Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

My sister lives near a railway line in Cardiff. The valley lines pacers make more noise (wheel scuff mainly) going past than a whole rake of EWS coal wagons!

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Having gone there last year with my family l cannot say l am surprised as its a lovely Steam Railway and it was even more of a surprise when my our sister came through the front door of The East Grinstead station.:)

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Agreed, it's just like stepping back in time at each station on the line.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Desiro City sets to be ordered for South West Trains.

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2014/...ounced-by.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Looking forward to seeing this later today.:)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-29067925

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Passenger boom at Haymarket (Edinburgh) since revamp

http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.co...zW9Ih0.twitter

Been to Haymarket loads of times over the years, as it's often recommended to change trains there for the Aberdeen/Inverness services rather than go into Waverley. The old station was a bit gloomy, and bloody cold with limited facilities. The revamp is a massive improvement :)

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

New Hitachi trains destined for the East Coast Main Line (class 800) go on test in Japan

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/s...-in-japan.html

Sad to think we used to make fantastic rolling stock here in the UK, that was often exported :(

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Network Rail officially opens ‘biggest railway control centre’

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/s...ol-centre.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Now l would not mind a visit to this.

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/News/20...ource=Facebook

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Runner beats Tube Train:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...-and-wins.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

It was a very close call that's for sure.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Crossrail uncovers Brunel’s railway heritage.

http://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/arti...ilway-heritage

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

The new Borders Railway taking shape

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...tland-29324657

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Yes its looking good Stuart.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Great to see lines re-opening, lets hope there's plenty more :)

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Increasingly a few of the Beeching cuts are being reversed whereever possible as the amount of people using the rail network is growing exponentially year on year and hopefully in the next few years there will be even more lines re-opening.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Bus driver post available in Southampton perhaps?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...s-gets-4358370

Awful reporting in the article though, maybe a new journalist is required too.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

l am been through that route quite a few times and these big freight trains cannot just stop on a sixpence as you know RH and praise be to god that no one was killed or injured.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

First Great Western set to get five-year contract extension.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-29489170

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Saw this on twitter

They've started track laying at the north end of the Borders railway :)

https://twitter.com/bordersrailway/s...68981916106752

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

More bad news for the FirstGroup.

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2014/...after-ten.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

So we can't have our own state run rail operators but we can pay massive subsidies to the Dutch state railways to run Scottish services. The Europeans must be laughing at every new franchise renewal

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Yes, because British Rail was doing a monster job of running our railways right before it got privatised...

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

And the still state owned East Coast railway shows what can be done when things are run properly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29127788

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

State run East Coast PAID 225m back to the government after the private company were stripped of the franchise. it wasn't in shareholder pockets and it didn't vanish overseas to subsidise their national networks.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...-privatisation

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Respectfully ... that's a heap of nonsense. East Coast has consistently lower passenger satisfaction ratings than its north-south competitor, (privately operated) Virgin West Coast, and returns half as much money to the exchequer per passenger mile than (privately operated) South West Trains. We have no way of knowing whether DOR's performance is as good as it should be on the route it operates as there has not been a recent competitive tender for it. Virgin and SWT both suggest, in different ways, that DOR could, perhaps should, be doing better.

It has taken massive private investment to bring back our railways from the brink of collapse, a state of affairs caused by British Railways and its 40-year addiction to government finance as a means of getting anything done - an approach which, for example, led to the APT project being cancelled because it didn't return on State investment quickly enough, only for the tech to be sold overseas, refined and then sold back to us as the Pendolino.

There's plenty of room for improvement in the way the system is franchised and regulated, but anybody who seriously claims that nationalisation is a better option, is either not old enough to remember how utterly crap British Rail was, or is suffering a really serious case of rose-tinted spectacle syndrome.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mart...b_3973007.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

I can't imagine that we'd have the superb trains on Southern region if the state was still running it. Quiet, clean, punctual and roomy. Even the staff are cheerful and helpful. What's not to like?

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

l am just about old enough to remember British Rail and it was severely unloved and underfunded by successive governments of both political persuasions over many years and they were the ones who failed it in the end.

Rail privatisation since has failed nearly on every count as we have some of the highest fares and yet receive one of the worst services in Europe and sadly its always the passenger that picks up the bill.

