Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2017 i The Railway Magazine

Mixed messages from the DfT – do they give a damn about the future of rail? THERE’S often a nagging feeling that information from Government lacks thought and co-ordinaton. Take Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s suggestion that private motorists should now hesitate before buying a diesel car and buy the “least polluting vehicle they can”. Yet at around the same time came an announcement that the Mode Shift Revenue Support, a subsidy that assists the movement of freight traffic from road to rail would be cut by 21%, making rail a far less competitive option. This is a move that will save the Government a mere £4million this year, which is almost pocket money considering the £50bn being spent on HS2. More worringly, it begins to shift the balance back in…

FIRSTGROUP and Hong Kong’s MTR have been awarded the lucrative South West Trains franchise, ending Stagecoach’s 21-year association with one of the country’s busiest operations. Starting on August 20, 2017 for seven years, First MTR South West Trains will oversee a £1.2billion investment – £80m of which will come from the franchisee – providing 22,000 extra seats into London Waterloo during the weekday morning peak, and 30,000 in the evening peak. Waterloo is the UK’s busiest station and will gain five extra platforms from December 2018. The former Eurostar platforms are currently being rebuilt as part of an £800m package of enhancements. The joint venture, which brings together UK-based First (70%) and the operator of Hong Kong’s mass transit system (30%) is committed to introducing 90 new‘metro’ trains (750 vehicles)…

PASSENGERS who buy tickets in advance and then forget to carry their railcards when travelling will now get the chance to reclaim the extra money paid. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) says train operators will provide a refund on at least the first occasion in any year, provided passengers can produce the Railcard later. Jacqueline Starr, of the RDG, said: “Customers make honest mistakes and Railcard holders should have one chance a year to be refunded. “We are also planning digital Railcards that can be kept on smartphones and other devices, making them harder to forget and easier to replace if lost or stolen.” The change is the first improvement for customers under an action plan agreed last year between train operators, the Government and consumer groups.…

THE PROCEEDS of The Railway Magazine’s 120th anniversary railtour will be donated to the Railway Children charity, specifically its UK-based safeguarding on transport programme. ‘The Caledonian’tour will run from London to Glasgow on October 7. The safeguarding initiative was launched by Railway Children in close partnership with British Transport Police and the rail industry to make the UK transport system safer for vulnerable children. The charity supports children who run away from home or are forced to leave due to poverty, violence or neglect. Suzanne Parsons, business development manager at Railway Children, said: “Every year, 100,000 children under 16 run away, with many using the rail network to escape a range of issues, often putting themselves at great risk. Key partners “Our long-term aim is to create a national safety…

Shots fired as new high-speed line opens THE opening of the new LGV Sud Europe Atlantique high-speed line from Tours to Bordeaux by French President Francois Hollande claimed worldwide publicity for all the wrong reasons when a police marksman accidentally fired a bullet into the marquee. The shooting at Villognon on February 28 injured a waiter and a guest from arailway engineering firm. The new 302km high-speed line opens to passenger services on July 2 and will reduce the Paris to Bordeaux journey time to 2hr 4min. RAIB investigates Bank DLR incident THE Rail Accident Investigation Branch is investigating an incident on the Docklands Light Railway at Bank station on February 6when a passenger became trapped by their coat in the closing doors of atrain. The passenger managed to quickly…

ROTHER District Council has cleared the way for the unification of the Rother Valley (RVR) and Kent & East Sussex railways. This follows its unanimous approval of the Rother Valley Railway’s Northbridge Street to Junction Road section of the Robertsbridge to Bodiam Reconnection Project. The backing is centred on the two-mile section, which required the RVR to meet three key criteria and work with the Environment Agency to ensure that the restored railway will not compromise the local flood defences. Assurances cover the use of three level crossings over Robertsbridge High Street, the A21 and the B2244 near Bodiam, as well as taking into account future parking issues in Robertsbridge. Additionally, several landowners have expressed concerns over disruption caused by the construction of the railway, and the RVR will continue…

THE Department for Transport has shortlisted three bidders for the East Midlands franchise, which is due to begin on November 11, 2018. The three are: Arriva Rail East Midlands; First Trenitalia East Midlands Rail, which is a joint venture between First Rail Holdings and Trenitalia UK Ltd; and the incumbent Stagecoach East Midlands Trains, which has held the franchise since November 2007. The new franchisee will also be expected to satisfy predicted growth in demand, particularly into London St Pancras, where shorter journey times are needed, but also for overcrowded local services such as Derby to Crewe.…

