This thread is for talking about railways, and things related to railways, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - that means we're all about big intercity trains, modest rural trains, long freight trains, trips, tracks, (deep breath) trams, subways, stations, and a partridge in a pear tree~.If you're unfamiliar with train travel, take a look at National Rail's journey planner, at nationalrail.co.uk/ - tell it where you're travelling from and to, and it'll show you a few options before handing you over to a train company so you can buy a ticket. For the same journey, they'll all charge the same price, so it doesn't matter who you buy one from. The best option for overseas visitors would be to use thetrainline.com/ - it'll support your language and payment card.Here's a few links:~The Man in Seat 61 (seat61.com/) - easily the best rail travel resource out there.~A Visual History of Railway Rolling Stock in Great Britain (gaelan.me/br-stock/)~Geoff Marshall (youtube.com/@geofftech2) - likes trains. Mostly harmless.~Jago Hazzard (youtube.com/@jagohazzard) - London train history. Ditto....and some cool 'open data' stuff:~Realtimetrains (realtimetrains.co.uk/) - live train timetables: ideal for keeping on top of ETAs and platforms.~Openrailwaymap (openrailwaymap.org/) - not quite 'Google Maps for railway infrastructure', but close.~TIGER (tiger.worldline.global/home/) - live station departure boards.~Traksy (traksy.uk/live/) - live signalling information.What's happening?~Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill: bills.parliament.uk/bills/3732/ - (mostly) renationalising the railway.~Phase One of High Speed 2 (Birmingham-London): hs2.org.uk/~Belfast Grand Central: weaverscross.co.uk/belfast-transport-hub/~The Transpennine Route Upgrade (electrifying the Liverpool-York mainline): thetrupgrade.co.uk/~The Midland Main Line electrification (still no website!)~The East Coast Digital Programme: nextgenerationrailway.co.uk/
What's in the news lately?~The railway is in the process of being restored to public ownership (link above) - in short, passenger railway services are to be provided by public sector companies, instead of by private companies' franchises. The fine details are a little vague at this stage, and the rolling stock - i.e. the trains - will almost certainly continue to be leased from private companies.~ScotRail plan to replace the venerable HSTs (railmagazine.com/news/2024/09/03/scotland-to-replace-hst-fleet/)~UK's first battery-powered intercity train begins tests on the mainline (railtechnologymagazine.com/articles/uks-first-battery-powered-intercity-train-begins-testing-national-rail-network/)~Network Rail will waive railfreight track access charges for six months (railwaygazette.com/uk/track-access-charge-waiver-aims-to-attract-new-freight-to-rail/67235.article/)~First HS2 viaduct complete (mediacentre.hs2.org.uk/news/hs2-celebrates-first-completed-viaduct/)Cool stuff to do?~lner.co.uk/our-destinations/popular-destinations/trains-to-york/things-to-do-in-york/ - take a trip at 125mph from King's Cross to York. Make sure to spend an hour or two in the National Railway Museum near York station, and take in York Castle and the city's Viking history exhibits afterward.~avantiwestcoast.co.uk/where-we-go/destination-guides/lake-district/ - journey through the Dales into Oxenholme, and go mountain biking through the gorgeous natural scenery of the Lake District national park.~www.sleeper.scot/destination/ftw/ - take the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Fort William, then change onto the westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/steam-train-trip/ Jacobite steam train that'll take you over the famous Glenfinnan 'Harry Potter viaduct'.~scenicrailbritain.com/lines/st-ives-bay-line/ - the St Ives Bay Line will take you to the sandy beaches of Cornwall.~cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/caerphilly-castle/ - visit the largest castle in Wales, a short walk from the station.
...and no book recommendation this time around - dunno about you but lately I've been absolutely hooked on the Olympics and, right now, the Paralympics. Here's a pair of the specially-liveried Eurostar trains at St Pancras, who've been ferrying TeamGB athletes & para-athletes between London and Paris.
so what's stopping the government run rail franchises to slap the double arrow onto their trains and call themselves British Rail again?
>>2016941Not a lot - it's probably what the end result will look like. Right now, the law needs to be changed so that this can happen, and so Parliament has to come to an agreement on exactly how it should be changed, and what it should be changed to.Meanwhile, 'shadow GBR' is being set up by the people in charge of the Government-run rail franchises and Network Rail, ready to take over responsibility for passenger rail travel once they're ready and legally allowed to, and to make whatever improvements are possible in the meantime. Here's a brief speech from yesterday made by the Transport Secretary about this process: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/establishing-a-shadow-great-british-railways
>...and no book recommendation this time aroundIs that because nobody reads them?
>>2016934>First HS2 viaduct completeThe Colne Valley viaduct is now finished, as well: it's now the longest rail bridge in Britain. They've yet to actually install the track and sound barriers, of course, and there's the remediation work to the construction site, but there it is.
Standard in the new 810s...
