International & UK Railway News Monday 31st March 2014

Today is 31st March 2014. Tomorrow is 1st April 2014........


Today Network Rail announced a five year investment plan for the UK network costing £38billion.
Also, there is the likelihood that NR will be hit with a large £80million fine for underperforming.


I travelled from Warwick Parkway to  London Marylebone today... 90 minutes there, and 75 minutes back. If HS2 were available, it would have taken me 90 minutes to get to the nearest access point (Birmingham)...and then the time on the high speed train... That doesn't seem like much of an improvement time wise....Or a good use of £80 billion...(ish) But when you see the HS2 figure, with the financing spread over quite a number of years, and then realize that Network Rail will be committing £38 billion plus in the next 5 years, then HS2 seems like a bargain, never mind the environmental, business case issues etc that daily undermine the project's possibility.


Watch this space, as they say......!!!








Headlines




Network Rail plans £38bn investment in tracks and stations.(BBC News)


South East rail network to get £2.3bn investment. (BBC News)


Network Rail expecting record £70m fine for delays.(BBC News)


More seats for rail commuters in Network Rail plan.(The Telegraph)


New Network Rail boss says sorry for poor performance as firm is threatened by £80m fine: He pledges to make Britain's trains most punctual in Europe.(Daily Mail)


Network Rail’s new broom Mark Carne vows to sweep away bonus culture - Business News - Business - The Independent


Network Rail in funds warning on storm damage.(FT.com) 


Bristol rail investment to see tracks reinstated.(BBC News)


'HS2 Doesn't Need To Do So Much Damage In Bucks' Say Campaigners.(mix96)


HS2 construction work to bring misery for motorists.(Banbury Guardian)


Stop HS2, HS2AA & 51m at the Environmental Audit Committee.(StopHS2)


High-speed rail option good for Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston .(dallasnews)


China Railway Express to launch hi-speed rail delivery services.(wantchinatimes)


A train in time. (Times of Malta)
Steamroll ahead on the greatest train journeys in the world.


EU and Japan negotiate opening rail markets - Railway Gazette


Innovation & Networks Executive Agency || French-Italian cross-border rail link study awarded EU funding


www.railway-technology.com Updates..


Budapest Metro opens new automated underground Line 4
Hungary's Budapest Metro has opened its new underground Line 4, which is the first automated metro track in Central-Eastern Europe.
Stadler Rail completes restoration of RAe TEE II 1035 train
Swiss locomotives maker Stadler Rail has completed restoration work on RAe TEE II 1035 multiple-unit train, as part of SBB Historic's order in 2013.
Alstom delivers first Jazz EMU to Trenitalia
Italian rail network Trenitalia has receieved its new Coradia Meridian regional train from Alstom at the Termini station in Rome, as part of a €440m order placed by FS Italian Group management in November 2012.
First phase of London Bridge railway station set to be completed by 31 March
London Bridge railway station's first phase of redevelopment is set to near completion as per schedule on 31 March, as part of the UK Government-sponsored £6.5bn Thameslink Programme.


www.progressiverailroading.com US News
     New FRA rule requires railroads to adopt a 'critical incident stress' plan

CP cites drawbacks of 'Fair Rail' act, sets share purchase plan

SFMTA board approves 12 percent increase in rail service

Amtrak to adjust Empire Builder route to account for heavy freight-rail traffic

Three mayors endorse high-speed rail project between Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth

Metra board creates new audit committee, appoints Carlson chair

Transportation Research Board seeks proposals for IDEA program

SMART division-represented workers ratify Chicago Rail Link pact

Liquefied natural gas could help railroads reap locomotive benefits if regulatory, technical issues are resolved

Kyrgyz Railways orders Evolution locomotives - Railway Gazette




Millions to benefit from massive multi-billion pound railway investment programme.(Network Rail)


Millions of people across the country are set to benefit from an ambitious five-year £38bn spending and investment programme – part of the biggest sustained investment programme ever – that will transform today's railway giving passengers more trains, more seats, reduced congestion and bigger, better stations.

The five-year plan will see the busiest parts of Britain’s rail network targeted making a very real difference to millions of people's lives and providing a significant boost to the economy.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “A key part of this government's long term economic plan is investing in world class infrastructure. That is why we are putting record amounts of government funding into our railways over the next five years. That investment will generate growth, create jobs and boost business while delivering faster journeys, greater comfort and better punctuality for passengers across the UK.”

Mark Carne, chief executive of Network Rail, said: “Millions of passengers and freight users will benefit enormously from the plans we set out today to wisely spend and invest £38bn in transforming some of the busiest parts of our railway network.”

The people of Devon and Cornwall also heard some good news today as Network Rail confirmed that their railway will be reconnected to Britain’s network on 4 April following two months of tremendous efforts by hundreds of railway engineers in, and around, Dawlish. A massive landslip, involving the collapse of 20,000 tonnes of cliff-face near Teignmouth on 4 March, had threatened the planned opening.