IT’S 1950 and for my seventh birthday I was given a copy of THE PERMANENT WAY: Britain’s Railroads in the Making by Messrs Greenleaf and Tyers, a 196-page A4 hardback book. Looking at it now, after 60-plus years, it is still a predominantly technical publication and, certainly, not one for a seven-year old. At the time, I had no interest in railways and, to my knowledge, neither did any of my family; the reason behind the gift is still a mystery. I still retain the book and its relevance was to be enhanced four years later. In September 1954, I started at Loughborough College School (LCS) and my daily travel there, from Thurmaston where I lived, was largely by rail, between Syston and Loughborough Midland stations. Over time I observed…

WARNING: You better not be hungry on long-distance CrossCountry trains! I HAVE written before about the need to take a‘doggy bag’if one is to embark on a long journey on CrossCountry trains. Recently, I travelled from Birmingham to Cornwall on a Friday evening, luckily with a booked seat. At Cheltenham, I went to the trolley at the end of the train to get some food and drink. The steward had already closed it as he was to leave at Bristol TM, but said I could buy some wine if I had the right change - which I had. He said more food would come on at Bristol TM. So I went back after Bristol TM and found some food – one pain au raisin and two bags of crisps. There…

ONE of the rites of passage that most of us go through is the sorting of our parents’ photograph collection. It was an old Christmas cracker box full of black and white contact prints that took me back to Barmouth station in August 1960. A slightly yellowing, grainy image of the 10-year-old me standing in front of Stanier ‘3P’ class 2-6-2T No. 40085, complete with 89C shedplate, started me wondering why a Stanier ‘3P’ was there. The obvious starting place was either the Railway Observer (RO) or Railway Magazine , and while the latter featured a Derek Cross photograph of No. 40085 at Llanbedr & Pensar on its September 1960 cover, it was the RO that filled out the story. It was reported that work was sought for Nos.…

RPSI’s Whitehead museum opens its doors to public NORTHERN Ireland’s newest tourist attraction – the Whitehead Railway Museum - has quietly opened its doors to the general public, ahead of a more formal opening at a later date. Contractors finished work on the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s £3.1million project in early March. The museum will open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It is the culmination of more than five years’ work by the RPSI to develop the Whitehead site from merely a working steam depot to a destination in its own right. Much of the project has been funded by grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and GROW (Generating Rural Opportunities Within) South Antrim, made in 2013, and amounting to £2.4million. The redevelopment really got underway the previous year…

Weardale special battles the elements THE Weardale Railway’s Class 31 running weekend on February 11-12 provided a rare opportunity to see and travel behind HN Rail No. 31465 on six InterCity-liveried Mk2 coaches between Stanhope and Wolsingham. The weather was atrocious over both days with wind, rain, sleet and snow, making it a challenge for photographers. The train is seen between Wolsingham and Frosterley, en route for Stanhope, on the 12th. The loco retains Network Rail yellow livery and was stand-by for ‘Polar Express’ trains in late November and December. Spa Valley celebrates anniversary with a ‘Deltic’! THE Spa Valley Railway’s summer diesel extravaganza on August 3-6 is part of the railway’s 20th anniversary celebrations. The star of the show is the Deltic Preservation Society’s No. 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier,…