...and First. Still going to be a year or so before they end up in service, though.
https://hs2.green/our-conference-motion-e01-green-rail-strategy-for-the-midlands-and-the-north/
Grand Central's now open in Belfast, or the bus interchange portion at least ... supposedly the trains will be transferring to the new station 'sometime in the autumn' so, great, just in time for the nice weather lol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YCWnfFLsL0
>>2016941>so what's stopping the government run rail franchises to slap the double arrow onto their trains and call themselves British Rail again?Give it time. Once they end this silly arrangement with the rolling stock all being leased from private owners you'll probably see something similar to pic rel, just replace Russia with GBR and Soviet Union with British Rail.
>>2017950>Once they end this silly arrangement with the rolling stock all being leased from private ownersIt's be nice, but given everything else in the news lately, I'm not sure anybody's going to find a few billion between the couch cushions to basically nationalise the ROSCOs as well.
1. Except with written permission from an operator no person on the railway shall, to the annoyance of any person:1. sing or2. use any instrument, article or equipment for the production or reproduction of sound
I would rather drive down to London from the the Midlands than get on a train again. If it's more than 2 people in the car it's actually cheaper too.
Someone I work with was talking about rail strikes again, and I had to explain how there are two different unions, one for people who work on the tracks and one for train drivers. But it made me think: if train drivers are going on strike, and if the train companies are privatised, what do we care if they get paid more? It's a private company; my taxes don't pay train drivers. Do they?
>>2018551>my taxes don't pay train drivers. Do they?They don't. The closest you'll get to that kind of thing would be how Network Rail - the 'everything that doesn't move or breathe' people - currently exist in a legal fiction where they're an independent private company but just so happen to be underwritten by the Government so that they can borrow money from banks at favourable-ish rates. Like a 16-year-old being put on their dad's car insurance.
vaguely interesting: there's track drainage work going on around Berwick this month, so for a few weekends it's Azumas up part of the WCML after doing a loop-de-loop in Newcastle.(a rare thing since privatisation - one of those shitty 'it's cheaper + less faff for us to put on rail replacement buses than it is to have drivers maintain route knowledge outside their normal patch' things)
Scratching my head a little at this:>https://www.railmagazine.com/news/2024/09/17/hull-trains-reveals-possible-sheffield-timetableHull Trains are after launching a direct Sheffield-King's Cross train, going via Retford - so doing a big loop around Gainsborough and Lincoln before joining the ECML at Newark. According to the article it's for the benefit of the Worksop catchment area:>Hull Trains believes there is an untapped market which would make this new service worthwhile, saying that an estimated 350,000 people in the Worksop and Woodhouse catchment areas would have direct rail access to London with this planned new service....but Worksop already has an hourly train to Sheffield, which is of course on the Midland Main Line with St Pancras at the other end. Surely there's no pressing demand for a 'long way round' service to the station that's next door to St Pancras?
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/excitement-builds-for-railways-200th-anniversary-across-the-south-of-england>Railway 200 celebrations on track, as more partners get on board>International festival programme unveiled, inspired by journey that changed the world>National rail sale, largest assembly of trains and rail exhibits, national locomotive ‘whistle-off’, and much more!>[big-ass list]>These, and other events across the UK, are being publicised on a new interactive map on the Railway 200 website (www.railway200.co.uk). Other activities include anniversary-related train namings, open days, heritage trails, rail staff and public events, commemorative books, exhibitions, competitions, school and public talks, steam shows, site visits, murals, quizzes and charity fundraising.
This sounds promising, as well:https://www.railmagazine.com/news/2024/09/19/replica-of-locomotion-no-1-to-re-enact-first-rail-passenger-journey>The celebrations will include a re-enactment of the first journey on the S&DR, taking place on 26, 27 and 28 September 2025. A newly renovated replica of Locomotion No. 1, the passenger carriage Experiment and coal waggons will run on sections of the original S&DR line over three days. Spectators will be able to see the train at designated locations and visit special events organised along the route over the three days. The Anniversary Celebration is sponsored by LNER and the festival team is working with Network Rail on route planning and delivery of the event.I'm genuinely pleased that there's a 'proper history' angle to this as well: it feels just and right for Locomotion No.1 - or at least the NRM's replica - to have a fire lit in its belly and to haul a train along the same line its predecessor did, two centuries previous.
sshhh ... train is sleep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJx6MdesrY4Like another world. Hard to believe it would all be obsolete within what, ten years?
What is a good example of a shunting yard devoted to the maintenance/assembly of engines and other rolling stock and nothing else?
>>2019899Doncaster Works
>>2019899Swindon Works, for the GWR - literally put the town on the map.>>2019923Such a shame it's partly derelict, these days: there's the big, wide, ornate overhead footbridge leading straight from the platforms to the old works, and it's all barriered off
>train to London>comfy seat>food>sunny day>overtaking an EMR regional on the slow line>spot a 66 waiting patiently at the GBRF depothappy anon
>>2019923>>2019998Thanks, will check these out. Planning my first model railroad with English and Polish trains in years for some nephews and I've been trying to find a few straight forward examples to study.
>>2020521Is that a class 86? Never noticed just how distinctive the yellow fronts made our trains look.
