Tabla de contenidos para Issue 1018 en RAIL

RailReview - analysis on progress in Labour’s first months in charge: 47-57 NRA winners: 63-81 THE rail sector feels like it is finally moving forwards after years of stagnation at best, neglect at worst. This issue analyses the early progress. RAIL magazine is also moving forwards, with some new developments on our regular format. Rail is essentially a clean, green, safe, fast, friendly, efficient and even fun way to travel. In this issue, we celebrate those that best exemplify many of these qualities in our National Rail Awards winners’ supplement (see pages 63-80). They are all brilliant, but I want to mention a few that stood out for me as being great examples of those rail characteristics. The NRA Environmental Excellence award went to Govia Thameslink Railway and Energy Garden…

Driver-only operated (DOO) trains in some areas will be capable of automatically warning passengers of disruption from next spring, as part of an industry plan to reduce the number of times that passengers self-evacuate from trains. The On Train PA system will initially be fitted to DOO trains operated by ScotRail, London Overground, Southeastern and Govia Thameslink Railway. “If we know all trains in specific signal berths or at specific stations are going to be delayed, we will set it up so that as soon as the train hits that location it will make an announcement to passengers,” Southeastern Head of Information Delivery John Till told RAIL. “It means the control team doesn’t have to sit here manually pumping out hundreds of announcements. We can send it once and it…

RAIL Minister Lord Peter Hendy is at the centre of a controversy over the dismissal of an engineer from his employment at engineering company SYSTRA. In a letter written afterwards while he was chair of Network Rail, and brought to light after a Freedom of Information request by the website Politico, Hendy (pictured) suggested SYSTRA might not win contracts unless it disciplined Gareth Dennis for criticising NR. Dennis had aired concerns over safety issues at Euston station, which is owned and managed by NR. He had been quoted in The Independent as saying that “Euston was not just unpleasant, but unsafe”. SYSTRA counts Network Rail as one of its biggest clients. Writing to SYSTRA CEO Nick Salt, Hendy warned that the comments made by Dennis would “reflect adversely on your…

Network On September 7, no passenger trains run south of Haworth on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, as volunteers and contractors continue work to replace the main line span of Bridge 27 which carries the preserved line over Bridghouse Beck in Haworth. Taking place over a September 1-20 closure, work has involved lifting out the old span, which dated from the 1880s, before rebuilding the abutments (as seen here) and lifting a new span into place. This was planned for September 14, after this issue of RAIL went to press. The KWVR says that this £1.2 million project is the biggest piece of civil engineering it has undertaken. It comes with a £1m grant from the government’s community ownership fund. Contractors have included bridge designer Cass Hayward, Keller (which…

People in England are still not leaving their homes as often as before the COVID pandemic, although the 2023 National Travel Survey does show confidence returning. In 2023, people made 915 trips on average (18 trips a week). This was 6% higher than in 2022, but 4% lower than pre-pandemic in 2019, when the average was 953 trips per person. Private cars accounted for the majority of trips (60%) and distance (78%), while 29% of journeys were on foot. Only 2% of trips were by rail, making up 8% of the total distance travelled.…

Transport for London says it is close to completing a feasibility study for its proposed 11-mile West London Orbital project. Enhancement of the current freight-only route to link Hendon/ Brent Cross/Cricklewood/West Hampstead in north-west London to Hounslow in west London has been on the table for around a decade. Connecting with the Elizabeth line and HS2 at Old Oak Common, as well as other routes, it is seen as an important alternative to the congested parallel A4 and A406 North Circular roads. It would support 15,800 new homes and create jobs. If the government and private investors show interest, and an estimated £300 million can be raised, TfL wants to press ahead with design work early in 2025 and submit a Transport & Works Act application in about three years.…

THE Scottish government has announced that the procurement process is under way for new rolling stock to replace its InterCity 125 High Speed Trains. ScotRail uses the HSTs on its Inter7City routes from Edinburgh/ Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen and Inverness via Perth, and on the Aberdeen to Inverness route via Elgin. “The procurement, which will be led by ScotRail on behalf of Transport Scotland, will seek a replacement for the HST fleet which operates on its Inter7City routes,” said the operator. The HSTs have come in for criticism from the unions, following the Carmont derailment in August 2020 which resulted in the deaths of three people (a passenger and two members of the train crew), while another driver narrowly avoided serious injury when a fallen tree smashed into his…

Freight operators have been preparing locomotives and collecting wagons for the impending start of Railhead Treatment Train (RHTT) operations across the country. RHTTs apply high-pressure water to clear the railheads of leaf mulch which can accumulate during the autumn leaf fall season and cause poor railhead conditions. This year Colas Rail, Direct Rail Services, DB Cargo, GB Railfreight and Freightliner have each been allocated circuits, operating trains in top-and-tail fashion. Colas will replace DRS in running the two York circuits - one of which still requires RA5 locomotives, so will be worked by Class 37s. Colas has seven Class 37s of its own (37057/099/116/175/219/254/421), plus 37405/607/610/612 on long-term hire from Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC). Because it has recently acquired additional Class 43s to operate Infrastructure Monitoring trains, this releases…