DEPOT CODES CFSL Class 50 Alliance Stored East Lancs Railway LOCOMOTIVES Allocations 08405 WQ/WQBA de-registered 08480 WQ/WQBA de-registered 06632 WQ/WQDA de-registered 08703 WQ/WQDA de-registered 08757 WQ/WQBA de-registered 08784 WQ/WQDA-RDMBDL 08799 WQBA-WQDA 08922 WQ/WQDA-RD/MBDL 37194 KM/XHSS de-registered (scrapped) 37261 KM/XHSS-BT/RAJV 37601 XHNC-XHSS 37607 XHNC-XHSS 37610 XHNC-XHSS 37612 XHNC-XHSS 37667 XHNC-XHSS 40145 ELRD-CFSL 60040 TO/WCAT-WQ/WQAA 60074 TO/WCAT-WQ/WQAA 60092 TO/WCBT-WQ/WQAA 66041 WBAT-WBAE 66056 WBLT-WBLE 66068 TO/WBAT-WQ/WQAA-TO/ WBAT 66094 WBAT-WBAE 66108 WBBT-WBBE 66114 TO/WBBT-WQ/WQAA 66119 WQ/WQAA-TO/WBAEWQ/WQAA- TO/WBAE 66132 TO/WBAE-WQ/WQAA 66170 TO/WBAT-WBAE 66172 TO/WBAT-WQ/WQAA-TO/ WBAT 66175 TO/WBAE-WQ/WQAA-TO/ WBAE 66186 TO/WBAT-WQ/WQAA-TO/ WBAT 66413 DFHJ-DFHG 66507 DFHJ-DFHH 66508 DFHJ-DFHH 66510 DFHJ-DFHH 66513 DFHJ-DFHH 66518 DFHJ-DFHH 66524 DFHJ-DFHH 66525 DFHJ-DFHH 66526 DFHJ-DFHH 66531 DFHJ-DFHH 66536 DFHJ-DFHH 66544 DFHJ-DFHH 66551 DFHJ-DFHH 66563 DFHJ-DFHH 66564 DFHJ-DFHH 66585 DFHJ-DFHG 66596 DFHJ-DFHG 66953 DFHJ-DFHG 67002 CE/WAAC-WQ/WQAA 67008 WAWC-WAAC 67013 WAWC-WAAC 67014 WAAC-WAWC…

SIDELINES Edinburgh-Glasgow bridge work complete NETWORK Rail has installed a new footbridge over the Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street line near Niddry Castle in Winchburgh – the 60th and final structure to be replaced – thus clearing the line for the completion of electrification work. The bridges have been replaced to create the extra height required over the railway to safely run the cables needed for overhead line electrification, and with the E&G route now ‘height cleared’, the next target for the project is to complete the overhead wiring and make the route‘live’by Easter 2017. The Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme has completed the £80million electrification of the Cumbernauld line, the £25m redevelopment of Edinburgh’s Haymarket station, and the completion of the £41m Edinburgh Gateway train-tram interchange. MPs back Bennerley viaduct restoration…

CLASS 800 No. 800101 was out on test on January 31 running north through Doncaster station. It was out again on February 6 working between Grantham and Peterborough. It was observed again at Doncaster on February 14. On the same day Nos. 800002+800003 also ran north on test. THE ECML was closed between Hitchin and Peterborough all day on February 4. VTEC, Hull Trains or Grand Central services either terminated/started at Peterborough or were diverted via Cambridge/March. Buses ran instead of Great Northern services between Hitchin and Peterborough. Just south of Huntingdon station an engineers’ train, consisting mainly of yellow ballast wagons, was seen, top-and-tailed by DBC Class 66 Nos. 66221+66059 EMT Class 43 power cars Nos. 43044+43082 were on hire to VTEC on February 14. AS A consequence of…

THE Department for Transport has begun a consultation ahead of determining needs for the next SouthEastern franchise. Increasing passenger capacity is one of the key areas bidders will need to focus upon, with the elimination of first class seating a possibility, leading to the provision of more standard class seats. The DfT says its other ambitions include: • running longer trains and upgrading or replacing older trains • increasing reliability and reducing delays by closer working with Network Rail • introducing a simple compensation automated system • use of a smarter payment system, including mobile phones The consultation closes on May 23 with the new franchise beginning in December 2018. Like us facebook.com/ TheRailwayMagazine…

CUTS to the Mode Shift Revenue Support, which helps companies move goods by rail instead of road, could impact the Daventry to Grangemouth and other intermodal services. In what has been called a‘penny-pinching move’the Department for Transport is cutting £4.2million from the current support grant of £19.9m, with a further cut to £15.2m planned for 2018/9. The result is that freight subsidies will be cut, and for some logistics companies it could tip the balance to return to road haulage. Ken Russell, joint owner of Russell Logistics, has said his firm would seriously consider buying around 100 new trucks and moving more of its operations to road after losing its MSRS grant. Mr Russell estimated it could put 190,000 extra lorry movements on the road. Maggie Simpson, executive director of…