>>2020540The PKP Class EU06 and later EU07 was derived from the Class 83 locomotive, actually. Polish State Railways placed an order to English Electric in the 1960's for the the assembly of 20 such units their Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows.
>>2020682Forgot picture. This one right here is the exact progenitor model, I believe.
(long, drawn-out sigh)
Ladbroke Grove happened 25 years ago today: the long and short of it is, an inexperienced driver passed a red signal at a notorious section of track not far from Paddington, putting his train into the path of an intercity train travelling at top speed. Thirty-one people were killed in the resulting crash because of inadequate privatisation-era driver training, and Railtrack's failure to grasp the scope or scale of the issue with the signal.
reading between the lines, it sounds like Euston is back on the menu for HS2 after all. maybe they'll grasp the nettle and rebuild the entire thing yet again, now that it's out that it's basically not fit for purpose as it is?
>>2017803>Grand Central's now open in Belfast, or the bus interchange portion at least ... supposedly the trains will be transferring to the new station 'sometime in the autumn'Later this week, apparently: https://www.translink.co.uk/corporate/media/pressreleases/bgcsupdates>Following good progress on the Rail Safety Certification Process, Translink is now making preliminary plans to commence rail services from Belfast Grand Central Station on Sunday 13th October. >We are starting to put plans in place to enable the timely start of rail operations, so everything is ready to go for customers as soon as the certification process is fully complete.>Local Rail Services: The rail line is expected to reopen between Belfast and Lisburn for passenger services >Enterprise services: Cross Border Enterprise Services will relocate to operate to/from Belfast Grand Central Station. (Note it will no longer serve Lanyon Place Station).
I've got some longest TOC routes coming up this week boys>Southern: Southampton to Victoria>Southeastern: London St Pancras to Ramsgate via Dover>SWR: Waterloo to Exeter St DavidsNot looking forward to the Southampton one desu because it's only one train at fucking half 6ish in the morning
There was an aborted Nightstar service from the UK to the continent. Would it be possible to start a higher speed sleeper service (100-140mph) using HS1?Using EU standard rolling stock and starting from St Pancras or Stratford Intl would allow for destinations further than Paris or Amsterdam to be reached using the High Speed and conventional networks of other countries.ÖBB have shown through the Nightjet service that it can work.>>2021296Maybe.The amount of noise Reeves is making about the £22B "black hole" makes it a coin toss
>>2021296I reckon they'll grudgingly agree to Euston and Crewe - basically Phase 1 - then announce it'll be handed over to a quango to run for the next 30 years, same as HS1 12 years ago, plus a few empty promises about Phase 2
>>2021372The issue with a HS2 sleeper is passport control. No one wants to be woken up in the middle of the night to go through customs and there isn't the room to bolt on a secure customs area at existing stations. Maybe is we join Schengen but that's crack pipe levels of delusion
Average age of rolling stock in years by operator, Great Britain, as of 31 March 2024
You may not like it but this is what peak logo design looks like
>>2021663This is actually one of the worst logos ever. It's designed with steam locomotives in mind, exactly at the time when steam locomotives were considered ancient. It's pure tone deaf, a simbol of British politicians pretending the UK is still the greatest thing ever.https://thebeautyoftransport.com/2015/02/18/lions-and-wheels-british-railways-lion-emblems-1949-1964/ Pic related, instead...
>>2021671>The circular one with white background [...] was intended for carriages, though it was also used on some locomotives when an ad-hoc decision was made that it might look nicer (modern corporate identity designers will at this point have their heads in their hands).absolutely based
>>2021671>>2021674>Images not uploadingReee
>>2021658>I'm older than most UK train fleetsFuckAlso, why are Chiltern trains so much older than everything else?
>>2021683The bulk of their fleet is made up of MK3 carriages and Class 165s.I was going to ask the same question for SWT but I remembered they still have loads of 455s in service.
>>2021658I'd be interested to see that same data from 1 or 2 years previous, before Merseyrail withdrew the 507's and 508's.
>>2021689They're Mk3's bit they're bloody posh inside. >>2021793And TfW not having their brand new stuff
>>2021793>>2021812Behold. Digging a little deeper, the other major rolling stock changes around this time was the complete Heathrow Express fleet replacement, and the new 710s for London Overground.
...here's a nice summary, anyway.>>2021683>why are Chiltern trains so much older than everything else?I think they're limited by Marylebone more than anything - the kindest thing you could say about the place is that it's a middling-size unelectrified country town station, somehow plonked in nowheresville, London.
>>2021683Because all their trains were made at the same time.You get much older trains on Southern And Southeastern (class 455) but that's cancelled out by their newer trains
I quite like the 185s. Decent seats, big windows, plenty of luggage space, built like a brick shithouse. They're showing their age just a little bit, but they're alright as regional trains go.