Class 18 on trial Another of Beacon Rail’s Clayton Class 18 heavy-duty battery shunters has been moved for trials, with 18007 arriving at Tunstead Quarry on September 1 (by road from Wolverton). Meanwhile, 18014 arrived by road at Eastleigh on August 21 for use with GB Railfreight. Class 20 named Preserved Class 20, 20087, has been named Reginald T Latham in honour of the owner’s late father. The Type 1 is now based at the Kent & East Sussex Railway. Class 60 to DC Rail DC Rail has taken a second Class 60 on hire from GB Railfreight, with 60047 joining 60096 in being placed on long-term hire to the operator.…

West Midlands Trains and the Branch Line Society have announced Sunday September 29 as the date for a Class 323 farewell charter. The electric multiple units, which are being replaced by Class 730s after working on local trains from Birmingham for over three decades, are being withdrawn. Many are transferring to Northern, but nine units will be returned to their rolling stock owner and currently have no new home. The charity fundraising charter will cover many of the routes that the ‘323s’ have plied for many years. A pair of units - including 323221, which has had its old Centro livery reapplied for its final few months in traffic - will start at Birmingham New Street at 0822 and head to Bromsgrove, where it will reverse. It then continues to…

WORK on HS2’s Bromford Tunnel in East Birmingham has reached a major milestone, with the first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) reaching the halfway point of the 3.5-mile-long twin-bore tunnel. The 1,600-tonne TBM, called Mary Ann, has been digging since July last year. It has evacuated and built 1.75 miles of the first bore of the tunnel, reaching the midway ventilation shaft that has been sunk in the Castle Vale area of the city. At its deepest level the Bromford Tunnel will be around 40 metres underground. It is being dug from Water Orton in North Warwickshire through to Washwood Heath in Birmingham, where it is expected to break through early next year. A second TBM, Elizabeth, began its drive towards Washwood Heath in March and is due to break through…

Column Almost immediately after her appointment, new Transport Secretary Louise Haigh delivered a mantra to her department: “move fast and fix things”. And there is no doubt that the new government intends to move quickly regarding rail reform. The King’s Speech laid out proposals for a Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, to prohibit the use of private sector contractors to run trains. It was published the following day, as the new government’s very first piece of legislation, sending a clear signal that it is set on a state monopoly railway. A second Railways Bill will be a much more involved piece of legislation, and likely to take 18 months to create that monopoly (Great British Railways) to oversee both tracks and trains. So, the Transport Secretary is certainly moving…

2 WAYS TO SEND RAIL YOUR VIEWS & OPINIONS WRITE TO US: RAIL, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough Business Park, Peterborough PE2 6EA. EMAIL US: rail@bauermedia.co.uk PASSENGER OPERATIONS Rail must seize the day and secure the market for leisure travel RAIL’s excellent Comment (Seize the leisure travel initiative, RAIL 1016) summarised many of the faults with our rail system. I have written before about one ‘InterCity’ brand to be responsible for all long-distance services, including an extended InterCity cross-country sector incorporating TransPennine Express. What would have happened if InterCity had been allowed to privatise itself as a whole, had John Major not destroyed it? It would have had access to private capital with a choice of properly designed rolling stock, and continued to be marketed as a successful British…

Rail Electrification Alliance (Static Frequency Converters) The judges were “blown away” by this use of the UK’s first multi-lever modular static frequency converter, for Phase 2 of Network Rail’s East Coast Main Line Power Supply Upgrade programme (PSU2). Instead of the traditional method for delivering power upgrades, which relied on a new connection being established with the National Grid’s central electricity distribution network, the Static Frequency Converter (SFC) offered a new way to plug directly into the neighbouring domestic network that supplies power to lineside homes and businesses. The SFC takes the local 132kV supply and passes it through digitally controlled power electronics to convert it to 25kV AC for use in overhead wires. SFCs have previously been used in this way in Australia and Germany. However, this application -…

VTG Rail and Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems UK (Leading the way with the launch of the UK’s first digital iWagon) VTG Rail and Knorr-Bremse have been working on this iWagon freight wheel protection system for more than a decade. Launched as a nine-wagon first phase in October 2023, the concept features axle lock detection and wheel flat prevention technology to monitor wheelset slide and brake condition. iWagon trials, involving 41,742 train miles on three separate contracts, captured more than 3,000 abnormal events and showed that there was a wheel-slide event (on average) every 6.5 miles. By running the prototype wagons in a rake which contained two unfitted monitoring vehicles, the trials showed that an average of 37 wheel-lock events were avoided by the active wagons, and that (unlike the monitoring wagons)…

Network Rail partnered with Loccioni (FELIX Automated Measurement Trolley) This year’s Safety Achievement of the Year winner has been described by the NRA judges as a “game changer” for Network Rail’s inspection of critical switches and crossing assets. NR’s use of a remote-controlled, battery-powered, semi-autonomous trolley equipped with laser and video technology eliminates the safety risk of manual inspection, often made in hostile weather conditions and at night. Additionally, with track geometry and rail profile measurements taken every 2mm, the FELIX provides a superior level of accuracy than traditional manual inspection with a gauge. It can also complete seven inspections in 15 minutes, as opposed to one manual inspection in 37 minutes. The judges added: “This brings significant and tangible benefits for the life and condition of the assets themselves,…