NATIONAL Express, which operates the Midland Metro tram network under a concession agreement, will not have it renewed when it ends in October 2018. Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) – the transport arm of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) – says it will take over the day-to-day running of the network, a move that will enable it to plough millions back into improving and expanding the tram system. National Express staff will be transferred over to a new company – Midland Metro Ltd. Ridership over the next decade is expected to rise from 6.5 to 30 million, and this is expected to generate around £50million in profits over the first 11 years, which the WMCA will feed back into improvements. Before taking the decision, the WMCA board was told…

p32 : The reference to March 7, 1967, should read March 5. p35 (Subscription copies only): The location should be Kimbridge Junction and not Kinbridge p37 : Describing LR2182 as the only surviving 40hp armoured Simplex in the northern hemisphere is incorrect given one also survives on Antigua, which is 17° north of the equator. p65 : The BRS lorry is of Bristol manufacture, not Foden. • This month’s letters page has been held over due to the large volume of news.…

VIVARAIL has started battery power testing on a converted former D78 Underground carriage at its Long Marston base. The demonstrator project involves Valence Technology, Strukton Rail and Traktionssysteme Austria, which have supplied the lithium batteries, control systems and AC traction motors, respectively. Vivarail envisages that battery-powered trains could be used on lines where electrification is expensive, and could feature automatic charging that begins when the train stops.…

THE Exeter to Plymouth main line was built by the original South Devon Railway Company. The 91/2-mile broad gauge branch from Totnes to Ashburton was promoted by the Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway (originally planned to terminate at Buckfastleigh, but an extension toAshburton was added shortly before construction) and opened on May 1, 1872. The line was initially operated by the South Devon Railway, but Great Western Railway took over operating the branch from February 1, 1876. A year later the branch became part of GWR and was converted to standard gauge in May 1892. On 1948 Nationalisation the branch came under the wing of BR(Western Region). Closure was pre-Beeching, with passenger services ceasing on November 3, 1958, freight ending September 7, 1962, and the ‘last train’ being a…

Wrexham enhancements JUSTIN Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston) asked for an assessment of the punctuality of services on the Wrexham to Bidston line. Transport Minister Paul Maynard said: “In April 2006, the Welsh Government was given the responsibility for management of the Wales and Borders franchise, including day to day relationships, communication and performance management. “They continue to closely monitor the punctuality of services on the line from Wrexham to Bidston, and have reported that there were a number of issues on that route in autumn, with leaf fall significantly affecting train adhesion, including a day when the service had to be suspended. “The Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Infrastructure, Ken Skates AM, has requested that Arriva Trains Wales and Network Rail hold periodic operations and performance board meetings,…

‘S160’ and ‘14XX’ in Gloucs-Warks gala line-up GREG Wilson’s USATC ‘S160’ 2-8-0 No. 6046 has been confirmed as one of the guest locomotives at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s Cotswold Festival of Steam event on May 27-29. The Churnet Valley Railway-based ‘Yank’ fits well into the gala’s Workhorses of Steam theme, and the type has particular relevance to the ‘Gloucs-Warks’ route. In November 1943 loco No. 2403 – one of 174 ‘S160s’ loaned to the Great Western Railway in the early 1940s – suffered a firebox collapse near Honeybourne after the water level ran low, leading to the fireman being killed. Ultimately, around 800 of the class were handled by the GWR at Ebbw Junction before being shipped to Europe, although No. 6046 was not one of them. It was shipped…

New 2ft-gauge line in Scotland to start operating this year MEMBERS of Shed 47 Railway Restoration Group are developing a new 2ft-gauge railway at the site of the ex-Royal Naval Store Depot, Lathalmond. Shed 47 is part of the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, which bought about half the extensive RNSD Lathalmond site when it closed in 1971. Railway development at the site by Shed 47 group, centred on the original locomotive shed, has hitherto primarily been a standard gauge project, but early in 2016 the opportunity arose to acquire some 2ft-gauge track. A member then bought locos and rolling stock from a peat works near Penicuik. Interchanges Tracklaying for the new West of Fife Munitions Railway (WOFMR) began on June 18, 2016 on part of the original MoD route serving…

Five more Class 88s delivered to Carlisle THE arrival of five more of the 10 dual-power Class 88 locos ordered by DRS back in 2013 means that more than half the fleet have been delivered. On March 1, loco Nos. 88001/3/4/5/8 were unloaded at Workington Docks and hauled by No. 66433 to Carlisle Kingmoor for commissioning. They join No. 88002, which arrived in January. The remaining four locos – Nos. 88006, 88007, 88009 and 88010 – together with new Class 68 Nos. 68026/027 were noted at Sagunto Docks, Spain, ready for shipment to Workington on March 17. Debut of a Class 88 on a railtour is planned for May 9, when using the Northern Belle stock. Industry guests and VIPs will travel from London Euston to Carlisle and back. The…