"Dawlish has shown us at our best when we work in a planned, disciplined and innovative way. Our aim is to emulate that approach and embed it in our organisation so that we are continuously improving the service for our customers.”

Today, more than 1.5bn passenger journeys are made by rail each year and by 2019 the railway will be carrying more people than at any time in its history. The rail industry's five-year plan will:

• Provide capacity for 170,000 extra seats for commuters at peak time
• Shorten journeys and provide for hundreds more daily services between the cities of the north (Northern Hub)
• Electrify more than 850 miles of railway and see whole new fleets of electric trains
• Transform hundreds of stations around the country including London Bridge, Manchester Victoria, Birmingham New Street and Glasgow Queen Street

Improving passenger, public and workforce safety will also feature prominently throughout control period 5 (2014-19) with plans to close a further 500 level crossings on top of the almost 800 closed since 2010, reducing risk by a further 25%.

Mr Carne commented: “Passenger, public and workforce safety will be at the core of our plans. Good safety performance and good train and business performance go hand-in-hand and in both, we must strive for, and deliver, continuous improvement day by day.”

As well as the big projects, the day-to-day task of delivering a safe and reliable railway will be even more important and tough to deliver as more services and more improvement work becomes ever more challenging to balance. Investment in this area includes:

• Renewing over 7,000km of track – enough to reach from London to Mumbai
• 75 football pitches worth of station platforms replaced (300,000m²)
• Improving train punctuality to 92.5% across the country - the best performing in Europe
• Cutting the cost of running the British railway network by 20% making it one of the most efficient in Europe
• Investing in new technology and equipment that will deliver step-changes in productivity and efficiency

Mr Carne concluded: "Britain’s railways are a vital part of our national infrastructure. They connect homes and workplaces, businesses with markets, they create jobs, stimulate trade and support the growth of a balanced economy.

“We are good at delivering projects both great and small and at providing a safe and reliable railway but want to do even more for the people that rely on our railway network. This investment responds to the growth and demands being placed upon us by delivering bigger, better stations, more trains and seats, reopened railway lines and fewer level crossings. We all want an improving, safer, successful and better value railway for everyone, and that is what we will do."

Notes:

For more information, visit www.betterrailway.co.uk
Control period 5 runs from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2019. Over this period, Network Rail and its industry partners will deliver a programme of investment to tackle the severe problem of congestion on the busiest parts of the network, providing capacity for 170,000 extra commuter seats at peak times including capability to run hundreds more trains a day between the key cities of the north of England and a 20% increase in central London’s commuter rail capacity through completion of the Crossrail and Thameslink projects.

Of the £38bn to be spent on Britain’s railways over the next five years, £13bn will be invested in capital expenditure projects to relieve overcrowding by building new tracks, uncorking bottlenecks, increasing capacity and upgrading outdated stations:

• The Northern Hub programme will deliver a step-change in connectivity across the north of England, providing faster journeys and the capacity to run hundreds more trains per day between key northern cities.
• The Thameslink programme will be completed, with 24 trains per hour each way through the centre of London, taking much needed pressure off the Tube network and relieving commuters of the aggravation of changing trains during the busiest part of the day. Crossrail trains will also be running, increasing capacity for travel through the capital by a further 10%.
• More than 850 miles of railway will be electrified, including the Great Western Main Line from Maidenhead to Swansea, the Midland Main Line from Sheffield to Bedford and across the north and north west of England, bringing greener, more frequent and more reliable journeys for millions of people.
• A new, electrified railway linking the Great Western, West Coast and Midland Main Lines will connect Oxford with Bedford and Milton Keynes as part of the East West Rail project.
• More than 30 miles of new railway and seven new stations will reconnect the border towns of Scotland with Edinburgh for the first time in 50 years, reversing a Beeching closure of the 1960s and providing a faster, greener alternative to travelling by road.
• Stations including Birmingham New Street, Manchester Victoria, Glasgow Queen Street and London Bridge will be transformed, as King's Cross has been, restoring former Victorian glory alongside modern facilities and retail opportunities, bringing investment and jobs into our cities and further income for the railway to invest.

In addition to this capital expenditure, £12bn will be invested in replacing and renewing older parts of the network. More than 7,000km of track and nearly 6,000 sets of points will be renewed or refurbished and 7,000km of fencing and almost 300,000m² of platforms at stations will be replaced or renewed. A further £13bn will be spent on day-to-day maintenance and the costs of operating and running one of the busiest, most intensely used networks in Europe.

Safety improvements at level crossings will continue, with the company pledging to close a further 500 crossings by 2019, investing more than £100m as part of its ongoing programme of work to improve safety and reduce risk to passengers and the wider public.

The next five years will also see Network Rail committing itself to furthering its environmental sustainability and resilience in the face of extreme weather and changing climate. By September, a series of ten route-based climate change strategies will be published, setting out specific measures to be taken to mitigate the effects of severe weather and improve the railway’s long-term sustainability.