Odd question: does the London Underground / T+W Metro / etc use standard-gauge track?Just seen that video about the new Piccadilly Line trains being built in Goole and, well, surely they're not going to stick going on a hundred Tube trains onto flatbed lorries to truck them down to London
>>2022465>Odd question: does the London Underground / T+W Metro / etc use standard-gauge track?yes
>>2022465https://youtu.be/m-0IKZWCXpo?si=v1WT8CYiJUdKdRnK
What's weird is, it doesn't look like the Siemens factory in Goole has a proper railhead - Goole itself is within spitting distance of the ECML via Doncaster, but to get there they're going to have to drag newly-built trains towards a glass factory (?!), reverse across three tracks to enter the Goole dock goods loop, and then reverse back again to head towards Doncaster. Which seems, er, inefficient.There's a big Tesco distribution centre inbetween the two, so with Tesco being 'big on rail' these days you'd think there'd be a little impetus towards sorting out a proper railhead.
...well, it's tasteful at least.
More like failwaysLOL
Two 158s bumped into each other yesterday evening, and someone has sadly died. I'm going to engage in completely reckless social media-ism and say it's completely the fault of wheelslip caused by leaves on the line.
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/the-euston-rush-on-its-way-out-as-early-train-boarding-introduced>While the future of the advertising board remains under review,'we want money'
also, Network Rail Eastern have had their bottoms spanked for worsening passenger and freight performance:https://www.orr.gov.uk/search-news/regulator-calls-network-rail-improve-performance-passengers-across-eastern-region... I love the image of York station used in the article, though.
>ywn experience the awe of being a kid and seeing the london termini for the first time againWhy even live, bros?
Budget day today. Let's see what happens
>>2023594It's coming to Euston. Deliberate vagueness on whether that's the entire 11-platform HS2 station or the retarded 6-platform catastrofuck the last bunch of idiots wanted. Not much otherwise besides fares going up of course, but that's always the case (something something RPI, mumble mumble inflation blah blah)
...in fact I wonder if that affects the extra Elizabeth Line trains that TFL had thrust upon them, contingent on Old Oak Common being the London terminus
also: if you've more money than sense, GWR have, well, this available for pre-purchase https://www.thelondonchristmascompany.com/products/gwr
>>2023594>>2023641Commitment to finish the Transpennine Route Upgrade and East-West Rail as well
>>2022883Close - blocked sand dispensing thingummibobs, apparently.
F
American /n/bro here. I know that Phase 1 of HS2 was severely impacted by NIMBYism. I get the sense that English NIMBYism is mostly concentrated in the south of the country. So shouldn't future extensions of HS2 to the north be easier?
>>2024278where was this taken? i heard a few of them were being stored at warrington arpley
>>2024306no idea, sorry. nicked the image from twitter
>>2024288>I get the sense that English NIMBYism is mostly concentrated in the south of the country.Only because investment and wealth are both concentrated in the south. But yes, the London-Birmingham leg was started first because it was hardest, that was part of the plan. Do the hard, expensive bit while political will was there and then extend when there is a rump there acting as a fait accompli.> severely impacted by NIMBYismLess so than half-witted redditfags have convinced themselves, actually. The biggest offender imho was some of the worst-drafted contracts you will ever see. So much was left to be added after the final handshake, you can hardly blame the contractors for crowbarring in every £1,000,000 bat refuge shed that they could.
>>2024338Maybe you can clear something else up for me. Wtf went wrong with the Euston HS2 terminus planning process?
>>2024339'...and here's the plan for the terminus: 11 platforms''ok you get 10 and that's that''uhhh ok, it can work at a push but doesn't leave much resilience in case something goes sidewa-''why would it...? sounds like we need to get the consultants in to investigate'[time passes]'ok we're going to part-fund the station by selling real estate space on top''but we literally just redesigned the station from 11 to 10 platforms''well do it again''ok fine, here. revision three''wait why does it cost even MORE now''because it's now version 3.0 and we now need to strengthen the foundations because of the changes you insisted on''this is unacceptable: you are CLEARLY unable to manage costs AT ALL and it's now going to terminate at Old Oak Common instead. we are NOT happy with how you have managed the project''ok but there's a huge hole in the-''ORDERLY STOP'[time passes]'so about Euston' <---- you are here
tldr this is what happens when you pick apart something genuinely, unarguably world-class until the result is a joke of a shuttle between Birmingham and outer-inner London, and thereby presenting the project in the media as a self-evident failure
similar to how twitter brainmelts continue to view nationalisation as some kind of magic 'make the railway work' wand, until it turns out they can no longer blame Big Business CEO Shareholders Capitalism for their train being cancelled because, oops, it's the guys on their team in charge of things
As someone from the central belt of Scotland, I'm always a bit envious of how good London has it in terms of railways but then I remember that England has cities with hundreds of thousands of people like Northampton and Preston with only a single railway station.
>>2024278F
I really, really, really hope they find some money from somewhere to properly re-do, refurbish, re-whatever the old Curzon Street building before the current Curzon Street terminus opens. As a proper railway-ish building, too, not a soulless "events space" or whatever.
>>2024342Why is Crewe the planned terminus for Phase 2 and not Manchester or Liverpool?