Since privatisation, fares have increased above inflation for a large number of routes and the ticketing system is ridiculously complicated for many plus we have severe capacity problem's on large parts of the network and antiquated rolling stock which is still on many lines in large parts of the country so when some espouse that privatisation has been a great success then sadly they are very much a small minority as the vast majority are clearly very unhappy with things as they stand.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Perhaps you would prefer that the taxpayer picks up the bill as in the other EU countries? Of course that depends on how much tax you're prepared to pay to the state. Or should I rephrase: How much tax that others should pay to the state on your behalf?

Nothing comes for free and the state is notoriously inefficient when running any service. It might look good from the point of view of the fare paying passenger but it'll hit you in the pocket elsewhere when funds are diverted from, say the NHS, to give subsidised rail travel.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Den ... this is just boilerplate British commuter whingeing. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be offensive, but it is. This is just the standard stuff anybody who wants to moan about the railways says. Little, if any, of it is actually true. It just sounds like it should be true and so, far too often, it is assumed to be true and therefore goes unchallenged (like the nonsense about East Coast proving that state operation is better, when in fact, the statistics that are available, suggest the opposite).

Through-ticketing doesn't get any more simple than turning up at a staffed station and stating your destination. You can go online and do similar. "Confusing" ticketing arises from single-operator offers which *did*not*exist* under British Rail. If you don't want to be confused by any of those (often fantastic and very cheap) deals, the solution is simple - don't buy them. Stick to the straightforward (expensive) through-ticket, just like the good old BR days.

Regarding capacity issues - where do you think those issues arise, if not from the miserable failure by BR to plan strategic development? It was BR that pushed for network shrinkage, and yet now, private operators are clamouring for more capacity, longer platforms for longer trains, and even the re-laying of lines exterminated by Beeching.

Regarding government under-investment - what exactly do you expect is going to happen, when the railways are just another government department competing for limited funds alongside the NHS, schools, defence and the rest? The longer a government's spending list is, the higher taxes have to go to pay for it all. Who is supposed to pay all that tax? Money for building and running state railways does not grow on trees. Everyone pays for it, right out of their wage slip, every month.

Yes, some tickets on some routes are expensive. They are expensive because they are a truer reflection of what it actually costs to use the service. That cost is being paid by the service users who are *still*, nevertheless, benefiting from a pretty significant chunk of State subsidy. That subsidy comes from tax. Some of that tax comes from places like car owners' fuel bills. And so it goes on.

British Rail was a shambles, and a freaking lethal one at times, too.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

London Underground: Designs for Tube trains unveiled.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-29520761

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Hitachi chosen to build ScotRail fleet.

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2014/...-scotrail.html


Network Rail says 'sorry' for Great Western delays.

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2014/...sorry-for.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

They aught to be apologising for the delays from Penzance for no apparent reason that caused me to miss my connections and booked seats on Tuesday.

It was one of those manky, noisy old diesel units that couldn't pull the skin of a rice pudding and accelerate with all the pace of an arthritic snail on Mogodon. I looked its type up and it's called a "Sprinter" and supposidly capable of 90MPH. Somebody's having a laugh and it wasn't me.

Boy was I glad the last leg was on Southern region and their nice quiet, spacious trains.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

One of these?

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2014/10/16.jpg

Horrible things. I went on one from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth once. It seemed to take forever and it wasn't very comfortable either.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Those "Sprinter's" are bloody terrible as we have to get one of them at Westbury for our connection to Fareham and they never arrive on time Heero.:(:td:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_150

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_156

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Yep, that's the dog, only in FGW colours. No legroom either.

It seemed to dawdle out of Redruth for ages so we were 15 minutes late into Plymouth.

Yes I had one again from Bath Spa to Fareham, at least that got in roughly on time. Nasty though.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Updated franchise schedule signals GW extension.

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2014/...ignals-gw.html

:rolleyes:

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Far worse than the 150's are these horrors of rail travel ( Class 142 which I think have left FGW, and the Class 143 which are still used down there IIRC and finally the always awful class 153 "Dogboxes"

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Ah, the always-awful nodding donkey. :D

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Ah, the sprinter. A combination of state run British Rail deciding to save money by attaching a (state run) Leyland National coach to a couple of coal wagon axles...