Network Rail is committed to making even more trains run on time. By 2019 it has agreed to deliver punctuality levels of 92.5% across England, Wales and Scotland while running more trains and carrying more people than ever before. The company will also provide even better value for money for the British people, reducing annual government subsidy from around £4bn today to £2bn by 2019.

International & UK Railway News Sunday 30th March 2014

Just over 4 days to the reopening of the Dawlish line!.. What then? We shall have to see what other plans are made in relation to increasing the resilience of the railway network to adverse weather conditions.....
And we shall have to wait and see how HS2 works out...and whether Sheffield's hopes will be realized...
What is known is that the bullet train in Korea is now an accepted part of the landscape... whilst the new "Silk Road" between China and Duisburg needs some extra freight traffic from Duisburg back to China to make the 16 day single journey more profitable.
And the known schedule for steam operations on the UK's main lines is provided (as is) so that proper plans can be made to record the events!


Read on....




Headlines..




New Silk Route railway line links China, Europe.(Deccan Chronicle)


KTX integral part of local transport after 10 years in operation.(Yonhap News Agency)


Ipswich Chord rail link opens for Felixstowe freight.(BBC News)


Sheffield city station hope for HS2 line.(Sheffield Star)


To the Edge of the World: The Story of the Trans-Siberian Railway by Christian Wolmar. (CamdenReview)





Black Death skeletons unearthed by Crossrail project.(BBC News)


Bridge to the Future work update. Appeal reaches £405,000!(GCR)



Crossrail







New research shows Crossrail’s Charterhouse skeletons were Black Death victims.

• Radio carbon dating and ancient DNA evidence shows London burial ground used for plague victims for at least 100 years
• New geophysics techniques have located evidence of more Charterhouse burials
• Channel 4’s Secret History strand to explore London’s Black Death plague

New research on skeletons found during construction of Europe’s largest construction project in London reveals many died of plague during the 14^th Century Black Death pandemic, while others died during later plague outbreaks.
Twenty-five skeletons were uncovered in London’s Charterhouse Square in Farringdon during Crossrail construction works in March 2013. It provided the first evidence of the location of London’s second Black Death emergency burial ground established in 1348 and referenced in historical records as being in what is now modern day Farringdon.
Due to the burial ground’s historical importance to London, exceptional levels of research analysis has taken place on the skeletons to understand the life and death of Londoners affected by the Black Death.
From the skeletons’ teeth, scientists have found traces of the DNA of the Yersinia pestis bacterium which was responsible for the Black Death plague, confirming the individuals had contact with the deadly disease prior to their death.
Key radio carbon-14 dating has revealed at least two distinct periods of burials, the earliest is within the period of the Black Death in 1348-50, followed by a later period dating from the early to mid 1400s. Archaeologists observed the different layers of burials during excavation. Together with the presence of the plague-causing Yersinia pestis bacterium in skeletons across both layers of burials, it shows the cemetery was used for two separate plague events between 1348 and the 1430s.
Historical records suggest tens of thousands of people were buried in this emergency cemetery. In a bid to understand just how many people are buried there, Crossrail approached the University of Keele to undertake a forensic geophysics survey, a science usually used to locate mass graves and murder victims. Initial results suggest possible burials extend across Charterhouse Square and a possible building foundation, a likely chapel, in the middle of the square. This is a new application for this type of science and a further Charterhouse Square dig in July of this year will seek to confirm the geophysics results.












Crossrail Lead Archaeologist Jay Carver who is heading up the research, said: “Analysis of the Crossrail find has revealed an extraordinary amount of information allowing us to solve a 660 year mystery. This discovery is a hugely important step forward in documenting and understanding Europe’s most devastating pandemic. Historical sources told us that thousands of burials of Black Death victims were made in the 14^th Century in the area that is now modern day Farringdon, but until Crossrail’s discovery, archaeologists had been unable to confirm the story. Ancient DNA work is complex and still in development but the results do confirm the presence of the deadly plague bacterium preserved in the teeth.
“What’s really exciting is the bringing together many different lines of evidence to create a picture of such a devastating world event as the Black Death. Historians, archaeologists, micro-biologists, and physicists are all working together to chart the origins and development of one of the world’s worst endemic diseases and help today’s researchers in ancient and modern diseases better understand the evolution of these bacteria.
“The forensic geophysics results are really intriguing and potentially an important breakthrough in burial ground research. We will undertake further excavations in Charterhouse Square later this year to confirm some of the results.”
Osteologist Don Walker, from Crossrail’s archaeology contractor MOLA said:
“The skeletons discovered at Crossrail’s Farringdon site provide a rare opportunity for us to study the medieval population of London that experienced the Black Death. We can start to answer questions like: where did they come from and what were their lives like? What's more, it allows for detailed analysis of the pathogen, helping to characterise the history and evolution of this devastating pandemic.”
Scientists have analysed the bones and the Isotope levels in the skeletons’ bones and teeth to gain an insight into the birth, life and diet of Londoners during the 14^th and 15^th Centuries. The results showed that:

• Many of the skeletons appear to suffer signs of malnutrition and 16% had rickets.
• 40% of the those tested grew up outside of London possibly as far north as Scotland – showing that 14^th Century London attracted people from across Britain just as it does today.
• The later skeletons from the 1400s had a high rate of upper body injury consistent with being involved in violent altercations.
• One individual had become a vegetarian later in life which is something a Carthusian monk would have done during the 14^th Century.
• 13 of the skeletons were male, three female, two children, the gender was undetermined in the other seven skeletons.
• Research is consistent with the burial ground being used by poorer Londoners.
• High rate of back damage and strain indicating heavy manual labour.

