes a new platform, extending existing platforms and other upgrades at Cambridge station, to accommodate the four-trains-per-hour schedule, as well as two new running lines alongside the West Anglia Main Line between there and Shepreth Junction. Design teams have also created two options for a new station at Tempsford, with another also planned for Cambourne. Elsewhere, a ‘cut and cover’ tunnel will be constructed beneath the A428 and proposed Bourn Airfield development near Cambridge, with another tunnel planned through Chapel Hill near Haslingford. EWR said this avoids a…

THE Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is working with Virgin Trains and international rail start-up Evolyn to help the companies access Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot to maintain trains, should they start running their own international services. Both operators want to compete with Eurostar and run services through the Channel Tunnel, with Virgin targeting a modal shift from air to rail for journeys that take four hours or less, as part of its exploration into running cross-Channel services. “The ORR is trying to help us. We have spent a year and a half requesting entrance to Temple Mills. It is the only depot in the UK that can be accessed, but it is good the ORR is helping us try and get some certainty,” Evolyn CEO Jorge Cosmen told an…

TransPennine Express is to run four express services an hour between Manchester Victoria and Leeds starting from the December timetable change, instead of one every 30 minutes. Castleford, Normanton and Wakefield will also have a new hourly service to Manchester and York. Currently, it runs every two hours. Other changes include two services an hour between Liverpool and Manchester Victoria, an hourly service for Chester-le-Street, and an hourly service at Eaglescliffe, with the majority of Liverpool-Cleethorpes services being six carriages long.…

Only the implementation of the twice-delayed East Coast Main Line timetable recast will allow the reinstatement of Lincoln-Newark Northgate trains, Rail Minister Lord Hendy has revealed. The East Midlands Railway service was withdrawn in an emergency timetable introduced in June 2021, resulting in service gaps. Answering a question from Lord Bradshaw, Hendy said that Department for Transport officials and EMR are “having conversations” regarding restoration of the services. But he added: “Reinstatement is dependent upon the implementation of the ECML timetable recast.” In April, Network Rail announced that a planned ECML major timetable change (planned for December) would be postponed for a second time, after its May 2022 introduction was axed. This would have been the most significant timetable change on the route since 2011, affecting all services between London,…

Work by Progress Rail at Longport to convert 56104 to 69014 for GB Railfreight is nearly complete. The locomotive, currently in undercoat primer, is close to being tested and put into traffic. It is expected to enter service prior to being repainted in early 2025. GBRf has also put 66314 into traffic, meaning that nine of its Class 66s acquired from mainland Europe in the last two years are now in service. 66315 is due to follow, but there is still no date when 66316 will arrive in the country.…

Chiltern Railways could be moving closer to taking on Mk 5 coaches from Beacon Rail, but will not be drawn on industry speculation that a deal is likely. Liam Bolland, Media Relations Manager at Chiltern Railways, told RAIL: “We are engaged in constructive discussions with the Department for Transport and suppliers on securing replacement and additional trains, and hope to share an update in due course.” Insiders have told RAIL that the operator is expecting a Mk 5 set for crew training and evaluation. RAIL understands nine Mk 5 sets in six-car formations are to head to Chiltern. It is likely the first set will arrive circa April. The Mk 3 sets would be phased out around the end of 2025. This is not confirmed and so could change. The…

The Severn Valley Railway will celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Class 37s at its October 2-5 diesel event next year. SVR Chairman Gus Dunster told RAIL he was looking to run an event in the same format as October 2018’s ‘50 years of Class 50’, which brought together 11 Class 50s in one go - ten of them working trains. Negotiations are under way with Class 37 owners (both preserved locomotives and main line machines) to support the event. There could also be some main line activity, featuring a charter train.…

ONLY by looking at the origins of the HS2 project can we understand how we got to £100 million bat tunnels that may prove to have been totally unnecessary. The HS2 project started out as a vision -a scheme that would unlock the potential of the railways for the 21st century. Ignoring the fact that the idea of a high-speed line had been clearly rejected by the 2006 Eddington Report into the role of transport in stimulating economic growth, the idea was resuscitated by Andrew Adonis, who arrived as a junior transport minister soon afterwards and later took over the top role at the Department for Transport. Adonis was not only a massive enthusiast for high-speed rail, he was also a man in a hurry, aware that the 2010 General…

GREAT British Railways should be up and running by the end of 2026 at the earliest. That’s the headline from Transport Secretary Louise Haigh’s first appearance before the newly appointed Transport Select Committee of the House of Commons. We should also know which of the ten private rail operators running under Department for Transport contracts will be nationalised first, just as soon as the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill receives royal assent to become law. The bill is in its final stages, so royal assent is perhaps only days away. It gives the Transport Secretary legal power to take English private train operating companies into the public sector, there to join the four already operating under direct DfT control. To create fully Great British Railways as the owner of…

Opinion Industry Insider REVENUE protection practices that train operating companies have in place are to be subject to an independent review conducted by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). In a move announced by the Transport Secretary on November 13, the review will cover how operators tackle suspected fare evasion, while retaining rigorous enforcement where a deliberate attempt has been made to avoid paying the fare. Increasingly, revenue protection policy is to create a closed system where gates are installed to read tickets at departure and destination stations. This has been shown to reduce ticketless travel from an estimated 7% to as little as 2%. This was the impact of providing ticket gatelines at all London Underground stations associated with the use of pre-paid Oyster cards, which deducted…