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

That's the pacer, a.k.a. nodding donkey. The sprinter was supposed to be the next generation DMU for longer rural routes - pictured 4 posts above.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Of course we have to remember that the sprinter fleet are getting on for 30 years old now, when they were first introduced here in the Midlands to replace the old slam door DMU's people loved them, with quicker journey times in most cases (unless you got a Tyseley power twin instead, with a Saltley driver they put even the sprinters to shame :) ) People have seen what some other area's have in the way of stock and want something similar.

The 153's were crap when they were originally the Leyland built 155's, we had no end of trouble with them on various test/crew training runs and always felt cheap and nasty compared to the Metro Cam 156's. The conversion to the 153 made them even worse.

I still can't believe we have pacers running on the network, they were a huge mistake from the beginning.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Sadly we get a lot of the old rolling stock down here RH as the HST's alone are 40 years old with no sign of any new stock coming our way in the foreseeable future and then there is some of the other older rubbish like the sprinter's where you can sit down and get wet when its raining in a certain direction as my sister found out when she was down here on holiday.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Yet more family silver being sold off it seems.

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2014/...pposition.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Ah yes, my mistake. Still a load of 142s around Cardiff and with my sister's house near a curve you can hear the darned things squealing near constantly. Even the big coal trains are quieter!

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Government to sell stake in Eurostar

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29588412

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Event next month to show off the new Eurostar trains

http://www.globalrailnews.com/2014/1...ed-next-month/

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

They do look nice that's for sure.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Lets hope many of these happen in the coming years.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...re-opened.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

The Scottish Govt have been much more pro active with the re opening of the Airdrie Bathgate line, the Stirling Alloa line and others.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

HS3 get westminster nodding dog approval

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...nnel-hs3-plans

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

A bit of good news for the South West

http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/R...ail/story.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Great news, so many lines were reduced to double track across the country good to see them reinstating some to help with volume of trains using them again :)

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Excellent news Stuart.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

State buys back more than 100 railfreight sites.

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2014/...more-than.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Another idiot HGV driver

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surr...H00y8.facebook

Pass the FULL cost of the disruption on to the firm responsible. As long as they get away with it, idiot drivers and their employers won't do anything to change

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Railway project is on the right track.

http://www.itv.com/news/border/updat...e-right-track/

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

We used to stay in Galashiels in the 80's and it was a 2hour bus journey to Edinburgh. Can't wait to try the route.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

They're doing a cracking job on the borders railway, the twitter account always has new content as does the website http://www.bordersrailway.co.uk/ :)

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Fancy a look behind the scenes?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-29940875

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Very nice but its a long way to go for this Devon softie.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

A fitting tribute....

http://www.london24.com/news/special...kers_1_3838248

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

:tu:

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

The sooner they make a decision to build a secondary line , the better.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-30026151

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Plans to link the WSR with Taunton. Long overdue

http://www.somersetcountygazette.co....ing_discussed/

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

I bet being in one of those manky sprinters along there's like being in a torpedoed submarine.

Is that secondary line on the Okehampton route?

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Yes if the route reopened, railway tracks would need to be laid between Bere Alston and Okehampton.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26110559

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26521168

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Eurostar announce they're going to order seven more new e320's after public unveiling at St. Pancras

http://www.globalrailnews.com/2014/1...-speed-trains/

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

First picture of new Class 800

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/p...-unveiled.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Very nice indeed.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Thought you would !

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

And they will be made in this country soon.:)

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

500kph reached by maglev train in Japan.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-30067889

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Reopened line problems

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...ntral-30082497

Some good news for Bombardier.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-30102406

More good news for Scottish rail commuters.

http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.co...open-1-3610946

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Great news and hopefully more will follow along with the re instatement of more disused rail lines.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

http://www.railjournal.com/index.php...ml?channel=542

More good news

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

London's Charing Cross Station closed after fire on train.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-30167555

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

HS2 Euston plans could derail whole project

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...s-to-halt.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

No, they really couldn't. ;)

The story is based entirely on carping by Camden council (which is against it) and a good old fashioned residents committee (which is also against it). The Tele has drawn its headline from a quote from said residents committee ... some nice chap called Tim, who is doubtless concerned that the scheme may knock a mill of the value of his city pad, says "I think HS2 is slowly dying". Wish fulfilment and all that.

