This day in history 18 January
Images
Motherwell Shed: Kingmoor Black 5 45228, simmering in the shed yard at Motherwell depot in January 1967.
Motherwell Shed: Standard Caprotti 5MT 73154, one of the ten former St Rollox regulars, photographed in the scrap line at Motherwell in January 1967 after its withdrawal.
Motherwell Shed: A variety of front ends on show at Motherwell depot in January 1967: Black 5 45359 attached to one of the depot’s large snowploughs, Britannia Pacific 70039 'Sir Christopher Wren' and an unidentified Clayton diesel.
Motherwell Shed: Although it is a sunny January 1967 afternoon, snow has perhaps been forecast, as Black 5 45423 is in steam and has one of Motherwell depot's large snowploughs attached.
Motherwell Shed: A general view of Motherwell engine shed on 18th January 1967. Britannia 70039 'Sir Christopher Wren' is reversing out from the shed yard.
St Rollox Works: 6106 receiving attention at St Rollox Works in January 1970. The locomotive was withdrawn from Eastfield shed in July the following year.
Eastfield MPD: NBL type 2s nos 6123 and 6130 photographed at Eastfield in January 1970.
Polmadie Shed: Thank goodness all those dirty, smoky, smelly old steam engines have gone!....Polmadie 1970.
Polmadie Shed: Top link locomotive lineup at Polmadie shed on 18th January 1970. Nearest the camera is D445, followed by D448, D425 and D430.
Eastfield MPD: Clayton D8583 standing in the yard at Eastfield on a cold and misty January morning in 1970.
Cambridge: A class 31 stands in the bay at Cambridge with a service for London, Liverpool Street on 18 January 1976. Cambridge South box controls a mix of cls and semaphores around the station at the time.
Cambridge: Looking north along platform 1 at Cambridge on 18 January 1976 as a DMU disappears into the distance and a Class 03 shunter stands with some parcel vans on the right.
Cambridge: Looking north through Cambridge station on 18 January 1976. One through platform with bays at either end, how times have changed; goodbye steam heat Mark 1 coaches and the freight sidings on the right; hello to 25KV and Networker EMUs. The platform trolley looks a little lost.
Colchester: The dramatic emission of smoke and steam could still be seen well into the diesel era, as exemplified here by 47009 making a determined start from Colchester with a morning service to Ipswich and Norwich in January 1978.
Orbliston: Scene near the former Orbliston station (closed 1964) between Elgin and Keith on 18 January 1979, with EE Type 4 no 40074 passing on a mid-afternoon Inverness - Aberdeen train.
Orbliston: Remains at Orbliston in January 1979, some 15 years after closure, with the station nameboard still standing proud.
Orbliston: Surviving sign on the access gate to the former Orbliston Station (closed 1964) on the Inverness-Aberdeen line. The sign was photographed in January 1980.
Skipton: Derby built Type 2 Bo-Bo Diesel 25144 stabled alongside a lone 16T coal wagon in the former coal sidings running along the Broughton Road side of Skipton station in 1980.
Salisbury: 33108 parked up in the Salisbury Station west bay platform 18/01/1983.
Salisbury: 47244 westbound with stone empties, bound for the Somerset quarries.
Salisbury: 33102 waits with a train in the shadows of platform 4 at Salisbury station on 18 January 1983
Salisbury: 56043 on a stone train at Salisbury on 18 January 1983, prior to (and the main reason for) the class 59 era.
Dundee West Goods: Lost Railfreight. Class 26 26041 shunting in the goods yard at Dundee, north of the station. Today Dundee, despite the size of the city, has no active goods yard and only a few sidings survive here for overnight passenger train stabling. #COP26
Dundee Tay Bridge Goods: The derelict remains of Dundee Tay Bridge Goods looking east with the station off to the left. The site is now obliterated under the re-aligned A85, a nearby supermarket and car parks.
Dundee West Goods: Class 26 no 26041 shunting the yard at Dundee West on a grey 18 January 1989. View is east, with the Tay Road Bridge visible in the background.
Harelaw Limekiln: Remains of the old Harelaw limekiln at Longniddry in January 2003. Once rail connected (with its own internal tramway) to the Haddington branch. Harelaw Lime Works.