Hull Trains Hull Trains has triumphed as a Great Place to Work, having worked hard to build a workplace culture that promotes diversity and long-term career development for its 120 staff. Evidence of this inclusive culture is that 27% of its train drivers are female (well above the industry average of 6.5%), and 19% of all staff are taking advantage of flexible working opportunities. The open access operator says it believes that if it looks after its people, they will look after its customers. Hull Trains has therefore trained 11 staff as Mental Health First Aiders, and supports a range of charity and community work. This includes enabling staff to select the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust as a charity partner for 2024, and supporting six employees to complete the 24-mile Yorkshire…

Glasgow Queen Street (ScotRail) The award for Major Station of the Year remains in Scotland’s largest city, having last year gone to Clydeside neighbour Glasgow Central. The judges said the station, and its “friendly staff who are always available and attentive to passengers”, is a worthy winner after being highly commended in 2023. Although it is the smaller of Glasgow’s two main line terminals, Queen Street is Scotland’s third busiest station with 12.3 million exits and entries recorded in 2022-23. Opened by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in February 1842, the station was initially named after nearby Dundas Street before reverting to Queen Street. The steep 1-in-24 Cowlairs Incline required early trains to the Scottish capital and destinations to the north to be hauled from the station by a steam-driven…

TRANSPORT Secretary Louise Haigh has unveiled the first steps to setting up the new body responsible for the country’s rail network - Great British Railways (GBR). The launch of Shadow Great British Railways (Shadow GBR) is part of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill 2024-25, which has now passed the final stages in the Commons after its third reading on September 3. It is the first major piece of legislation to do so since Labour took power in July. It has now gone to the House of Lords, where its second reading is scheduled for October 7. The Bill will mean a significant shift in how the railway is governed, with a new organisation bringing together leaders from the Department for Transport, Network Rail and publicly owned operators. The…

Network Rail is examining the options for completing heavily delayed work on Oxford’s Botley Road, next to its station redevelopment. The major route into the city has been closed since April 2023. In July, NR said it would not reopen as planned at the end of October, confirming that it would remain closed “for the foreseeable future”. Oxfordshire County Council leader Liz Leffman said then that she thought the road could remain shut for another year. A new water main and sewer have been installed, but the railway bridge has not yet been replaced. NR is reviewing the £161 million project, along with the Department for Transport, the county council, and contractor Kier. A decision is likely this month. It is understood that three options are on the table: ■…

ASLEF staff at ScotRail and the Caledonian Sleeper, both of which were nationalised by the Scottish government two years ago, have been balloted on a revised pay offer. A ballot that had been due to close on August 29 was withdrawn after the improved offer was made (the details of which have not been disclosed). Instead, the drivers’ union is holding a referendum on the new offer, with a closing date of September 25. The three other unions are considering the revised offer through their governance processes. RMT members had already voted for industrial action. The results of ballots by the TSSA and Unite have not been released. All unions previously rejected the Scottish government’s three-year capped below-inflation pay offer to April 2027, with 2% in year one, and 1%…

Network Grand Central 180108 now holds the British ETCS (European Train Control System) speed record, having reached 125mph during tests between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The test formed the latest stage of Network Rail’s East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), which entails installing ETCS cab signalling between London and Stoke Tunnel, just south of Grantham (RAIL 1010). It took place on August 25, with the East Coast Main Line closed to normal traffic from 2200 on August 24 to 0900 on August 26. NR had expected to test an HST at the same time. But mechanical problems with the train, rather than with its ETCS kit, forced its absence. The Class 180 has Alstom ETCS equipment on board, while NR is equipping the lineside…

New signage on London Underground has been uncovered before the official launch of its renaming of its six routes after famous figures and events. The £2.3 million identity change, which was due at the end of August but has been slightly delayed, has been seen on the Euston-Watford line, which will soon become the Lioness Line. Before Transport for London covered the signs up again, Willesden Junction was confusingly shown as the changing point for the still unfamiliar Mildmay Line. Launch day will feature a full-scale rollout of the new identities, when all the vinyl coverings will be removed on a single day instead of over a longer period. Other routes to be named are the Windrush Line, Weaver Line, Suffragette Line and Liberty Line, each with their own colour.…

The Clyde Metro project will be backed with public funding from the Scottish government, Scotland’s Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop has confirmed. Pressed on the matter at a Railway Industry Association Scotland fringe meeting at the SNP conference, Hyslop said the programme to build a new, integrated transport network in the Greater Glasgow area was a “priority”. Clyde Metro was a key recommendation in Transport Scotland’s Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 (STPR2), published in December 2022. Shortly after, it was included in the Scottish government’s statutory National Planning Framework 4. STPR2 included a map proposing the conversion of several existing suburban lines to heavy metro. It also suggested new light metro links to Kirkintilloch, Glasgow Airport, Newton Mearns, and an East Kilbride loop. There could also be lines to Barrhead and…

‘ISLANDS’ of third-rail electric power are being assessed for the West of England line between Basingstoke and Exeter. Network Rail and South Western Railway have been working for two years on plans to remove diesel trains on the long-distance route. They have involved train manufacturers and rolling stock leasing companies in studies to fit battery power to either Class 450 Desiros or new Class 701 Arterio trains, able to recharge on sections of discontinuous third-rail track. The aim is to provide a lower-cost way to decarbonise the remaining diesel-powered route from London’s Waterloo station. Engineers are considering 80km (50 miles) of new third rail in 15 “islands” of power along the route. “It’s all looking really feasible,” SWR Engineering Director Neil Drury told RAIL. “We would put third-rail down the…