New line to Iran from Azerbaijan ON March 3 the first test train operated on the new line being built connecting Azerbaijan and Iran across the 82.5metre-long bridge over the River Astarachay border. Construction was approved in December 2015 and work began in April 2016. The bridge and an 8.3km-long, 1520mm-gauge line within Azerbaijan, connecting it to the rest of the country’s rail network, has been built. In Iran a 167km-long, 1435mm-gauge line is being built alongside the Caspian Sea, connecting Rasht, in Iran, with Astara, just over the border in Azerbaijan. The new lines are part of the regional North-South Transport Corridor project, which is aiming to offer a through route between the Persian Gulf and Russia/Europe for rail freight. Big Chinese order for Bombardier BOMBARDIER via its Chinese…

Freightliner celebrates Scunthorpe steel success SINCE Freightliner won the contract for haulage of raw materials to Scunthorpe steelworks it has worked closely with British Steel’s Immingham Bulk Terminal and Ore Blending Plant to remove a significant bottleneck in the last stage of the supply chain feeding the steelworks. The result is a more efficient operation, which meets British Steel’s demanding ‘just in time’ schedule to keep the blast furnaces fed with ore and coal. Freightliner has gained a thorough understanding of the plant’s requirements and designed a train plan enabling British Steel to focus on producing steel rather than deliveries of raw materials. ‘Very pleasing’ Iron ore and coal are the fundamental materials for the steelworks, with pressures on all businesses to control and maintain stock levels, flexibility and agility…

ABBEY PUMPING STATION April 18, 29, May 30 Corporation Road, Leicester LE4 5PX (0116 299 51110). www.abbeypumpingstation.org/events.asp Museum open Feb-Oct (13.00-16.30). Events: April 18 Edible Engineering, 29 Blue Lights Day. ALN VALLEY RAILWAY April 15-17 Lionheart Station, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 2EZ.www.alnvalleyrailway.co.uk AMBERLEY MUSEUM & HERITAGE CENTRE April 2, 9, 16-17, 23, 29, May 1, 7, 14, 20-21, 27-29 Houghton Bridge, Arundel,West Sussex BN18 9LT (01798 831370). Museum openWed-Sun (10.00-17.30). www.amberleynarrowgauge.co.uk Events: April 9 Spring IndustrialTrains Day. AMERTON RAILWAY April 1-2, 8-23, 29-May 1, 6-7, 13-14, 20-21, 26-June 4 Stowe-by-Chartley,Weston, Staffs ST18 OLA (01785 850965). www.amertonrailway.co.uk APEDALE VALLEY LIGHT RAILWAY April 1, 8-9, 15-17, 22, 29-May 1, 6, 13-24, 20, 27-29 Apedale Country Park, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 7LB (0845 0941953). www.avlr.org.uk Events: April 15-17 Easter Egg Hunt, May 13-14 Stanhope Steam…

THE success of the Borders Railway has forced First Group to sell its Midlothian and Borders bus operation to West Coast Motors, which runs a network of bus operations across Scotland and the north of England. First Scotland East managing director Paul McGowan said the railway had impacted demand for bus travel and the services had become unsustainable. The Borders Railway carries more than one million passengers every year. Like us facebook.com/ TheRailwayMagazine Follow us @railwaymagazine…

WEST Coast Railways held a retirement gathering for five members of staff at Rugby Railway Club. The event was led by WCR operations managers Andy Taylor and Peter Walker, and supported by more than 60 members of train crew with around 2,000 years of railway service between them. Leading the retirees was steam inspector John Daniel, who was presented with his second railway retirement certificate after becoming what must be Britain’s longest-serving member of railway staff. His first career began in August 1954 at Bedford shed and ended 51 years later running the Virgin West Coast training school before joining WCR, where he completed another 11½ years on steam, diesel and electric traction. Retirement certificates were also presented to driver Gordon Hodgson, who worked from Carlisle Canal and Kingmoor depots,…