Dalreoch Tunnels: Overview of operations west of the Dalreoch tunnels. Three earthmoving cranes preparing the embankment, rail mounted crane, site office, generators and a myriad of trucks and vans (mostly out of shot).
Dalreoch Tunnels: Rail crane helping to clear the mud just west of the twin Dalreoch Tunnels. Note the boards on the track. Although the line is closed to electric trains the evening Sleeper ran (very slowly) south and morning freight ran north before the line was re-occupied.
Dalreoch Tunnels: Digger preparing the embankment for stablisation just west of the twin Dalreoch Tunnels.
Dalreoch Tunnels: Incident room, diggers and some of the vehicles parked at the mudslide just to the west of the twin Dalreoch tunnels.
Johnstone: Network Rail NMT 950001 passing through Johnstone heading east.
Johnstone: Hunterston bound 66084 passing through Johnstone Station.
Johnstone: 334002 pulling into Johnstone station.
Carrbridge: Scene at Carrbridge on 18 January with recovery work continuing. 66048 is covered by the green tarpaulin in the centre of the picture. There may be some second thoughts about how best to remove the locomotive, with Carillion having stopped work on the temporary road from the A9 to the trackside.
Euston: Holyhead bound Virgin Voyager 221113 is ready to leave Euston on 18 January at the head of a ten coach train. The Up working to Euston is interesting as one set leaves Lancaster at 0535 and joins the second from North Wales at Crewe. On this day the train had arrived 20 minutes late, via the Northampton loop, due to a broken rail at Rugby and a quick turnround ensued to get the unit back on schedule. The stock of the Caledonian Sleeper can be seen on the left waiting to leave for Wembley sidings.
Margam Marshalling Yard: View north from the top of the yard hump looking towards the Port Talbot works in 2011. Sidings only remain in the eastern edge of the yard to the right and the wagon repair sidings are distant on the left. If you have a copy of The Illustrated History of British Marshalling Yards by Michael Rhodes, turn to page 64 (be prepared to weep). Ahead the area of ballast marks where sidings were laid temporarily for a few years in the early 2000s.
Margam Sorting Sidings South Box: A view of the sorting sidings box at Margam Marshalling Yard in 2011. Ahead the lines run to Margam Abbey Works East Junction under the Ogmore Valley to Abbey South Sidings alignment. Lines formerly ran to the left of the box to the Grange Coke Ovens Sidings and Abbey South Sidings. The rusty track to the right ran to the running shed.
Euston: The majority of outer suburban services at Euston are now handled by the Class 350 Desiro units and the London Midland black/grey/green livery is quite striking, particularly the black window surrounds that make the windows appear huge. 350245 and 350123 are at the head of twelve coach trains at Euston at the end of the morning rush hour.
Kirkcaldy: DBS 66197 hauls an engineers train from Millerhill to Thornton Junction (for Ladybank) through Kirkcaldy on 18 January.
Kirkcaldy: Kirkcaldy Harbour branch bridge over Dunnikier Road is currently in course of demolition. Seen here on 18 January 2014 with the deck already gone as a class 170 speeds past with a Fife Circle service.
Coolmine: A Maynooth to Dublin (Pearse) DMU awaits its departure time at Coolmine station, Co Dublin, on 18 January 2014.
Marble Arch: Gaudy murals at Marble Arch, seen from eastbound train of LUL 1992 stock waiting to depart with a Central Line service to Epping, on 18th January 2014. This station, situated in the heart of London's West End, was opened on 30th July 1900 with the first stage of the Central London Railway from Shepherd's Bush to Bank. Now part of the much extended Central Line to which it was renamed by the LPTB in 1937.
Fulham Broadway: LUL C stock on a District Line service from Wimbledon to Edgware Road just departed from Fulham Broadway on 18th January 2014. This station was opened with the extension of the District Line from West Brompton to Putney Bridge as Walham Green on 1st March 1880 and renamed Fulham Broadway 72 years to the day later in 1952. The C stock trains were finally withdrawn from service six months after this photo was taken.
Bayswater: Exterior of Bayswater station, on 18th January 2014. This was opened by the Metropolitan Railway's extension from Praed Street Junction, Paddington to South Kensington on 1st October 1868 but for decades now has been served by the Circle Line and the Wimbledon to Edgware Road service of the District Line. On 24th December 1868, a new Company, the Metropolitan District Railway, opened the first section of its line from an end-on junction with the Metropolitan Railway at South Kensington as far as Westminster Bridge (renamed Westminster in 1907.)