>>2024514Crewe is a 'through station', where three different mainlines all converge at a single station - which is how Crewe went from a tiny village to a bustling railway-town metropolis, back in the day - and there's room for a few extra platforms to be added alongside the existing infrastructure, so it's an ideal spot for the high-speed track to finish. The plan is for HS2 trains to then carry on along the existing West Coast Main Line up to Scotland, following a few unblocking-the-existing-bottlenecks works along the way.
>>2024516Huh, surprisingly smart and sensible.
>https://www.railmagazine.com/news/2024/11/07/hitachi-rail-s-intercity-battery-trial-shows-better-than-expected-results>Hitachi Rail's intercity battery trial shows better than expected results>Hitachi Rail has said that the results from its intercity battery trial are better than expected. The project, which was led by Hitachi Rail and included partners, Angel Trains and TransPennine Express said the project had demonstrated that battery technology could work across the network and could realise its potential as an alternative traction option.>The trial has been running for several months and has seen a Class 802 TransPennine bi-mode train replacing its diesel engine with a battery power unit. It then had several months of dynamic testing on several routes to understand how effective it could be.>The results showed significant fuel savings with the train achieving fuel cost savings of up to 50%. Hitachi Rail said that initial projections at the beginning of the trial were 30%. As well as fuel saving benefits, the train also met its journey and performance requirements, as well as exceeding speeds of 75 mph whilst in battery mode....I mean, great, but, still, just fucking put up catenary! Just do it!! Fuck!!!
>>2024380>live in Leicestershire>have a mate in Northampton>journey from my home to theirs is about 45 miles as the crow flies>journey by train has three changes (Leicester, Nuneaton, Rugby)>takes ~2 1/2 to 3 hours>costs ~£25-£30>same journey by bus has one change and so costs £4, and takes about the same amount of time>bus between Leicester and Northampton is always crowded, but can't run double deckers because of bridge clearance issues on the route>Market Harborough-Northampton line closed to passengers in the 60s and to freight in the 80s, and there isn't enough demand to justify the captial costs of reinstating the route>mfwThe East Midlands is shite if you want to get to any place that isn't London.
The first 807 went into passenger service today, heading between Liverpool Lime Street and Euston - they're the all-electric 80x trains that complement the bi-move 805s.If I remember correctly, the way, way, way behind schedule EMR 810s were supposed to be the 806, until some marketing knobhead decided 810 was a bigger number and therefore better. Prat.
...oh, and the 'Nova 3' carriage sets that Transpennine Express ditched are probably going to be handed over to Chiltern instead.
>>2024640>Northampton population 249,093>Leicester population 373,399Surely cities of that size within such proximity would generate enough traffic to justify a direct rail link. That being said, the coach via the M1 seems like a better alternative than taking local buses even if ticket prices are capped on the latter.
Merseyrail should have an orbital running from the airport to Bootle.
>>2024724TPE have really pulled their fingers out these last six months or so. The usual brainmelts are still screeching about their precious fucking LHCS sets but, the proof in the pudding is, er, undeniably tasty, excuse the Partridge-ism.>1300 more seats a day and trains across the Pennines every 15 minutes: TransPennine Express introduces new December timetable>https://mediacentre.tpexpress.co.uk/news/1300-more-seats-a-day-and-trains-across-the-pennines-every-15-minutes-transpennine-express-introduces-new-december-timetable...not bad for a primarily regional rail operator, with the odd intercity route glued on by the DfT.
noticeable lack of 37s ITT
What in the almighty blue fuck?https://www.belmond.com/trains/europe/uk/britannic-explorer/>Britain’s most luxurious train to arrive in 2025>Arriving in July 2025, Belmond’s Britannic Explorer will offer tours around the British countryside, with a private bedroom suite for the passengers who will embark on three-day trips. The Britannic Explorer will depart from London with a choice of three routes through the natural landscapes of Cornwall, The Lake District, and Wales.>Gary Franklin, Vice President of Trains and Cruises, Belmond commented: “I am incredibly proud to launch this revolutionary new train, which further enhances Belmond’s global portfolio of market-leading luxury rail experiences. The Britannic Explorer offers something truly unique; an opportunity to discover the rugged Cornish coastline to Snowdonia’s untamed National Park and the vast expanses of the Lake District like never before.>We are especially delighted to welcome the esteemed Chef Simon Rogan to helm the culinary direction. His vision brings a gastronomic journey that complements the train’s spirit of adventure, celebrating British produce and highlighting the finest local specialties along the route.”>Luxury accommodation aboard the Britannic Explorer starts from £11,000 based on a double cabin, which includes a 3-night itinerary, excursions, meals, wine, and alcoholic beverages on board.
I'm going to put in an application to be a train driver on my public transport network.You got any tips to sweetensy8nn the cover letter?
>>2025655There will be thousands of people just like you applying for that job. I'm not saying it's over but it's over
>Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill>https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3732/>What happens next?>Both Houses have agreed on the text of the billwhich now waits forthe final stage ofRoyal Assentwhen the bill becomes an Act of Parliament (law).>A date for Royal Assent is yet to be scheduled.It's happening - all they need is for Chaz to nod, say 'hm very good', and give the ceremonial signature on the dotted.