Most of the Telegraph's readers hate HS2 because it will run through their back gardens. It's not surprising that the paper caters for its readers by running stories like this. But be in no doubt, that line's getting built.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Blueprint for Waterloo railway services launched.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-30173775

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

First Crossrail metals laid

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-30173787

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

A joint venture between Stagecoach and Virgin has won the franchise to run the East Coast mainline rail route.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30222458

Up to yesterday it was rumoured to have gone to the french state rail operator Keolis/Eurostar joint venture

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Cue a lot of predictable huffing a puffing from unreconstructed leftie trade unions who wanted East Coast to remain State-operated.

I'm really glad Stagecoach/Virgin have got this. They have made a grand job of the WCML and I predict, over the next few years, they will comfortably improve on the performance of DOR on the East Coast. Then we can (hopefully) put to bed the ridiculous idea that bringing back British Rail is a big or clever thing to do.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

I have often championed re-nationalisation of Franchises, because I do think it can work. It worked brilliantly in the case of the South Eastern railway, although, having said that, it would be almost impossible for any other operator to run the service as badly as Connex did. South Eastern Trains introduced serious, and almost instant, improvements to the service. Trains were suddenly running on time, with the correct number of carriages. Passenger information systems were overhauled (seriously, what dimwit really thought it was a good idea to put the signalling team in a building on the other side of Kent from the team that runs the passenger information systems?).

Now, the service is provided by the privatised South Eastern Railways and has mostly (in my experience) kept the standards that South Eastern Trains managed. However, I've noticed that the service is slipping a little. Little things, like the different passenger information systems sometimes give incorrect or conflicting information (several times this week, I've been told by their app that my train has just left my station, while I am standing on the platform, and being told by the Platform indicator screen that the train is due in a few minutes, only to have the app correct itself all of a sudden).

Don't get me wrong. I do not think that wholesale re-nationalisation is the best idea for every franchise. When it comes down to it, as long as a franchise operator can provide me a relatively cheap, reliable service, I don't really care that much whether they are private or publicly owned.

Crossrail 2 cost rises by almost a third, says TfL.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-30228899

Dawlish rail line: Backing for alternative route.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-30292756

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Good news for the South West.

All we need now is the political will to find the money!!

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

I noticed in the autumn statement that Osborne is pledging death to the Pacers on the Northern and Transpennine franchises. Can't come soon enough. I still wait nervously on the platform when I'm passing through Wigan NW, hoping one of them isn't going to pull up.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

My worry is talking about things is one thing but doing it is another as talk is cheap and until we see these things actually happen l won't be convinced.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Well if they don't get the nodders off the network soon, they're going to start falling apart (hopefully, anyway). They're well past their sell by date, so something has to happen soon.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

You'll probably get some warmed over sprinters after GWR has worked them to a standstill.:D

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

A warmed-over Sprinter is what pulls in at Wigan Northwestern when it's not a Pacer. :erm:

TBH I shouldn't worry too much, they've almost finished electrifying the Liverpool-St.Helens-Wigan line now, so things should improve from next spring regardless of any new rolling stock purchases.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

2015 rail fare rises to be 'average of 2.2%'

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2014/...-rises-to.html

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Lasers could solve autumn leaf fall/rail adhesion problems

Dutch railways test laser rail head cleaner

http://www.popsci.com/trains-could-g...dom=tw&src=SOC

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

2 new Virgin services this week

http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/ne...ored-1-7004712

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-30470761

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Trains cease to stop at Tottenham Court Road.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-30644472

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

New Reading viaduct opens

http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/sto...l-chaos-opens/

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Ah, such fun on the railways this Christmas. I got a nodder on the Preston-Lime Street service the other week, which sat idle at the platform for half an hour waiting for a driver coming in on a late inbound service. The days of spare drivers seem to be long gone.

On the return leg, all services Lime Street-Wigan NW were cancelled for engineering (electrification, which should kill off the nodders forever, so mustn't grumble too much). Except that, the National Rail Enquiries system wasn't updated with the line closure until quite late on, so lots of people, me included, were sold Liverpool-Lancaster/Carlisle/Glasgow through tickets that included a change at Wigan.

A thoroughly confused Network Rail man at Lime Street commented that a lot of people had come to him with the same problem, and gave me details for changing at Warrington instead (which I hate, as it involves walking through the town between stations). I was only able to make my booked train to Glasgow as I had arrived very early at Lime Street.

Re: Train Spotters Corner
 

Very nice and much needed.