The Black Death was the largest pandemic in history, killing millions of people as it swept across Europe in the early 14^th Century. It reached England in 1348 and claimed the lives of up to 60% of the population at the time. The disease’s devastation across Europe provided Britain with warning of the impending disaster and London’s leaders purchased additional ground outside the city walls for a burial ground in preparation for the Black Death’s arrival. This orderly planning may be evident in the burials themselves, with the skeletons neatly laid out in Christian burials rather than being placed in mass graves. London’s first Black Death plague cemetery was found in the 1980s in east Smithfield.
The latest announcement comes ahead of Channel 4 airing the documentary Return of the Black Death: Secret History on 6 April, 8pm which follows the Charterhouse Square discovery and looks and the history of the plague in Britain.


DfT and TfL extend Crossrail route to Reading


Crossrail will now run to Reading after the joint sponsors, the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London (TfL), instructed Crossrail Limited to extend the route.
The extension will see the east-west rail line serve two additional stations, Twyford and Reading, serving a total of 40 stations along the entire route, when the line fully opens in 2019.


Download Crossrail Regional Route Connections Map, March 2014


Extending Crossrail to Reading opens up a wider network of destinations across, and beyond, central London and extends the benefits of a direct connection between London’s main employment centres and reduced journey times to even more people. The extension will also help to meet increases in passenger numbers by providing greater capacity than the previous plans. There will be two trains an hour from Reading and passengers will be able to travel into, and beyond, central London without the need to change at Paddington.  It will also provide greater flexibility for future timetabling of services.
Rail Minister Stephen Hammond said: “Crossrail reaching Reading is further proof of our commitment to deliver a transport network fit for the 21^st century. It will improve connectivity and deliver greater choice and convenience for passengers travelling into London. It will also make better use of the already congested Great Western Main Line, freeing up capacity for further improvements including potential direct services from Reading to Heathrow as part of the Western Access Scheme.  In addition, I have requested Network Rail to look at the cost benefit analysis of increasing the number of faster trains between Reading and Paddington.”
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “I am thrilled that the people of Reading and Twyford will be able to take advantage of Crossrail, putting them on the doorstep of London’s main employment centres by directly linking them to the City and West End in world-class style.”
Mike Brown MVO, Managing Director London Underground and London Rail, said: “Extending Crossrail to Reading will provide passengers with more journey options and will create better connections and direct services between Reading, Twyford and destinations across London without the need to interchange at Paddington.”
TfL and DfT have worked closely with Crossrail Limited and Network Rail to ensure the best use is made of the Great Western Mainline; extending Crossrail to Reading helps passenger and freight services to operate in a more effective way. There will be no change to the planned Great Western services from Reading to London with twice hourly semi-fast services and fast mainline services continuing to operate and call at the same stations as today. Crossrail will serve Maidenhead with four trains per hour.
Crossrail will be fully operational by the end of 2019. The line will boost London’s rail-based capacity by 10 per cent connecting Reading and Heathrow in the west and Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. It is connecting people and places, providing faster journey times and up to 24 trains per hour between Paddington and Whitechapel during the peak.
It is estimated that Crossrail will generate at least 75,000 business opportunities and support the equivalent of 55,000 full time jobs right around the UK. Three out of five businesses currently winning work on the project are based outside London and over half are small and medium-size companies (SMEs).
Ends


Notes:
The current planning assumption is that new Crossrail trains will be introduced to run Crossrail services as follows:

• Liverpool Street to Shenfield – May 2017
• Heathrow to Paddington (mainline platforms) – May 2018 (when the Crossrail concession takes over the Heathrow Connect service)
• Paddington (Crossrail platforms) to Abbey Wood – December 2018
• Paddington (Crossrail platforms) to Shenfield – May 2019
• Full through service (including services to Reading) – December 2019

Transport for London and the Department for Transport, the joint Sponsors of the Crossrail Project, aim to make the whole Crossrail route accessible. There is already provision for 31 of the 38 stations to have step free access and work is underway to look at practical solutions and funding options for the remaining seven. Reading and Twyford stations have step free access.




Railway Herald - Railtours

Listing offered in good faith. No guarantees offered or implied.
Please confirm runnings with operators.
Please observe Network Rail photographic guidelines.Thank you.