Lockerbie: The 1652 ex-Waverley about to leave Lockerbie (1750) for Carlisle on Saturday 18 January.
Kirkconnel: During this period of exotic diversions over the G&SWR this was the reward for battling through the rain and sleet - a 156 on the 11.25 for Carlisle.
Gretna Green: Diverted from the usual Lockerbie route, this Glasgow to Carlisle Virgin train passes Gretna Green on Monday 18 January 2016.
Newcraighall South Junction: The bridge over the Borders Railway giving access from Whitehill Road to the west side of the old Millerhill Marshalling Yard. View south west towards Shawfair on Sunday morning 18 January 2015. The new buildings are part of the Biogen food waste recycling plant currently under construction on former railway land.
Troon Harbour: The plaque at the terminus of the original Kilmarnock and Troon Railway near the harbour in Troon.
Eskbank: Looking over the under construction Eskbank station towards Newtongrange on Sunday 18 January 2015, with the remnants of an overnight snowfall still clinging to the hills to the south.
Shawfair: Looking north east towards Millerhill on 18 January from the road overbridge at Shawfair station. On the horizon are various structures which have recently appeared as part of the under-construction Edinburgh & Midlothian food waste recycling plant, which is now accessible from Whitehill Road see image [[50067]]. In between is another of the new bridges now spanning the Borders Railway.
Lamington Viaduct: Aerial view of Lamington Viaduct looking east over the works to repair damage caused during Storm Frank. Network Rail have announced that works will continue throughout February. Network Rail news item.
Bermuda Park: Open at last - 153354 forms the 1959 to Nuneaton on Bermuda Park station's opening day. There were three cars parked next to the station, two of which belonged to photographers. see image [[53818]]
Gorebridge: Gorebridge in snow. An Edinburgh bound service waits at the platform.
Kirkconnel: A southbound Voyager, a service diverted from the closed WCML due to the Lamington Viaduct damage, is held at the starter while an all stations service clears the section.
Inverkeithing South Junction: DRS 37688 passes Inverkeithing South Junction with a Slateford - Inverness inspection train on 18 January.
Preston: Newly returned to the mainline and going on hire to Colas, 37025 stops at Preston for a crew change on 18 January 2016 whilst working light engine from Bo'ness to Washwood Heath.
Kirkconnel: A displaced northbound Voyager passes at speed. A local expert (a bloke on the station) commented that he had not seen any 'dragged' Pendolinos, only Voyagers.
Gretna Green: A Glasgow to Carlisle Voyager scurries past the current Gretna Green station and the previous Gretna Green station on the 18th of January 2016.
Kirkconnel: Kirkconnel signal box is in need of TLC. View north on 18 January 2016.
West End - Princes Street [Tram]: Trams promotion. 'Choose more trams, more often.' (What subliminal advert for a film?)
Woodhead: Looking south across Woodhead Reservoir, from the A6024 Woodhead Road running from Holmfirth to the A628, showing the trackbed of the former Woodhead line, now part of the Trans-Pennine Trail, running across the centre of the view at the far side of the reservoir. Woodhead station was along to the left and Crowden Station a short distance to the right.
Woodhead: Looking east along Woodhead Reservoir, from the A6024 Woodhead Road running from Holmfirth, showing the trackbed of the former Manchester to Sheffield 1500V electrified line running across the far side of the reservoir heading towards Woodhead Tunnel. Road traffic can be seen crossing Woodhead Bridge whilst traversing the only remaining Woodhead Route; the busy, winding, and regular accident affected A628 trunk road.
Crowden: Looking at a very well built, and still in use, underbridge running through the embankment of the former Woodhead line a short distance to the west of Crowden station on the section to Hadfield.
Cardiff Central: Network Rail track measuring train passing through Cardiff Central returning to Derby after a run to Fishguard Harbour on the 18/01/17.
West End - Princes Street [Tram]: 'Tramspotting' at West End - Princes Street.
Cardiff Central: 150285 on a Bargoed to Penarth service alongside the recently opened platform 8 at Cardiff Central in January 2017.