THE private Downs Light Railway at Colwall, near Great Malvern, will celebrate the completion of a major restoration project on its 9½in-gauge miniature rail line with a gala on April 30 and May 1, writes Peter Nicholson. The railway first opened in 1925 and over the last four years substantial drainage and engineering repairs have been undertaken that has saved the line from abandonment. Pupils at the Downs Malvern school are involved at all levels of its operation and this event will be a chance to celebrate their achievements during a rare public opening. Exhibits will include visiting locomotives plus railway models and some fascinating static displays. Organisers have secured the operational display of Templeford, a vintage ‘O’ gauge Hornby tin plate layout of large proportions. The event is open…

STREAMLINED Gresley ‘A4’ No. 60028 Walter K. Whigham stands resplendently at the head of the nine-coach ‘Talisman’ in King’s Cross station one September afternoon in 1958, ready to depart on the non-stop run to Newcastle and booked to average more than 60mph. Just one more detail completes a perfect picture – the legendary Bill Hoole is sitting in the driver’s seat. Few scenes could be more evocative of the final years of East Coast Main Line steam than the prospect that Hugh Gould encountered as he boarded the train. There are two reasons for choosing to start with the epic run shown in Table 1. First, it is a fascinating discovery but, second, it clearly demonstrates the perennial problem of train planning and how excess time should be dissipated. Retired…

WHILE Buckfastleigh was not originally a terminus it had been a station. Much of the old goods yard was lost to the A38 road improvements in 1972 following lifting of the line between Buckfastleigh and Ashburton the previous year. This also left the signalbox marooned at the Ashburton end of the site, a new ’box being constructed next to the footbridge at the Totnes end of the platforms. Over the years Buckfastleigh has been developed into a proper heritage railway terminus. Such development is still in progress, the next project being anew carriage shed to be built over the head-shunt and loop spur at the north end of the site parallel to the A38 embankment. At the Totnes end of the line Ashburton branch trains had run into Totnes main…

100 YEARS AGO APRIL 1917 EARLY in March a blizzard raged in Lochaber for three days, and big snowdrifts have formed in exposed localities. On Tuesday night, March 6th, the West Highland Railway was completely blocked, and the afternoon passenger train from Fort William to Glasgow, which was held up throughout the night on Rannoch Moor, was sent back on Wednesday. Two other trains were embedded in the snow, and though large squads of men have been put to work clearing the drifts a passage is no sooner cleared than it is blocked again. RECENTLY opened for traffic, the East Kent Light Railway will, as far as can at present be judged, fully justify its construction. The line commences with a junction at Shepherd’s Well with the main line of…

Ironstone duo makes Spa Valley triple for 2017 KENT’S Spa Valley Railway (SVR) will be able to call upon three operational steam locomotives this year when Hunslet 0-6-0ST Ring Haw (1982/1940) joins the working fleet on hire from the North Norfolk Railway. The ex-Nassington Quarry locomotive will be making its first foray to the south-west of England from May 22, and is expected to stay on the SVR until the end of October. Its presence at Tunbridge Wells West will enable it to pair up with another former ironstone engine – resident Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns‘56’class 0-6-0ST No. 62 Ugly (7673/1950) – which like the Hunslet spent its pre-preservation career in the East Midlands ironstone fields, albeit with Stewarts & Lloyds at Corby. The third loco making up the 2017…

Second city crossing opens in Manchester MANCHESTER Metrolink opened its Second City Crossing (2CC) on February 26, which doubles the capacity in the city centre by providing an extra route between Manchester Victoria and St Peter’s Square. 2CC runs via Exchange Square, which opened as a terminus from Victoria in December 2015, then along Cross Street to the town hall before turning left along Princess Street to St Peter’s Square. The line carries trams from Rochdale and Shaw & Crompton to East Didsbury, but there are plans for trams from the airport, which currently terminate at Deansgate-Castlefield, to run through to Victoria via 2CC. When Metrolink started running in 1992, the original route through the city via Piccadilly Gardens was meant to have enough capacity for future growth. However, the…

Southampton Eastern Docks derailment THE derailment of the ‘Andover Fist’charter train on the Southampton Eastern Docks branch on November 5 was caused by inadequate maintenance and inspection of the track by Network Rail. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) found that defective sleepers and worn rail fastenings had caused the rails to spread up to 51mm wider than the standard 1,435mm gauge, leading to the derailment of four axles on the two leading Mk1 coaches of the 13-coach train. RAIB discovered that basic inspection patrols were only taking place on the branch every four weeks, rather than the standard two weeks, and that 13-weekly section manager inspections had not been carried out for at least three years. RAIB also highlighted the lack of a track section manager for the Eastleigh…