Ticketless travel will be available from almost half of main line stations in and around London from September 23, as the government pushes on with its £20 million Project Oval scheme. Another 47 pay-as-you go stations have been added to the 53 available when the ‘tap-in tap-out’ system was launched on December 3 last year. The scheme will eventually be rolled out at a total of 230 locations. Project Oval is aimed at allowing passengers to easily change trains at main line stations, as well as to use the Underground, London Trams to Croydon, and TfL-managed buses. Prices will vary during the day. The latest expansion is just for newer bankcard-based contactless payments, and does not include Oyster cards. This policy is already in place on the Elizabeth line’s extension…

Port of Boston’s 09022 was moved to Wishaw on August 20, to be replaced by 08939 which travelled in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Harry Needle Railroad Company’s 08877 has been moved to Hams Hall and Freightliner’s 08691 has moved from Burton to Felixstowe, allowing 08531 to move the other way. A couple of shunters have changed hands recently. 08853 has been acquired by Railway Support Services from Wabtec and has been moved by road from Doncaster to Wishaw. HNRC has sold 09106 to a private buyer. It was moved to Lydney at the Dean Forest Railway by road from the Cardiff Celsa site in early September. Valley Rail Preservation will undertake work on it before it moves to its new home.…

Harry Needle Railroad Company has recovered 20056 from the scrap line at the British Steel site at Scunthorpe. The locomotive arrived there in 2007 along with 20066, to act as heavy-duty locomotives within the steelworks. However, 20056 was last used over a decade ago and has fallen into a state of disrepair. It was moved by road to HNRC’s Worksop site on August 29 and is expected to be returned to running order (albeit not for the main line). It is hoped it will join 20066 in being made available for heritage events.…

The sole Class 89 (89001) was collected from the UK Rail Leasing site at Loughborough on August 15 and taken to Crewe Diesel Depot by 37521. Owned by the AC Locomotive Group, the 25kV AC locomotive is being returned to main line registration for use by Locomotive Services Limited. It will undergo final rectification work before embarking on its first main line test. The Co-Co locomotive, a prototype built by BREL Crewe to a Brush design in 1986, last ran in 2002.…

OPEN access operator Grand Central is planning to order a fleet of new bi-mode trains for its East Coast Main Line operation. It is also seeking to extend its existing track access rights until 2038. It says a contract extension will “secure its services for the next 15 years and unlock [owning group] Arriva’s intentions to invest in new, state-of-the-art trains.” The number of units that will be ordered, and their set formations, has yet to be finalised. Grand Central has been running trains on the ECML as an open access operator (which means it receives no government funding or subsidy) since 2007. It started with a fleet of three ex-CrossCountry HSTs and then moved on to using ex-Great Western Railway Class 180 Alstom diesel units which are now 24…

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, orrail@bauermedia.co.uk WESTERN Fifield: The future of the extensive private railway is uncertain, following the death on August 24 of its owner David Buck. The farm estate is home to Finnish Railways 5ft gauge ‘Pacific’ 91016 Lady Patricia, reputed to be the UK’s largest operational steam locomotive. Helston: The Helston Railway has acquired the former Hull Dairycoates depot turntable, which is earmarked for its new southern terminus. Portishead: North Somerset Council has donated track from the…

AS further reform to rail continues, changes to rail freight and the charges attached to it have already been made. In a move designed to encourage further modal shift to rail freight, Network Rail and the Department for Transport have waived track access charges for new freight flows for the next six months. In many ways, this is a ‘try-before-you-buy’, but it is nevertheless a welcome move. Not only because it possibly opens up rail freight to new markets that have considered moving their goods by rail yet have not been able to do so because costs have been prohibitive… but also because it highlights the issues that many within the rail freight sector have known for a while - that barriers to growth are still there, and modal shift…

HOW many bills does it need to sort out the railways? Well, as we now know, there are two on the way in this Parliament. And the first, with the cumbersome name of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, passed its initial Commons stages on September 3. There was a lengthy debate, but it was hardly enlightening, with much of the time being taken up by maiden speeches (more than half the MPs are new) on subjects that had nothing to do with the railways. The purpose of this Bill is simple: to allow the government to take over franchises as the present contracts come to an end or are up for review. No longer will the government have to wait for operators to get into trouble before it…

TWO stories broke on social media as August wended its warm way towards September. In one, LNER left Paralympic legend Tanni Grey-Thompson on a train at King’s Cross, highlighting how difficult rail travel can be for passengers using wheelchairs. In another, Gareth Dennis (an occasional RAIL contributor) laid bare the story of his sacking by SYSTRA after complaints from then-NR Chairman Peter Hendy about his comment in a newspaper about Euston crowding. Grey-Thompson managed to crawl from her train - and not for the first time. Her ordeal and the publicity it generated prompted many more stories of the problems that disabled passengers face. She told the BBC: “We’re at a point now - and I’ve never been quite in this place before - where there needs to be severe…