Maudlands Viaduct: The catenary over Maudlands viaduct was fully in place on 18th January 2018 and signal PN158 has been replaced. View towards Blackpool. See image [[61039]] for the same location in October 2017.
Salwick: Platform resurfacing at Salwick on 18th January 2018, ahead of the station reopening to Blackpool South line trains eleven days later. Catenary wire in place on the Up (Preston) line but not yet on the Down. See image [[38981]] from 2012.
Interiors: A look inside a Class 314, due to be scrapped this year in the Class 385 cascade. They look not too bad for their years, though they do lack toilets, automatic announcments (a blessing?), disabled space, visual displays and even door buttons. The lack of buttons is a particular issue at termini in the winter, when the open doors ensure that the inside temperature equalizes with the outside.
Kirkham and Wesham: The footbridge for the new third platform at Kirkham being installed, with the help of a huge Ainscough crane, on 18th January 2018. The main bridge span was installed that same evening but the station is scheduled to reopen for Blackpool South line services on 29th January 2018 so there is still plenty for the Orange Army to do. See image [[59693]] taken six months earlier showing the transformation of this location.
Kirkham and Wesham: A German registered lorry passes through Platform 1 at Kirkham on 18th January 2018 as round-the-clock work continues to get the station ready for reopening on 29th January. When complete Platform 1 will be used solely by trains heading for the Blackpool South branch and will not be electrified. Platform 2 will usually be used by trains heading towards Blackpool North, but occasional trains coming off the Blackpool South branch will be able to reverse there. The new Platform 3, under construction, will be for all trains heading towards Preston.
Slateford: 158708 pulls into Slateford with a Glasgow Central to Waverley stopping service on 18th January 2018. Odd to think that for a few years post-Beeching this strangely anonymous place (sorry Slateford) had Edinburgh's only suburban station.
Woodacre Crossing: Testing of Northern Class 331 CAF EMUs (and Class 195 DMUs) continues in January 2019. This is four car 331102, seen at Woodacre working from Carnforth to Edge Hill Depot. A roof mounted light illuminates the pantograph during testing.
Trinity Junction: This is the very telegraph pole seen sticking out of the top of the Clayton in Bill Jamieson's photo of 1970 (see image [[28095]]) when it had already 'gone silent'. It was left where it was felled decades ago.
Newhaven Junction: The location where the CR's Leith New Lines left the Leith North branch, seen in January 2019. There was a small mineral depot where the flats now stand. The 'mirror' southeast curve was cut but rails never laid, and it appeared thus on maps for decades.
Grange-over-Sands: 195122 runs alongside the promenade at Grange-over-Sands heading for Manchester Airport with a service from Barrow on 18th January 2020. On the left the long closed open-air swimming pool can be seen. This is the subject of a local restoration campaign.
Grange-over-Sands: 195125 runs alongside the low promenade wall as it leaves Grange-over-Sands heading for Barrow-in-Furness on 18th January 2020. Passenger services on the Furness line in 2020 appear to be exclusively 156s (if going forward to Carlisle) and 195s.
Kents Bank: The rustic looking waiting shelter on the Barrow bound platform at Kents Bank, seen from the adjacent road on 18th January 2020 at the start of the very pleasant walk back to Grange-over-Sands.
Carnforth: 195107 waits for the green light at Carnforth before joining the WCML towards Lancaster with a Barrow to Manchester Airport service on 18th January 2020.
Kents Bank: Rural scene at Kents Bank as 156484 pulls away from the station on 18th January 2020 heading for Carlisle via the Cumbrian Coast line.
Glasgow Queen Street High Level: The first of the Queen Street display units for the new departure board, now in place above the gateline on 18th January 2020.
Kents Bank: This public footpath starts near Kents Bank station and can be followed all the way to the promenade at Grange-over-Sands and then on to the station there, which can just be spotted to the left of the ivy covered tree. As can be seen, in places it hugs the line quite closely with excellent views of the Kent Estuary and across to Arnside Knott. This view on a very sunny January afternoon, unfortunately between trains on this occasion.
Grange-over-Sands: 195122, working from Barrow to Manchester Airport, skirts the promenade at Grange-over-Sands as it approaches the station stop on 18th January 2020.