Friday 4th April 2014

The VSOE British Pullman Surrey Hills Luncheon Train (VSOE)

• 35028 London Victoria (pu) - Staines - Woking - Guildford - Shalford - Reigate - Redhill - East Croydon - London Victoria

Saturday 5th April 2014

The Cumbrian Moorlander (Compass Tours)

• WCRC Class 47 (Pair) Peterborough (pu) - Stamford (pu) - Oakham (pu) - Melton Mowbray (pu) - Leicester (pu) - South Wigston (pu) - Hinckley (pu) - Nuneaton (pu) - Tamworth Low Level (pu) - Lichfield Trent Valley Low Level (pu) - Crewe - Carlisle
• WCRC Class 47 (Pair) Carlisle (pu) - Appleby - S&C - Hellifield - Crewe - Lichfield Trent Valley Low Level (sd) - Tamworth Low Level (sd) - Nuneaton (sd) - Hinckley (sd) - South Wigston (sd) - Leicester (sd) - Melton Mowbray (sd) - Oakham (sd) - stamford (sd) - Peterborough

The Central Wales Explorer (Railway Touring Company)

• 44871 and 45407 Manchester Victoria (pu) - Warrington Bank Quay (pu) - Crewe (pu) - Shrewsbury (pu) - Craven Arms - Knighton - Llandrindod Wells - Sugar Loaf Summit - Swansea District Line - Briton Ferry - Bridgend - Cardiff - Newport
• WCRC Class 47 Newport - Abergavenny - Shrewsbury (sd) - Crewe (sd) - Warrington Bank Quay (sd) - Manchester Victoria (sd)

Settle & Carlisle Statesman (Statesman Rail)

• WCRC Class 47 & 57 High Wycombe (pu) - Princes Risborough (pu) - Haddenham & Thame Parkway (pu) - Bicester North (pu) - Banbury (pu) - Leamington Spa (pu) - Coventry (pu) - Birmingham International (pu) - Tame Bridge Parkway (pu) - Stafford (pu) - Crewe -0 Blackburn - Hellifield - S&C - Appleby - Carlisle
• WCRC Class 47 & 57 Carlisle (pu) - Penrith - Shap - Preston - Crewe - Stafford (sd) - Tame Bridge Parkway (sd) - Birmingham International (sd) - Coventry (sd) - Leamington Spa (sd) - Banbury (sd) - Bicester North (sd) - Haddenham & Thame Parkway (sd) - Princes Risborough (sd) - High Wycombe

The Devonian (Vintage Trains)

• D1015 Tyseley Warwick Road (pu) - Birmingham Snow Hill (pu) - Stourbridge Junction (pu) - Worcester Shrub Hill (pu) - Cheltenham Spa (pu) - Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Taunton - Exeter St. Davids - Newton Abbott - Torquay - Paignton
• Heritage Steam Paignton - Kingswear (break/rev) & return
• D1015 Paignton - Torquay - Newton Abbott - Exeter St. Davids - Taunton - Bristol Temple Meads (sd) - Cheltenham Spa (sd) - Worcester Shrub Hill (sd) - Stourbridge Junction (sd) - Birmingham Snow Hill (sd) - Tyseley Warwick Road

Postponed

Additional Tour Information

Charter postponed to 26th April due to engineering work.

Added 16:49 on Thursday 28th November 2013

Sunday 6th April 2014

The Tin Bath (Railway Touring Company)

• 44871 and 45407 Preston (pu) - Manchester Victoria (pu) - Denton - Stockport - New Mills Central - Hope Valley - Sheffield (break) - Meadowhall - Barnsley - Penistone - Denby Dale - Huddersfield - Brighouse - Hebden Bridge - Copy Pit - Blackburn - Bolton - Manchester Victoria (sd) -
• WCR Class 47 Manchester Victoria - Preston

Postponed

Additional Tour Information

Engineering work by Network Rail has postponed this charter until the 11th May.

Added 11:49 on Thursday 28th November 2013

Atlantic Coast Express (Railway Touring Company)

• 34067 London Waterloo (pu) - Wimbledon - Weybridge - Woking (pu) - Basingstoke (pu) - Salisbury - Templecombe - Exeter St. Davids
• 34046 or 34067 Exeter St. Davids - Exeter Central (34067 Banking)
• 34046 Exeter Central - Templecombe - Salisbury - Basingstoke (sd) - Woking (sd) - Wimbledon - London Waterloo (sd)

Postponed

Steam Tube - The Home of Steam on the Net!










UK Steam Railtours during the last week.... 


With thanks to Stephen G Thompson, Dave Wadley, Christopher Lawton, 981smithy

International & UK Railway News 29th March 2014

The name of Sir William McAlpine will forever be linked with "Flying Scotsman"
Now his name is to be linked to another ambitious new build project...a 4-6-2- Clan Class locomotive..named "Hengist". Sir William has agreed to be the Patron of the Clan Project....in his words.."I urge all enthusiasts of main line steam to become involved in this exciting project".


Amen to that!

Headlines...


Steam Tube - "Hengist" News....