IT is welcome news that the new Labour government is providing ample legislative time to transport, given that it is a vital policy area that is often neglected. I also welcome the appointment of Lord Peter Hendy as Rail Minister. However, the new government is playing a precarious game by overpromising to customers on the benefits of public ownership of passenger services. Before entering Parliament, I worked for both state-owned Network Rail and private sector train companies. Both public and private have their merits and weaknesses, but by focusing entirely on changing the ownership of train companies, government will fall short in delivering the rapid improvements that customers want to see. Take Network Rail. Following the safety and financial failures of Railtrack, the previous Labour government rightly took action to…

Keltbray and Network Rail (LTS Mk1 OLE Replacement) Keltbray has been credited by the NRA judges with bringing overhead line fitment and renewal “into the 21st century”, through its development of new techniques for this £20 million project to eliminate 150 wire defects on the London Fenchurch Street to Tilbury and Southend route, operated by c2c. Significant gains were delivered by Keltbray’s use of the ZECK road-rail wiring unit, developed with Network Rail in 2016 to slash wiring installation time by 50% and costs by 42% through its ability to deliver simultaneous contact and catenary wiring at full tension. The ZECK is also less dependent on engineering possessions, as it is able to access and travel under live overhead line equipment. The increased automation and use of specialist mobile plant…

Transport for London (Bank Station Capacity Upgrade) The Bank Station Capacity Upgrade in central London beat off strong competition to top the Major Project of the Year category, for its benefits to passengers, accelerated delivery, and Transport for London’s ability to reduce cost from the original baseline. The judges said they were impressed by what TfL described as “the most complex and technically challenging” project ever delivered on the London Underground network. Completed in February 2023, the ten-year scheme included more than 1km of new tunnelling to provide a new southbound running tunnel and platform on the Northern Line. Meanwhile, the existing platform has been converted into a spacious concourse, with access further improved by a new station entrance, 12 new escalators and two moving walkways. Step-free access has also…

Greater Anglia (Fleet Transformation) The judges said Greater Anglia was the “hands down” winner for Fleet Achievement of the Year, owing to the strong focus on passenger benefits and high degree of co-ordination between operations and engineering teams during the operator’s fleet replacement programme. They said the introduction of more than 1,000 new vehicles (built by Stadler and Alstom) was a “major logistics exercise implemented well”, following last year’s completion of the staged introduction of new trains on all routes. The headline franchise commitment from Greater Anglia has led to all London-Norwich inter-city trains and Stansted Express services being replaced by 12-car Class 745 electric multiple units. Outer suburban services have been replaced by five-car high-density Class 720s’ while all regional and branch services have been taken over by three-car…

Carmichael UK (Placing People First) Specialist recruitment agency Carmichael UK was unanimously voted this year’s winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Society award, because of founder Michael Carmichael’s “intrinsic desire to give back to an industry that had given him a home, career and community and to replicate it for others”. Formed more than 25 years ago to link candidates to civil engineering and construction careers with top-tier contractors in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, Carmichael UK prides itself on the diversity of its recruits. Recent initiatives have included working with ex-offenders and prisoners awaiting release at HMP Springhill to take up work placements. For the past two years the company has also embarked on a monthly engagement programme with the Muslim community, meeting with community leaders and…

Cambridge (Greater Anglia) Cambridge has triumphed once again in this category, having previously claimed top spot for Large Station of the Year in 2017. The judges said the varsity city’s station has “demonstrated continuous improvement” in the intervening seven years to become an iconic hub for services throughout East Anglia. Opened in 1845 with four bay platforms and a 514-yard main platform face (the third longest in the UK after Colchester and Gloucester), the station is now home to eight platforms following construction of a new island arrangement in 2011. Further improvements were carried out by Greater Anglia, with a larger concourse, multi-storey cycle hub, more ticket gates and a bigger ticket office opening at the beginning of 2017. The judges praised the redevelopment for “sympathetically providing a modern welcome…

Wemyss Bay (ScotRail) Wemyss Bay has frequently been described as an architectural gem and a showpiece of Scotland’s rail network. Its sweeping glass-roofed concourse and walkway to the adjacent ferry terminal, dominated by a 60-foot clock tower, has earned the station a Category A rating and several heritage awards - including top spot in the Rail Delivery Group’s 2023 World Cup of Stations. Opened in 1865 and rebuilt in 1903 by the Caledonian Railway, the Inverclyde Line terminus continues to connect passengers from Glasgow Central with ferry services to destinations including Rothesay. The famous James Miller-designed station buildings underwent major refurbishment by Network Rail, Inverclyde Council and Scottish Government between 2014-16. This programme restored the canopies and glazed roof, repainted the station in its historic colour scheme, and repaired the…

Jason Hart, Wheel Lathe Supervisor, Siemens Mobility When Jason Hart, Siemens Mobility’s Wheel Lathe Supervisor at Three Bridges depot, found a tool used to adjust ride heights for rolling stock to be inefficient and to pose handling risks to maintenance technicians, he set about designing a new one. To prevent injury to colleagues using the previously cumbersome tool, which was difficult to use below rail level in a confined space, Jason designed an alternative while also producing several design options for different types of pit. After assessing the supply chain for potential manufacturers, the tool was deployed in the depot. It can be operated safely by a single technician using a remote control outside of the pit, removing all safety concerns and providing technicians with accurate control over lowering and…