Lancaster: Dusk at Lancaster on Saturday 18th January 2020, but just enough light to capture four Freightliner 66s heading from Crewe to Carlisle New Yard. The locos were 66531, 66597, 66526 and 66510 and were probably rostered for engineering work the following day. 158905 on the left has worked in from Leeds and is waiting to head out to Morecambe.
Kelton Fell Quarry: A short distance downhill from Kelton Fell Quarry the old railway passes through the village of Kirkland on embankments and in cuttings. On the west side of the settlement this bridge abutment, and another nearby, are further visible reminders of a line that closed as long ago as 1926. Immediately beyond this bridge abutment old maps show that there was a coal depot siding serving Kirkland.
Glasgow Central: 380111 waits at Glasgow Central, platform 7, with a Cathcart Circle service on 18 January 2022.
Ullock: The Pullman liveried MkI coach 'Phoenix' at Ullock is on now private land but this is the old railway embankment and it is a very visible feature in the village. The station itself was sited just beyond the now removed bridge but closed in 1931 although goods trains continued to pass through to Rowrah until 1954.
Kelvin Bridge: Looking west along the former Glasgow Central Railway station at Kelvin Bridge, to the tunnel under Great Western Road, on 18th January 2022. This was being used as a film set masquerading as Gotham City's subway for a 'Batgirl' movie.
Larkfield Junction: DRS 66429 nears Larkfield Junction with a Hunterston Low Level - Motherwell TMD route learner on 18 January 2022. It is about to pass the abutments of the removed bridge which carried the GSW main line from Carlisle to St Enoch.
Rowrah: Rowrah station, looking south towards Egremont in January 2022. Rowrah was a significant junction of several mineral railways and there was a significant marshalling yard here. Regular passenger services ceased in 1931 although the station remained staffed for parcels, goods and ad-hoc passenger services until 1967, thirty six years later. Mineral traffic gradually declined during the intervening years and the line to the north closed in 1954. The last goods train of all left in 1967.
Kelton Fell Quarry: The Rowrah and Kelton Fell Railway was a freight only line in West Cumbria that operated from 1877 to 1926. It was only three miles long but climbed 300' in those three miles. Much of the route survives including this embankment near the terminus. Knockmurton Iron Ore mine was off to the right, and the line also had a spur run back at this point to the Kelton Fell iron ore mine, off picture to the left. 18th January 2022. See image [[79788]] of a surviving locomotive from here.
Ullock: I was hoping to see some railway remains in Ullock in January 2022, but did not expect to find this MkI coach on the formation. This is now part of a private garden, including the underpass bridge. The station was off to the right of this picture but closed in 1931, although goods trains continued to pass through until 1954.
Kelton Fell Quarry: Just below the Kelton Fell terminus the old railway passes through the village of Kirkland. On the western side there are two old bridge abutments and it might appear that these were connected by a viaduct but old maps reveal there were two underbridges and a now demolished embankment. This view looks east towards Kelton Fell in January 2022, 96 years after the last train on this goods line.
Lamplugh: Lamplugh station opened as Wright Green (where it is situated) in 1866 but was renamed in 1901 to reflect the parish covering the area. Lamplugh village itself is several miles away. Passenger services between Workington and Whitehaven via Rowrah ceased in 1931 and the last goods train ran through here in 1954. In January 2022 I could not ascertain if there is anything left of the station itself but Station House is in residential use at the entrance.
Events
Events from the chronology which occured on this day. This generally lists events before 1995, the creation of the website.
| Year | Companies | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Midland Great Western Railway | Dublin Broadstone closed to passengers. |
| 1960 | Formartine and Buchan Railway | Train stuck in snow north of Newmachar. |
| 1965 | Vale of Llangollen RailwayLlangollen and Corwen RailwayCorwen and Bala RailwayBala and Dolgelly RailwayAberystwyth and Welch Coast Railway | Closed to passengers from Ruabon (excluded) to Morfa Mawddach (excluded). |
| 1998 | Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway | Line closed until 25th to allow Haddenham and Thame Parkway^s platform to be demolished for line re-doubled. |
| 1998 | Todmorden to Burnley Branch (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) | Line closed to allow relay track and rebuild of Horsefall Tunnel^s northern portal (£5M cost). |
| 2008 | Deutsche Bahn Laing Rail | Deutsche Bahn buys Laing Rail which in turn owns Chiltern Railways. |
News
These are old news items which which occured on this day. This generally lists events after 1995, the creation of the website.