The Hon. Sir William McAlpine, Bt. has agreed to become Patron of THE ‘CLAN’ PROJECT. Very appropriately, Sir William is Patron of the ‘Clan McAlpine’ Society. By giving his support for the Project by becoming its Patron, Sir William said "I am most happy to be associated with this very worthy project, which is well advanced, and I urge all enthusiasts of main line steam to become involved in this exciting project".
He continued ‘I’ve always been fascinated by railways. My earliest memories are of being taken to watch the trains and when Nanny wanted to take me back for lunch, I said, ‘Hold on, there’ll be another one along in a minute.’ There was a railway near the family home in Surrey and young William was regularly taken to see the trains. His interest deepened with his first model railway.

He was born in London at the family owned Dorchester Hotel and was raised at the family home in Surrey and, after being educated at Charterhouse School, he went on to join the family building firm. Post World War Two was a busy time for construction, with Sir William starting his career at Hayes Depot, Middlesex, a 30-acre site which housed the McAlpine’s railway locomotive and wagon fleet.

An acknowledged steam enthusiast, he returned to Hayes depot during the Beeching Axe era, to find that the company’s Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST Nº 31, was for sale as scrap for £100. So, Sir William said “...send it over to Fawley”. This marked the start, in 1965, of the Fawley Hill Railway, a private railway which now runs to over a mile long.

Entrance to the Fawley Hill Railway is by invitation only and on selected days which are usually during the summer months. This year THE ‘CLAN’ PROJECT has been invited to attend.

Sir William inherited the baronetcy in 1990 on the death of Sir Robert McAlpine, 5th Baronet. He served as High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire for 1999.
He is a governor of the educational charity Shiplake Court Limited. Shiplake College is an independent school in Shiplake, by the River Thames just outside Henley-on-Thames, England. The school, with just over 350 pupils, admits day boys from 11-18 and boarding boys from 13-18. Day and boarding girls join the College in the Sixth Form.
Sir William is the President of the Railway Benevolent Institution, known as the Railway Benefit Fund, a charity helping current and retired railway industry workers and presently chairs the Railway Heritage Trust.
Sir William is the great-grandson of Sir Robert McAlpine, who founded the contracting company that bears his name to this day. Sir William spent his working career, apart from National Service, in the company, starting as an apprentice fitter, and spending many years as a Director.

The company is famous for the construction of many famous landmark structures including: the Glasgow Subway, Mallaig Extension Railway, Emirates Stadium, Glenfinnan Viaduct - completed in 1901 - the original Wembley Stadium in 1923, the Dorchester Hotel, the Millennium Dome, the Millennium Bridge, London, the Bull Ring in Birmingham, the London Olympics Stadium and the Eden Project in St. Austell in Cornwall.



Sir William McAlpines name, however, will be forever synonymous with the rescue of the ‘FLYING SCOTSMAN’ in 1973 and the establishment of the Railway Heritage Trust and he is warmly welcomed to THE ‘CLAN’ PROJECT, where his wealth of knowledge and experience in the world of heritage railways and business will be put to very good use.

Inverness-Aberdeen railway investment of £170m announced.(BBC News)

Great British Railway Journey...Bletchley to Newport Pagnell

Meddling in railway affairs is worrisome despite grain backlogs.(Calgary Herald)


India-China to collaborate on building semi-high speed rail .(Economic Times)


By train to Agra in 90 minutes.(Times of India)


109-year old steam engine rolls out on Shimla track (Business Standard)


Modal effects of German high speed rail discussed by Robert Goodwill (beleben)


Railway safety: Commission refers Austria to the Court of Justice.(europa.eu)

The European Commission has decided to refer Austria to the European Court of Justice for failing to bring national rules into line with a European directive on rail safety. Directive 2004/49/EC aims to improve safety for the European Union's railways and to improve access to the market for rail transport services. The directive requires Member States to establish a safety authority, to establish accident and incident investigation bodies, and to define common principles for the management, regulation and supervision of railway safety. In failing to transpose and implement the directive, Austria is denying the safety authority the right to revise safety certificates or authorisations following changes to the regulatory framework. Austria is also failing to ensure proper investigation of accidents and incidents – specifically those which under slightly different conditions might have led to serious accidents – by the independent investigation body. This potentially puts rail passengers at risk and hinders the creation of fair competition in the market.

Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said: "One of the EU's key roles is to ensure equal safety standards for the well-being of rail passengers in all Member States. These standards also ensure fair competition within the internal market among all railway undertakings."

The EU legislation on railway safety aims at establishing requirements for the rail system – including safe management of infrastructure and traffic operations – the respective roles and responsibilities of railway undertakings and infrastructure managers, and the investigation of accidents.

The deadline for implementing the directive was 30 April 2006. The Commission had already requested Austria to take action to ensure compliance in June 2013. Today's action is in line with the Commission's objective to ensure Member States' full compliance with rail safety rules.