OpinionIndustry Insider THE government has announced that the Great British Railways Transition Team will become a Shadow GBR organisation, as a precursor to the passing of legislation necessary to create the substantive organisation. Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy has directed the head of Network Rail, the Department for Transport’s Director General Rail Services, and the Chief Executive of OLR Holdings (the body responsible for the train operating companies running under the government’s Operator of Last Resort regulations) to begin the process of deciding how GBR is organised. Tensions already exist, as there is a debate about regional or business-led structures. This is a throwback to past organisational choices, where in its final years of stewardship BR opted to enlarge the original sectors and their subsidiary business units to control the engineering…

WELCOME to the RAIL Crossword. In this issue, two successful solvers will be able to board the Night Trains, courtesy of Profile Books (www.profilebooks.co.uk). Night trains have long fascinated us with the possibilities of their private sleeping compartments, gilded dining cars, champagne bars and wealthy travellers. Authors from Agatha Christie to Graham Greene have used night trains to tell tales of romance, intrigue and decadence against a rolling background of dramatic landscapes. And the reality could often be as thrilling: early British travellers on the Orient Express were advised to carry a revolver (as well as a teapot). In Night Trains: The Rise and Fall of the Sleeper (paperback, 256 pages, retail price £12.99), best-selling author Andrew Martin attempts to relive the golden age of the great European Sleeper trains…

Network Rail is offering a six-month waiver of track access charges for new business, in a move designed to encourage freight to shift from road to rail. While the offer is open to all train operators and types of service that meet the qualifying criteria, its primary aim is to support the growth of rail freight. Noting that haulage is very price-sensitive, NR says the offer is worth around £1,000 per train circulation (out and back) depending on the length and loading of the trains. Charges would be waived in full for six months while new traffic is being established. Maggie Simpson OBE, Director General of the Rail Freight Group, said: “Many businesses are looking to move more freight by rail, but it can be a big step to start…

RAIL delays relating to weather are now the highest on record, according to Network Rail. The infrastructure company has produced a graph indicating that the rate of delay has risen sharply since the pandemic, exceeding the level seen in 2018-19. It has increased by 900,000 minutes over ten years. Network Rail pointed out that the past decade has had some of the warmest years on record. “Generally, we are seeing milder winters and warmer summers. However, weather extremities are getting more severe and impactful on the railway,” it said. Last year there were 14 named storms in the UK. At a briefing for industry journalists, the organisation said that improving train performance was “the biggest, most immediate and important area of focus for Network Rail and the industry as a…

HS2 Ltd says estimates of the cost of redesigns to its future trains are incorrect. The i newspaper quoted a figure of nearly £200 million to adapt the trains for the variation of platform heights at stations they will serve on the conventional network (RAIL 1017). HS2 confirmed to RAIL that the rolling stock design is undergoing a series of changes, including to the step between the train and the platform, as well as to the number of doors on the trains, plus some smaller amendments. “However, there is no finalised cost of these changes and claims that the platform/train interface redesign will cost £200m are well wide of the mark,” a spokesman said.…

Transport for Wales has selected Hitachi to help connect public transport journeys within Wales through a single app, making it easier for customers to plan, book and pay for different modes of travel. Over the course of the five-year partnership, Hitachi will deliver a multimodal digital booking system that will include all modes of public transport. Rail, local bus, fflecsi buses and TrawsCymru services will all be available to plan and book through the one digital back-office solution from Hitachi. Hitachi will build on its digital expertise from its involvement in ticketing on the Japanese rail network and various initiatives in Italy to develop a bespoke Mobility as a Service (MaaS) product for Wales. MaaS solutions typically focus on urban areas. This partnership is seen as pioneering because it will…

Iarnród Éireann has awarded a €29.5 million (£25m) contract to BAM Civil Ltd to double-track the 10km (6.2-mile) railway line between Glounthaune and Midleton, to the east of Cork. The project marks a significant phase in the broader Cork Commuter Rail Programme, which aims to improve the rail network’s capacity, efficiency, and reliability within the Cork metropolitan area. Work is set to begin on September 25 and is expected to last 18 months. It will include installing a second track, constructing two new bridges, enhancing level crossings, and upgrading signalling systems. Additionally, the project will deliver associated track turnout and crossover works at Glounthaune, Carrigtwohill, and Midleton, including the installation of two new crossovers at Midleton. A new siding and turnback facility at Midleton will also be developed, along with…

INTEGRATION of track and train in England “cannot be at the expense of Scotland going backward”, says Scotland’s Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop. She also criticised the current five-year cycle for infrastructure spending, and warned the rail industry that it faces “hard realities” over cuts to capital investment in Scotland. Speaking at a Railway Industry Association (RIA) Scotland fringe meeting at her party’s (the SNP) annual conference on August 30, Hyslop said UK Rail Minister Peter Hendy “compliments” the Scottish government on its approach to rail. But she added her concern that the establishment of Great British Railways (GBR) could “compromise our abilities in Scotland to continue to do what we do”. ScotRail is now publicly owned by the Scottish government and works in a partnership agreement with Network Rail Scotland.…

