International & UK Railway News Saturday 23rd March 2013

Railway Herald - Railtours

Tuesday 26th March 2013

Always check with operators to confirm runnings.....

The Cathedrals Express (Steam Dreams)

• 60163 Newbury (pu) - Theale (pu) - Reading (pu) - Ascot (pu) - Staines (pu) - Clapham Junction (pu) - Canterbury West (break/rev) & return

Thursday 28th March 2013

The Blue Belle (UK Railtours)

• GBRf Class 66/7 London Victoria (pu) - Crystal Palace - East Croydon - Oxted - East Grinstead - Horsted Keynes - Sheffield Park (break/rev) - Horsted Keynes - east Grinstead - tbc - London Victoria

Evening Loaded Trial & Curry Train (Vintage Trains)

• 5043 Tyseley Warwick Road (pu) - Coleshill Parkway (pu) - Nuneaton - Leicester - Loughborough - East Midlands Parkway - Sheet Stores Junction - Castle Donnington - Stensen Junction - Burton upon Trent - Tamworth High Level - Coleshill Parkway (sd) - Tyseley Warwick Road

Friday 29th March 2013

The Easter Highlander; Day 1 (Pathfinder Tours)

• DRS Class 37 (Pair) Exeter St. Davids (pu) - Taunton (pu) - Weston-Super-Mare (pu) - Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Bristol Parkway (pu) - Cheltenham Spa (pu) - Worcester Shrub Hill (pu) - Kidderminster (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Derby (pu) - Chesterfield (pu) - York - Durham - Hexham (break) - Carlisle - Dumfries - Paisley Gilmour Street

Saturday 30th March 2013

The Easter Highlander; Day 2 (Pathfinder Tours)

• DRS Class 37 (Pair) Dumbarton - Crianlarich - Rannoch - Fort William (break/rev) & return

The Wansbeck (Railway Touring Company)

• 61994 and 62005 Newcastle Central (pu) - Morpeth - Bedlington (rev) - Ashington (rev) - Marchey's House Junction - North Blyth (rev) - Winning Junction - Bedlington - Newsham - Benton Junction - Newcastle Central - Durham - Ferryhill - Stockton - Middlesbrough - Redcar - Saltburn West Junction - Crag Hall - Boulby (rev) - Crag Hall - Saltburn West Junction (rev) Saltburn (break/rev) - Saltburn West Junction - Redcar - Middlesbrough - Eaglescliffe - Darlington - Durham - Newcastle Central (nb steam locomotives to operate in top and tail mode)

Additional Tour Information

21/1: Middlesbrough - Battersby - Whitby & return deleted and train will now go to Saltburn instead.

Added 17:10 on Monday 21st January 2013

The Hadrian (Railway Touring Company)

• WCRC Class 47 (Pair) Leicester (pu) - Loughborough (pu) - East Midlands Parkway (pu) - Nottingham (pu) - Grantham (pu) - Newark (pu) - Doncaster (pu) - Hellifield
• 60009 Hellifield - S&C - Appleby - Carlisle (break/rev) Carlisle - Hexham - Durham - York
• WCRC Class 47 (Pair) York - Dioncaster (sd) - Newark (sd) - Grantham (sd) - Nottingham (sd) - East Midlands Parkway (sd) - Loughborough (sd) - Leicester

Cumbrian Mountain & Coast Statesman (Statesman Rail)

• WCRC Class 47 (Pair) Leicester (pu) - Loughborough (pu) - East Midlands Parkway (pu) - Langley Mill (pu) - Alfreton (pu) - Chesterfield (pu) - Sheffield (pu) - Meadowhall (pu) - Moorthorpe (pu) - Normanton (pu) - Hellifield - S&C - Carlisle (break/rev) Carlisle - Maryport - Workington - Ravenglass - Ulverston - Grange over Sands - Carnforth - Preston - Blackburn - Normanton (sd) - Moorthorpe (sd) - Meadowhall (sd) - Sheffield (sd) - Chesterfield (sd) - Alfreton (sd) - Langley Mill (sd) - East Midlands Parkway (sd) - Loughborough (sd) - Leicester

Sunday 31st March 2013

The Easter Highlander: Day 3 (Pathfinder Tours)

• DRS Class 37 (Pair) Dumbarton - Pitlochry (break/rev) & return

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House of Commons Transport Select Committee


EU proposals to improve land transport security need better focus warn MPs.

The Transport Select Committee is publishing Land transport security – scope for further EU involvement? (HC 875), its report of a short inquiry that reviewed a European Commission working document looking at options for EU-wide measures to improve land transport security.

The European Commission already sets legislation in relation to safety in the maritime and aviation sectors and in relation to the transport of dangerous goods. The Commission is now considering whether it should become more involved in security relating to land transport, involving road and rail.

Launching the report, Louise Ellman MP, Chair of the Committee said today:
“Security is vital and it is essential that we constantly review the most effective means of keeping people safe and combating crime.
“The Commission’s document covers a wide range of situations ranging from terrorism to relatively minor criminal activity.
“It would have been better to focus on specific areas of concern.
“Neither industry nor government showed enthusiasm for greater EU involvement. But it is important for the Government to push for greater action at a national level to address problem areas including the co-ordination of security measures at EU borders.”
From evidence gathered for this inquiry MPs conclude the current risk-based approach to land transport security operating in the UK is working well. Security measures deployed across UK transport modes are considered to be proportionate to the current threats faced by any given sector.
But the Committee warns the Department for Transport that it must ensure that weaknesses in the UK’s current land transport security regime are addressed at the appropriate level.
These include:

• The need for the accurate identification of threats to make a risk based approach work.
• Action to improve security procedures at multi-modal transport hubs (where different threat levels apply to different transport modes) including railway stations at airports.
• Completing a review of the mandatory and best practice standards for training in the National Railway Security Programme to ensure all rail sector staff have a consistent level of training and an understanding of potential threats, risks, preventative measures and incident management.
• Greater effort to develop and maintain a higher level of both staff and public vigilance.
• Addressing the complexity of differing security requirements between different countries within the EU.

The Committee calls on the UK Government to seek further information from the European Commission and report back to it on the exact nature of potential legislative changes to impose common EU–wide security standards across the rail network. The UK Government should participate actively in discussions.
MPs call on the UK Government to acknowledge the valuable work done by TruckPol in combating crime and to work with industry to ensure that the successor system is fit for purpose. The Government should also work with representatives from the road haulage and distribution sector to identify and overcome barriers to the provision of secure lorry parking sites.
An advisory group on land transport security has been established and should undertake further work to determine what action may be required to encourage, among other things, the development of new security equipment.
The Committee also recommends that the European Scrutiny Committee keep the House of Commons alerted to any future proposals with a view to recommending a debate.

Additional news at....

Shedmaster Railway News

railwaygazette.com reports on the  trial running at 300 km/h on LGV Est between Paris and Lorraine-TGV station during the week of March 18. of  a RENFE Series 100 high speed trainset .....

..and also reports from NEW ZEALAND that the first of the second batch of CNR Dalian diesel locomotives ordered by KiwiRail was rolled out at the Chinese factory on March 13.

World Heritage & Railway News

News from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (nymr.co.uk ), the West Somerset Railway (west-somerset-railway.co.uk) and the National Railway Museum (nrm.org.uk)

 

Railway Engineering News

RENFE Series 100 high speed trainset undertook took trial running at 300 km/h on LGV Est between Paris and Lorraine-TGV station ...