For more information

On the March infringement package decisions, see MEMO/14/241

On the general infringement procedure, see MEMO/12/12

More information on infringement procedures

To the Edge of the World: The Story of the Trans-Siberian Railway by Christian Wolmar

The Trans-Siberian stretches nearly 6,000 miles between Moscow and Vladivostok on the Pacific Coast and was the most ambitious railway project in the nineteenth century. A journey on the railway evokes a romantic roam through the Russian steppes, but also reminds travellers of the vastness of our world and hints at the hardships that were endured in its construction.  Read more >>

Crossrail Whitechapel Station - Crossrail

The new Whitechapel Crossrail station will use the existing Whitechapel Road entrance to the Whitechapel London Underground and London Overground station.

The Crossrail platforms will be in deep tunnels to the north of the existing station but they will all share a concourse, ticket hall, gateline and station operations room, leading to a fully integrated station that provides an easy step-free interchange between the Crossrail, Hammersmith and City, District and Overground lines.


At peak times there will be 24 Crossrail trains per hour in each direction – in addition to the existing London Underground and London Overground services. This will not only ease overcrowding on the existing services but also support the economic growth in the surrounding area, as Whitechapel will become an important interchange due to its position at the eastern extremity of the central section of the Crossrail route. Journey times to Heathrow Airport will be only 39 minutes, whilst Whitechapel to Canary Wharf will be reduced to just 3 minutes.


Sign up to our Whitechapel Station mailing list to receive station newsletters and notifications about Crossrail works taking place in the area by completing our Station News form.  You can also sign up by calling our Helpdesk.

International & UK Railway News Friday 28th March 2014

The UK's railway infrastructure is at the heart of  today's news. .. Future HS2 proposals are a magnet for both positive and negative comments... both sides of the argument sound very feasible....
Present difficulties relate to "What to do about Dawlish, long term?", and building resilience into the national network after such a difficult winter.
As to railway franchises....another extension for Northern Rail...with a sizable government subsidy thrown in.... And Crossrail could well be extended to Reading....


Is there something to be learned from Renfe's fares policy... which is attracting larger ridership....?


Read on....

 

Headlines...

 

Study considers long-term options for Devon - Cornwall rail link.(Railway Gazette)

 

Time to take a new line on crucial Dawlish rail link to the South West.(Western Daily Press)

 

Buttington crossing safety procedures 'inherently unsafe'(BBC News)

 

 

Dredging gear installed on Somerset Levels.(BBC News)

 

Hastings landslip line to reopen 'early next week'. (BBC News)

 

Tough targets for rail company not enough to divert criticism from Teesside MP.(The Northern Echo)

 

Passengers promised improved services as Government awards controversial £633m 'follow on' train franchise.(Daily Mail)

 

Eurostar trains halted by lightning strike in Kent.(BBC News)

 

 

London Crossrail plans extended to Reading.(BBC News)

 

HS2 petitions 'dreamt up to delay process', MP claims.(Birmingham Post)

 

British Transport Police appeal after railway lighting tower stolen from Doncaster.(Sheffield Star)

 

MP’s meet with David Higgins.(StopHS2)

 

Labour casts doubt on HS2 in new attack on rising cost.(The Yorkshire Post)

 

Proposed High Speed Rail ‘could cost Borders £9m’.(Berwick Advertiser)

 

UK high-speed rail plans won’t wait for latecomers.(Global Times)




Final train in new fleet delivered to First TransPennine Express(Siemens)

Siemens Press Pictures.
A £60m investment in new rolling stock for the northwest of England and Scotland, was formally celebrated this week as the 10th new Siemens-built Class 350/4 train was handed over to First TransPennine Express (FTPE).


£60m investment in new rolling stock for the northwest of England and Scotland, was formally celebrated this week as the 10th new Siemens-built Class 350/4 train was handed over to First TransPennine Express (FTPE).
 Unit 350 410’s on-time delivery, the final unit in a new 10-strong fleet of Siemens electric trains, is a key element of a project to create additional capacity and new services for passengers, and take advantage of newly electrified routes. The timely fleet delivery is a result of a successful rail industry partnership between manufacturer Siemens Rail Systems, train operator FTPE, leasing company Angel Trains Ltd and infrastructure authority Network Rail.
 The new four-carriage trains, which have been designed with 110mph capability, will increase capacity between Manchester in the northwest and Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland by 60%. They will also improve space for luggage by 25% and reduce the carbon footprint of the service by over one third.
 In May, FTPE will launch a new timetable incorporating the full fleet of 10 new electric trains, which will bring a 30% capacity increase across the whole of FTPE’s north of England network and will fulfill 50% of the Government’s capacity targets for rail in the north of England.
 The new timetable will include:

• 15 services a day in each direction between Glasgow and Edinburgh and Manchester Airport providing 50,000 seats a week
• Five trains an hour across the Pennines
• A new express service between Liverpool and Newcastle

• An additional 90,000 seats per week across the FTPE network.