Network Rail will begin essential woodland management work along the railway between Dutton (Warrington) and Ditton (Widnes) through Runcorn in Cheshire this September. The year-long project aims to enhance safety and reliability by clearing overgrowth and reducing tree hazards. The work, which will primarily take place during weekdays, is crucial for preventing disruptions caused by fallen trees and branches. To help alleviate concerns from residents, Network Rail held a drop-in session on September 12, providing more information and addressing community concerns. Ecological surveys have been conducted to protect wildlife, and residents are encouraged to sign up for NR’s digital lineside notification service to stay updated on the project.…

Talks are continuing to secure the long-term security of the proposed Crossrail 2 north-south route across London. The Department for Transport confirmed that discussions with Transport for London have been held over the summer. There is no expectation of the planned route between Surrey and Hertfordshire being built. Instead, the aim is to safeguard planning restrictions on the land beneath which the tunnels could one day be dug. This would prevent new structures which could make the line impossible to build, should a decision be taken in the future. In 2019, the cost was projected to be £41 billion. The DfT told The Standard that it remained “a long-term aspiration” which could “help unlock thousands of new jobs and homes”. The suggested services would use several existing suburban railway lines…

Staff from Transport Infrastructure Ireland have toured the Tyne and Wear Metro’s Gosforth depot on a fact-finding mission, as Dublin prepares to build its first metro system. The £70 million Nexus depot was completed in January. Delegates were given a detailed tour of its stores, offices, welfare facilities, control room, workshops and train stabling areas, to learn about its facilities layout and how it was built. Work is due to start next year on the Dublin MetroLink mass transit system. It will run for 18.8km (11.7 miles) with 16 stations, and is expected to open in 2035.…

Two of ScotRail’s HST power cars have returned to Scotland, with 43128 taken by road from Loughborough to Haymarket on September 3, followed on the next day by 43169. 43128 has yet to work for ScotRail, despite being part of its fleet since 2019. Both were moved by road by Allelys. Another locomotive on the move by road was 31190, which has been sold by its owner. It was collected from the Plym Valley Railway on September 4 and taken to Nemesis Rail at Burton-on-Trent.…

One of Riviera Trains’ Mk 2f coaches has been modified with sliding hopper windows, and has been released after work carried out at the Nemesis Rail depot at Burton. Coach 6054 now has four opening windows along the length of the coach, to allow passengers to hear any heritage diesel or steam locomotive working hard while hauling charter trains. The modification was in response to the lack of Mk 1 coaches now passed for the main line. Another Mk 2 is set to be similarly modified. On August 29, West Coast Railways 57010 hauled the Class 40 Preservation Society’s D345 as the 0904 Burton Wetmore Sidings-Carnforth. As well as 6054, the train included 11 other previously stored Riviera Trains vehicles (5945/55/65/76/87, 6137/76/77/83, 9527/39) which were moving to Carnforth for repaints…

New apps from Govia Thameslink Railway now allow commuters to buy and store season tickets on their smartphones for Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services. Previously, GTR only offered single and return tickets through its apps, to prevent the fraudulent sharing of season ticket barcodes. New technology has been incorporated into the company’s apps that creates a unique barcode for every journey taken. Weekly, monthly and annual seasons are all available on selected routes and can be bought without booking fees.…

Dear RAIL readers, From this issue onwards, RAIL presents a new regular section under the banner RailReview, which for the past ten years has been our sister title - known primarily to a select few for its in-depth analysis and insight on railway matters. We’re now pleased to bring this to a much larger audience than the previous specialised quarterly magazine could reach. Every issue of RAIL will feature RailReview articles, easily identified by their background colour tinted pages. RailReview articles are written by rail experts and insiders for rail professionals and anyone else with a deep interest in the future direction of the industry. Expect surprising viewpoints, challenging but knowledgeable opinion, and complex developments and ideas made accessible. Articles will reach their audience in a more timely way, ensuring…

“I was an agency worker on a zero hours contract,” says Ajmal Nazir. “I could not rely on it, and I did not have a trade like a carpenter or builder. “I got a call from the careers service to attend a document control programme at college. There was a four-week course and then two weeks of pre-work trial, which was paid. At the end I was offered a position at Balfour Beatty Vinci. That’s how I got into construction in the rail industry.” Nazir is one of 4,500 people who have found roles on HS2, despite initially not having suitable qualifications. A requirement to recruit from diverse backgrounds is embedded in every supply chain contract. “After one year I was promoted, and I am going on a course to…

With thanks to our sponsors Welcome to the 25th anniversary of RAIL’s National Rail Awards. Over the past quarter of a century we’ve seen major projects come to fruition, massive investment in new trains and infrastructure, and workers who started as raw recruits become charismatic leaders of our industry. For sure, there have been a few hiccups along the way. But overall, you’ve risen to the challenge and railways have long since shaken off the “Wrong kind of leaves on the line” headlines that dominated newspapers 25 years ago. At times it’s been a bumpy ride… but the progress has been nothing short of magnificent. This past year has been amazing. Entries to the NRA have risen dramatically. But it’s not just the numbers, it’s the quality of the entries…