| Year | Companies | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Rail freight grants ^frozen^ | The SRA has ^frozen^ rail freight grants in England. For traffic to and from Scotland the funding is normally made available by grants made in both England and Scotland and the ^freezing^ is likely to have an effect in Scotland. |
| 2005 | First ScotRail^s statement on the transfer of transport resources to Scottish Executive | First ScotRail statement on transfer of transport resources to Scottish Executive: "First ScotRail welcomes today^s announcement that funding has been secured to transfer rail powers to the Scottish Executive. First ScotRail supports this devolution of rail responsibilities to the Scottish Executive and believes it will bring long term benefits to Scotland^s railways. With these new powers, and the new Transport Scotland agency, there is now an excellent framework for the future strategic planning of rail services with a Scottish focus. First ScotRail is looking forward to working with all rail industry partners to deliver improvements for Scotland^s rail users." |
| 2005 | Snow in Scotland delays services | Services throughout Glasgow and the West of Scotland are all operating but some routes may be subject to delays following the heavy snow which fell overnight and continues this morning. |
| 2005 | Waverley hopes rise amid rail cash boost [Scotsman] | SCOTLAND is to get extra cash for investment in rail projects, raising hopes for the redevelopment of Edinburgh^s Waverley Station. |
| 2005 | Executive in £325m rail takeover [BBC News] | The Scottish Executive secures £325m to take over responsibility for Scotland^s railways. |
| 2006 | Railman ^butchered^ death wagon [BBC News] | A worker accused of causing the deaths of four men by tampering with a rail wagon tried to blame others, a court hears. |
| 2006 | ScotRail bosses fined for failures [Evening Times] | SCOTLAND^S biggest train operator has been hit with fines of almost £240,000 for failing to meet improvement targets. |
| 2008 | Landslip closes busy railway line [BBC News] | A landslip in West Dunbartonshire has forced the closure of one of Scotland^s busiest passenger railway lines. The line between Helensburgh and Dumbarton has been closed to passenger services after the landslip west of Dalreoch Station on Tuesday. |
| 2008 | Thousands hit by new rail delays [Evening Times] | THOUSANDS of rail passengers faced rush-hour chaos today in Glasgow. A points failure before 8am disrupted services at Queen Street station. Glasgow-Edinburgh services were reduced from every 15 minutes to half-hourly and trains heading to the city from Cumbernauld, Falkirk and Anniesland were also hit. |
| 2009 | New freight link will take thousands of lorries off A9 [Press and Journal] | A NEW rail freight interchange, which is expected to take thousands of lorries off the A9, will be formally opened next week by the Scottish Government’s transport minister. [From Gus Carnegie] |
| 2010 | Triple death crash site targeted [BBC News Article] | A railway level crossing where three people in a car died is among sites being targeted by police during a safety operation. |
| 2010 | Barriers Up in Hereford level crossing crash [BBC News] | The safety barriers were up at a level crossing in Herefordshire where a woman was killed by a passing train, British Transport Police have said. |
| 2010 | Ice photos show big freeze could not stop railway [Network Rail Article] | Dramatic pictures issued by Network Rail show that even massive icicles weighing several tonnes could not stop trains running on the Settle-Carlisle line in the recent bad weather |
| 2010 | New designs for Union Terrace bid [BBC News Article] | New designs to cover the road and railway line but retain Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen are being put forward. |
| 2011 | DB Schenker to create new fleet of class 60 locomotives [Rail-News] | DB Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd is to invest £3 million to upgrade seven class 60 locomotives creating a new fleet of super 60 locomotives |
| 2011 | All aboard resort^s eco-friendly trams [Blackpool Gazette] | As assembly work begins on the resort’s new fleet of 16 supertrams, transport and tourism chiefs are urging residents to consider switching from gas-guzzling cars to eco-friendly public transport [From Mark Bartlett]. |
| 2012 | Train strike ballot over driver^s ^sickie^ to watch Rangers [BBC] | Train drivers are being balloted on strike action in support of a colleague who was disciplined for going to a football match after calling in sick. The driver was demoted after ScotRail bosses discovered he had been in Germany watching Rangers. |