Siemens Rail Systems will provide engineering and maintenance support for the new trains alongside its existing diesel Class 185 fleet at its newly electrified Ardwick depot in Manchester. Significant changes to the depot infrastructure, made within the last year, have seen it extended to accommodate both electric and diesel trains, with multi-skilled teams working on both technologies.
This investment in rolling stock has already led to the creation of 200 new jobs to date. It is expected improvements to rail connections as a result of the project will generate £10m per year in regional economic benefits.
 Steve Scrimshaw, Managing Director of Siemens Rail Systems in the UK, said: “It is fantastic to be able to celebrate another on-time fleet delivery. Just over two years from initial contract signature to full fleet acceptance is a great achievement and is indicative of Siemens commitment to meeting customer needs in tight timescales. The new trains, which take the number of Siemens vehicles in the UK to 1558 carriages, will bring significant benefits to the northwest in the form of increased capacity, energy efficiency and economic benefits.
 “We are delighted to have been involved in this collaborative partnership, building, testing and delivering new trains that will transform the travel experience for FTPE passengers. It is projects like this that highlight what can be achieved in a short timescale when our industry pulls together.”
Nick Donovan, Managing Director of First TransPennine Express, said: "We are absolutely delighted that our delivery of a £60m investment in new trains is delivering on time and customers will shortly feel the benefits of capacity increases across our network. Our brand new electric four carriage trains will serve the route between Manchester and Scotland allowing us to deploy the rest of our fleet to deliver significant capacity increases across our network.

"The 10 Class 350/4s have been designed with the customer in mind. They offer comfort and reliability and should further improve the travel experience between the north of England and Scotland. From May 2014 all ten new trains will be in service and we will be providing nearly 90,000 extra seats per week across the network.”
He continued: "I'd like to extend our thanks to train manufacturer Siemens, who have delivered the 40 new carriages on time and on budget, our leasing partner Angel Trains for their support throughout the contract and for Network Rail for delivering significant infrastructure improvements.”

Mark Hicks, Technical Director of Angel Trains Ltd, said: “It is a privilege to have worked on this multi-million pound project and to be able to see it come to fruition. The punctual delivery of the project shows what the rail industry can achieve when we work in partnership. We are pleased to add the new Siemens Class 350/4 fleet to the portfolio of trains we finance and lease and we look forward to working with Siemens Rail Systems, FTPE and Network Rail to bring further benefits to the northwest and Scotland.”
Dyan Crowther, Route Managing Director, Network Rail, said: “We are pleased that by delivering the first phase of North West Electrification between Manchester and Newton le Willows – the first major electrification scheme in England in over a decade – has allowed the introduction of new rolling stock on Anglo Scottish services possible. This was the first part of the ongoing £400 million programme to electrify lines in the North West by December 2016.”
(Siemens Press Release)

 

Record ridership in a 'challenging year' for SBB.(Railway Gazette)

 

Spain- New fares boost high speed traffic.(Railway Gazette)

 

EBRD finances rolling stock purchase by Kazakh rail company, Olzha.(EBRD)

 

Oberlausitzer Impressionen - Die Waldeisenbahn von Bad Muskau. (Eisenbahn Romantik)

 

Amtrak boss urges higher speeds on Northeast Corridor.(philly.com)

 

Gov. Cuomo proposes $4.9 billion plan to harden New York's transportation network against future storms
 
 www.progressiverailroading.com US News


U.S. rail traffic ramped up last week
 
TriMet proposes rail infrastructure, service improvements in FY2015
 
Gov. Cuomo seeks to further bolster crude-by-rail safety in New York
 
Amtrak MOW workers gain higher wages from arbitration ruling; LACMTA reaches tentative agreement with ATU
 
KCS promotes Mitchell to AVP; intermodal institute installs DeWitt as executive director
 
FTA approves environmental impact statement for Maryland's Purple Line
 
RTA: Tie purchases, production fell in February
 
Rail supplier news from Pacer, Alstom, Innovations in Transportation, Hub Group, Keolis and Michael Baker (March 28)

Current Conversations on MyProgressiveRailroading:

Panama Canal project: Is a finish line in sight?

Material handling equipment update

Poll question: Amtrak's budget request

Streetcars make a comeback

The anticipation and apprehension about LNG

www.railway-technology.com Updates

TfL, DfT extends Crossrail route to Reading
The Transport for London (TfL) and Department for Transport (DfT) have extended the Crossrail route to Reading, which is valued at around £14.8bn.

                   
UK DfT awards rail services contract to Northern Rail
The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has awarded a contract to Northern Rail to operate rail services across the north of England.
                   
First phase of London Bridge railway station set to be completed by 31 March
London Bridge railway station's first phase of redevelopment is set to near completion as per schedule on 31 March, as part of the UK Government-sponsored £6.5bn Thameslink Programme.
                   
Timken and UWC partner to form new rail bearings JV in Russia
US-based automotive bearings manufacturer Timken has entered into an agreement with United Wagon Company (UWC) to set up a joint venture (JV) to manufacture Timken AP-2 rail bearings in Russia.








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Weekly newsletter 26/03/14 | The UK's Only Main Line Heritage Railway(GCR)


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