AtkinsRéalis, Network Rail and Global Rail Construction (Feltham & Wokingham Area Resignalling Programme Team) AtkinsRéalis, Network Rail and Global Rail Construction undertook a significant challenge, with a £185 million project aimed at improving signalling reliability and performance by 25% over an 80-mile stretch of South Western Railway’s network controlled by the Feltham Area Signalling Centre and Wokingham signal box. Commencing in 2019, the five-year programme was conducted in six phases and 160 weekend possessions to renew more than 500 pieces of life-expired equipment (including 21 interlockings and 275 signals) that had last been upgraded in 1974 and was increasingly difficult to maintain. Thirteen level crossings were also renewed or upgraded, while signalling control was migrated to the Wessex Rail Operating Centre in Basingstoke. The three organisations opted to focus on…

Govia Thameslink Railway and Energy Garden (UK rail’s first community-owned solar co-operative) Public transport has long been regarded as one of the principal solutions to the climate crisis. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has taken this one step further through its partnership with not-for-profit community benefit society Energy Garden, which opened a 578-panel solar array on the roof of Streatham Hill depot in London in 2021. Using this under-utilised space to generate clean energy came at no upfront cost to the operator. Energy Garden recoups its investment by selling £50 shares to the local community and ploughing 100% of the profit made on selling the electricity back into other projects and initiatives - including educational programmes. Over 20 years, the roof is estimated to generate more than four gigawatt-hours of electricity,…

East Midlands Railway (Skegness Summer Service) East Midlands Railway faced a significant challenge last summer, when there was a delay to the cascade of Class 170 rolling stock it was relying on to reinforce its busy seasonal services from Nottingham to Skegness. Faced by the loss of its Class 156 fleet, which had been used the previous year but was contracted to Northern from May 2023, as well as a 35% reduction in seats from being limited to only three-car ‘170s’, EMR identified 12 core services each day that were likely to encounter capacity problems. To alleviate overcrowding, the operator used its demand and pricing management system to encourage passengers to use traditionally less-populated services, by making advance purchase tickets cheaper on departures after 1100. A priority boarding system was…

Greater Anglia Greater Anglia has regained its crown as Passenger Operator of the Year, after winning the category in 2022 and being highly commended last year. The judges said they “quickly agreed” on the strength of the entry from an operator that “continues to improve its operation and customer service” since completing the replacement of its entire fleet in 2023. Since 2016, some £1.4 billion has been spent to order more than 1,000 new vehicles- including Class 745 electric multiple units (EMUs) from Stadler to serve inter-city routes between London and Norwich and Stansted Express services. Class 755 bi-modes have been introduced on non-electrified routes including the Wherry Lines and Ipswich-Ely, while Class 720 EMUs from Alstom now ply their trade on routes including London-Cambridge North, the Crouch Valley Line,…

University (Birmingham) (West Midlands Trains) University is a new entry to the National Rail Awards, following this year’s completion of work to lift its capacity from 500,000 to seven million passengers a year. Opened in 1978 as part of an upgrade to Birmingham’s Cross-City Line, the station was already struggling to accommodate around four million entries and exits per annum by the time Birmingham was announced as the host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Anticipating a surge of additional visitors to venues on the University of Birmingham campus, Transport for the West Midlands and the West Midlands Rail Executive announced a £56 million redevelopment plan in 2019. Extended platforms were delivered in time for the Games in July 2022 as part of the complex three-year construction programme, during which…

Jack Roberts and Wayne Norbury, Project Managers, Network Rail After Network Rail Track Maintenance Delivery Unit Project Managers Jack Roberts and Wayne Norbury gathered feedback from colleagues on where new access points would be most beneficial, in order to prevent staff having to walk a mile or more along the trackside to reach their worksites while carrying heavy equipment, the duo created an action plan to deliver the new access. Not only does this reduce the safety risk of being trackside, particularly in the Wessex Route where some lines are powered by the third rail, it hasalso cut the amount of time a line block is needed to protect workers. Another focus of Jack and Wayne’s action plan was to increase the width of access gates to 1.8 metres, to…

Tim Shoveller, CEO, Freightliner When Tim Shoveller took over as Freightliner CEO last summer, he was already steeped in more than three decades’ worth of experience in distinguished frontline and managerial roles in passenger and infrastructure operations. Having started life as a self-proclaimed trainspotter at Reading station and a volunteer at the Mid-Hants Railway, he rejected university to begin his formal career as a trainee driver and guard with British Rail in Guildford in 1992. Shoveller soon climbed the ranks in the early era of privatisation, as increasingly senior roles followed at Eurostar, Virgin Trains and Midland Mainline. When the latter franchise (which had been owned by National Express) passed to Stagecoach in 2007, Shoveller was promoted to the top job as managing director of East Midlands Trains. In the…

Some final thoughts from the team at RAIL @RAIL Send contributions to: mike.wright@bauermedia.co.uk No good deed goes unrewarded… even after 65 years. Carbis Bay couple George and Margaret Stone celebrated 65 years of marriage with a special wedding anniversary cake from Great Western Railway. On the eve of their wedding on September 5 1959, Margaret (with the help of her sister Janet) made a special wedding cake which was shared among 300 colleagues of the Western Region of British Railways. It was a token of thanks for the many hours she had spent waving at the London-Penzance steam trains as they thundered past her home in Wiltshire. And even on their wedding day, Margaret and George took time out to wave at the train from the family…