...oh and Grand Central want to add an extra decade to their existing track-access contract:>https://www.grandcentralrail.com/news/2024/grand-central-track-access-rights...saying they'll invest in new bi-mode replacements for the turn-of-the-millennium Class 180s they're using at the moment.
>>2025853I thought there was a staffing shortage?
>>2026034A shortage caused by the amount of time required to train a driver (and also a reluctance from TOCs to take on more employees) as opposed to one caused by the lack of anyone willing to become a driver.
>>2025655I applied for Southeastern back in August.For 170 openings across all depots, there were 15,000 applicants. They've whittled it down to 5,000 through "personality tests". I'm still waiting for my exam date and I'm assuming most of that 5,000 still are, too.I'm not saying you'll struggle, but be prepared to wait a long time, and be prepared to be let down. You can fail the aptitude test, and you can be declined on medical and at the interview.
>>2026228>You can fail the aptitude test, and you can be declined on medical and at the interview.You forgot to mention that his application could be rejected straight away.
https://www.directrailservices.com/direct-rail-services-secures-new-deal-with-supermarket-giant/>Nuclear Transport Solutions’ rail division has signed a new three-and-a-half-year deal with supermarket giant Tesco.o_0
>>2026344There was something in the latest Railwatch about this, picrel. I don't know if this is some creative linguistics, but I flatly disbelieve that 198 Tesco stores receive deliveries via rail. No way, no how.
>>2026427They talk about the train running to a distribution centre, so it's not hard to believe that further deliveries are made by road from that distribution centre to the 198 stores mentioned in the next paragraph.
>>2017179>>2017180Is that EMR? I rode the 222 for the first time just for the novelty of riding the last diesels out of St Pancras only for them to still not be replaced to this day.
>>2021658Going to Marylebone is like stepping back in time to 1996.
>>2024640Maybe you should just cycle. Hear me out. I cycled London - Amersham once which was about the same distance and it took me 3 hours so it wouldn't be any slower + it's free.>Market Harborough-NorthamptonLol it's just one straight road, how does the bus take three hours? Yeah just bike it m8. If you're unfit, buy a 1000W e-bike conversion kit. You will need four 20ah batteries for the round trip.
>>2024722Thank Fuck. Fuck The Pendolinos.>>2024764Because there is no rail link everyone there has a car meaning there is no need for the rail link so everyone living there has to buy a car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3cu0cNFyvMThe NRM continues to do good work - I love the idea of just heaving something off the shelf in the warehouse. blowing the dust off, and doing a video about it. Love the idea of an artistically-inclined apprentice doing this as a keeping-out-of-trouble pet project.
Well ... yeah...
Felixstowe, Ipswich, Cambridge, Northampton, Coventry, WMInterchange, BCurzon, Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, Newtown to Aberystwyth is the thinking man's HS3.
>>2026627The Penistone Line is the giga brain HS3>'uddersfield to Sheffield in 12 minutesGrand.
No real surprises regarding station usage this year.>https://www.orr.gov.uk/search-news/elizabeth-line-dominates-great-britains-top-10-stations>The busiest stations in England outside of London were Birmingham New Street (33.3m), Manchester Piccadilly (25.8m) and Leeds (24.9m).>The busiest stations in Scotland were Glasgow Central (25.0m), Edinburgh Waverley (21.3m) and Glasgow Queen Street (14.5m)>The busiest stations in Wales were Cardiff Central (11.5m), Newport (2.7m), and Swansea (2.2m).I'm surprised the Heathrow terminals aren't listed, though: it's on the London-Brighton mainline, of course, but then Heathrow has a branch of the Elizabeth Line to itself.
>>2026745Ah fuck. Gatwick's on the -- you know what I mean. Why's Gatwick up there while Heathrow's not listed, is what I'm getting at.
men want one thing, and it's fucking disgusting
toot toot!
>>2026745>>2026746It seems that only National Rail stations are counted. Much of the traffic to Heathrow would've not only been split between the terminals but also the tube stations which are not counted.
>>2026451>Fuck The PendolinosWhat's got you saying that? Just curious. I'm in LNER-land so I've never had the pleasure; my impression's just a bog-standard intercity EMU, revolutionary in the 00's but, well, bog-standard these days.
>>2026451What's up with Pendolinos? After using 395s to commute and going on one for a work journey I was pleasantly surprised. Never knew they tilted either, until it started to speed out of Euston.
the delay repay process for TPE seems designed to be confusing on purpose, it's no fucking wonder normies use trainline rather than buying directbeing deliberately vague about whether you 'can' claim for both portions of a return journey, making you input the journey details yourself (from, to, booked departure time, exactly how late were you?, upload a PDF of the ticket for some fucking reason) - my answer to all these is, fuck you, *you* sold me the ticket and you're going to check it anyway, i should just give you the booking reference you gave me and you give me the fucking money i'm owed
>>2027365No shit, you think they want to give you your money back? It's tedious so you want to give up and not bother claiming it.
>>2023441An update - whether it's via a sudden outbreak of common sense, or by taking all the wrong decisions until they buffer overflow and cancel out, or by some kind of devilish all-according-to-keikaku sort of business, who's to tell anymore.>https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/new-use-for-euston-advertisement-screen-as-its-turned-back-on-after-passenger-feedback>As part of Network Rail’s five-point plan to improve the passenger experience at London Euston, rail engineers will begin tests on Wednesday evening (11 December) to display live travel information on the large screen where the station’s departure boards used to be. >The former advertisement board will give passengers live updates about their train services.>The improvements are being made in response to feedback from passengers wanting to see a return of a large focal point on the concourse for travel information.
>>2027703I still say they should grasp the nettle, accept that Fixing Euston is going to take the better part of a decade, and knock it all down & start over from first principles. These are the HS2 platforms. These are the local, Overground and regional platforms. This is a GBR-ified 'travel centre' where you can talk to one person for train tickets, Sleeper tickets, Oyster cards, maybe even a left-luggage counter. Over there are the bogs, the Sleeper lounge with washrooms, and your Boots, Greggs and WH Smith. Here is where you sit while waiting for your train to be called. Etc.
...they won't, of course, because that 'one system that knows how everything in the big machine should come together' institutional knowledge is long, long gone, but still.
I haven't been to Euston in over half a decade. I've just heard they've brought back the big destination board in the main concourse but why were they removed in the first place? Seems like something they'd ought to have for a major terminus.
>>2027849How hard could it possibly be to do a study on the most highly rated large stations to determine what aspects make them so well regarded (things such as facilities, layout, appearance, ease of use, etc) and copy that to build a new Euston?>Britain in the 21st century>doing anything competently without a dozen committees staffed by endless hordes of faceless bureaucrats with each committee having a dozen different contradictory goals fucking everything into a total dogs breakfastOh right, I forgot.
>>2028026After reading your post, I was trying to think about any new-build large rail stations in Europe or North America. The Germans seem to have built Berlin Hauptbahnhof in a reasonable manner and timeframe.
>>2024338>you can hardly blame the contractors for crowbarring in every £1,000,000 bat refugeI work for Network Rail and we had a project on the Cumbrian Coast Line. We wanted to drill some boreholes to have a look at ground conditions. We were told we couldn't, because it would interfere with a species of butterfly. Made no sense since our project -that already got approved- was to bury the whole coast in concrete. Those butterflies were going to be fucked anyway.
>>2023643my gf got me picrel for my birthday
>>2028061ah, she's a keeper. hm? no, i meant the train hehe #jokes #humour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3z_Wvdq7loanyway, the Northumberland Line is reopening in stretches. the first part's open as of yesterday. mfw the colliery band playing Blaydon Races
>>2028063Thank you. She also got me some christmassy train socks. I like trains.
The new Tyne & Wear Metro trains are starting to come into service, per https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2024/12/momentous-day-as-first-new-tyne-and-wear-metro-train-enters-service.htmlLong, long, long, *long* overdue imo.
>>2028065>I like trainsGood lad. Keep it up.
https://railway200.co.uk/global-whistle-up-on-new-years-day-signals-start-of-rails-200th-anniversary/Starting the new year - the 200th anniversary of passenger rail travel - with a big choo-choo!
I wish the IP counter was brought back. I'm curious to know how many people actually post in this thread.
>>2028293Add one to your count. Southeast London clearly needs more rapid transit. What the fucks are you Brits doing over there?
>>2028305South London has some of the densest commuter rail in the world. The soft clay of the ground made it unsuitable for underground railways, at least with Victorian technology, so they just put the railways above the ground instead. They are currently run by various private concessions. I know RMTransit gets clowned on here on /n/, usually for very good reason, but despite some wonky pronunciations his video on the subject is one of the better integrated explanations of the network that I have seen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17l7Ah3dUBMThere has been talk recently of merging everything under the TfL umbrella, but any map displaying everything would just look heinous, it would be unreadable.
>>2028305>>2028322This just shows the importance of branding for transport networks. Glasgow has probably the largest suburban rail network in the UK but most people look at its subway map and assume that's all there is to it.
>>2028349>the largest suburban rail network in the UKoutside of London of course, but if I don't correct myself then somebody inevitably will.
A few of the Inter7City HST sets at Aberdeen. I'm not sure if the tender has gone out yet for these, it'll be interesting to see what ScotRail are after using as a replacement. Sad to see them go, but, they're long overdue for retirement.
heh.(https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:S73184/2024-12-24)
>>2028349>Glasgow has probably the largest suburban rail network in the UKactually london has a bigge...fuck
>>2028628for me, it's the annual round of 'the mad lads actually went and did it lololol'
>half a million pounds>Only just in service >Rattles like a 20 year old Enviro and only half the front door works
>>2029254Looks cool from the outside though. Also has air con but not really weather to test it
BUS WANKER
>47056 sits in Platform 4 at Gloucester station. 11th January 1985I love old, almost dream-like snaps like this.
>>2029314wallpaper material, thank you
>>2029356Here, grab it in full res if you like:>https://www.flickr.com/photos/95430950@N07/54200252539/(not my image, just the results of a random browse)
nice
>>2029314I love old company maps. A reminder of a time when things were smaller, but bigger at the same time.
Another good example, this one's at Manchester Victoria - absolutely beautiful tile work, reflecting the pride in the company.
>>2029503>map features Clayton West as a point of interestHeh
>>2029314that's lovely jubbly
Just had a thought. Will Old Oak Common have a bypass track for HS2 trains just passing through the station?
>>2029528No, there's no bypass track - I think the plan is for trains to either terminate at Old Oak Common from the North, or to call at OOC and then carry on to Euston - they won't be passing through OOC without stopping.Looking at the planned track layout (per https://www.hs2.org.uk/in-your-area/in-your-area-map/#16/51.5257/-0.2515/filter=hs2-stations,hs2-network), there's a crossover box due to be built at the western end of the station, so trains arriving in London from the North can call at and depart from all six HS2 platforms at OOC, whereas it looks like trains headed from Euston will only be able to reach the southern and central platforms at OOC....which seems a little backwards at first glance - why would you want trains to terminate at OOC rather than Euston? - but given that OOC will have eight separate 'conventional platforms' for use by GWR, the Heathrow Express, and the Elizabeth Line, I think it's for the benefit of passengers who'll be interchanging at OOC (e.g. flying into Heathrow, taking the Heathrow Express to OOC, then jumping on a HS2 train to Liverpool or wherever).
>>2016933What is the industry's name for the grey metal shed on the right?
>>2029864Well, this appears to be a North American crossing, but I believe the universal technical term is 'a shed'. Probably needed to house the electrical gadgets and gizmos needed for the crossing lights and alarms and stuff.
Feel like driving a Pacer? - or going on a rail tour around the Scunthorpe steelworks' internal rail system (Britain's largest industrial railway, apparently??) - https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/afrps
>>2029920>driving a PacerUnironically might be fun but then I'd have to contend with being in Scunthorpe.
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/elizabeth-line-beats-forecasts-with-over-500-million-journeys-since-it-opened-78364/>Over 500 million journeys have been made on the Elizabeth line since it opened in May 2022, new figures from Transport for London (TfL) show.>That is substantially higher than TfL had expected before the line opened, when they were predicting post-pandemic passenger numbers would be in the range of 104m to 136m passenger journeys per year when it was fully open, rising to 130m to 170m per year by 2026.>During its busiest times, more than 800,000 journeys are being taken on the railway daily.>That is only marginally below the pre-pandemic predictions for the Elizabeth line of around 200 million passenger journeys per year, but TfL now expects to exceed that figure this year.>There has been an increase in housing growth within one kilometre of an Elizabeth line station, with growth 14 percent higher in east London and eight percent higher in west London between 2017 and 2022, according to analysis in the new benefits report. Abbey Wood has emerged as one of the largest regeneration areas in London, with a six percent increase in new homes alongside expectations for further development over the next five years.>Meanwhile, additional analysis by TfL has also found that between 2015 and 2022, there were 378,000 jobs created within one kilometre of Elizabeth line stations. During this period, the highest job growth in central London occurred around Liverpool Street station, as it prepared to welcome even more activity as part of the Elizabeth line.>The report found that despite the delays, cost overruns, and pandemic effect on public transport, the Elizabeth line is still delivering a cost-to-benefit ratio of 1.9 to 1 (£1.90 of benefit for every £1 spent), and when wider economic benefits are included, even better returns are generated.
>>2030495What are the chances of Crossrail 2 (the Churchill Line) ever being built?
Hull needs elevated rail. NOW.>>2030519What's that? Crawley/Gatwick to Luton?
>>2030734I'll settle for (the return of) a direct train to the capital that's been promised since the GNER days. Closest they came was gauge clearance via a test train back in 2023 :/t. Grimsby
200 years of railways and it still exists to this day.
>>2030776Funnily enough...
The first Class 99, fresh from the factory, headed off to the Velim test track. I thiiiiiiiiink these are the new bi-mode freight locos that're supposed to be replacing the 66s.
˙uʍop-ǝpisdn ʎluo ,99, si ,66, ʇɐɥʇ ǝɯ ʇiɥ ʇsnɾ ʎluo ʇi puɐ˙˙˙
Any particular reason why they went with a direct London->Birmingham route rather than via Luton, Northampton and Coventry?
>>2031131Because that's not how high-speed rail is meant to work. Having stops at minor towns defeats the point of high-speed rail, which is to get people fast from one major city to another. Travel to places like Luton or Northampton is the domain of regional rail networks, not a squajillion pound super train. It stops being fast if you have to stop constantly. And if you think it's been outrageously expensive to build the track through some relatively empty bits of countryside, just imagine the cost if it had to go through multiple urban areas along with stations for those locations. HS2 would have been cut back even harder than it already has been.>high-speed train line from Old Oak Common to LutonKek
>>2031150London to Birmingham is 160km as the crow fliesLondon to Luton is 40kmAverage interstitial length on the shinkansen looks to be around 30km and Spain seems to be around 50. Even the maglev Chuo Shinkansen's stop distance is going to be closer to 40 than 160.