| 2013 | ScotRail chief’s £54,000 pay rise met with fury [Scotsman] | A PAY increase of £54,000 given to ScotRail’s managing director has been branded ‘absurd’ as January saw a hike in rail fares across Scotland. |
| 2014 | Campaigners call on MPs to restore Ripon railway link [Yorkshire Post] | Campaigners are calling for the re-opening of an historic rail link across North Yorkshire to deliver a major boost to the rural economy and reduce road congestion. The Leeds Northern Railway Reinstatement Group has submitted evidence to MPs making the case for a £45m project to reopen the rail link to Ripon, Yorkshire’s smallest city. A report submitted to the Commons transport committee says reopening the old Harrogate-Ripon-Northallerton railway, closed on the recommendation of Dr Beeching in the mid-1960s, would offer a timely boost to the Yorkshire economy |
| 2014 | Rail workers escape as train hits maintenance truck near Shrewsbury [Shropshire Star] | Railway workers had to dash to safety when a train hit a maintenance truck on tracks near Shrewsbury today. Contractors working on the line, close to the village of Hadnall, managed to get out of the way before the impact in the early hours of this morning. Police were called to the scene near Shrewsbury at 12.25am after the rail trolley was hit by the 22.26 Manchester to Shrewsbury train, which had one passenger on board. Although the train was badly damaged it remained on the tracks. No one was injured but men working on the line were understood to have been extremely shaken.[From Richard Buckby] |
| 2015 | Channel Tunnel rail services resume after fire [BBC News] | Train services have resumed through the Channel Tunnel after a fire caused it to be closed for most of Saturday. The 08:19 GMT service to Paris was the first Eurostar train to leave St Pancras station in London on Sunday. Eurostar has warned of delays of between 30 and 60 minutes because only one tunnel is open. |
| 2016 | Southeastern trains: Passengers call for firm to lose franchise [BBC News] | Thousands of commuters have signed a petition calling for Southeastern to be stripped of its rail franchise. The petition accuses the company of letting down customers and cancelling trains strategically to avoid fines. It says customer service is ^beyond useless^ and the people of the South East have suffered long enough. |
| 2016 | West Coast Main Line closed to Carlisle until March [BBC News] | The West Coast Main Line is to remain closed until the beginning of March amid further delays to repair a crucial viaduct in South Lanarkshire. The route was closed north of Carlisle earlier this month after Storm Frank at the end of December caused damage to the Lamington Viaduct. Engineers initially thought the repairs would be completed by 1 February. They have now said the extent of the damage means the crossing will not re-open until the first week in March. [From Richard Buckby] |
| 2016 | Coventry Arena and Bermuda Park railway stations open [BBC News] | Two new railway stations have opened amid a row over a lack of carriages. Coventry Arena and Bermuda Park in Nuneaton are part of a £13.6m investment to improve services between the city and town, London Midland said. There have been complaints that the Arena station will not be open for rugby or football fans after a game or on major event days. London Midland has said it is for safety reasons as the hourly service only has 75 seats. Wasps and Coventry City FC have been asked to sponsor charter trains and have said they will look into it. A rail users group said trains should be longer. |
| 2017 | Southern rail ^full service^ to resume next week [BBC News] | Southern rail is to restore a ^full train service^ from Tuesday after a union suspended industrial action, the rail firm has said. The train drivers^ union Aslef had been due to strike for three days next week but has called off the walkouts. Southern said rosters had already been issued and it could not run a full timetable until 24 January. The announcement was made ahead of fresh negotiations taking place on Wednesday between Aslef and Southern. Aslef^s strike days had been planned for 24, 25 and 27 January but the union suspended the action if the company agreed to ^engage in intensive talks^. |
| 2017 | ^Silk Road^ freight train from China arrives in Barking [BBC News] | The first direct rail freight service from China to the UK has completed its 18-day trip and arrived in London. The train left the city of Yiwu, on China^s east coast, this month and travelled 7,500 miles (12,000km), crossing seven countries, before arriving at a freight depot in Barking. The service delivered 34 containers of clothes and high street goods. China Railway already runs services between China and other European cities, including Madrid and Hamburg. The service passed through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France before entering the UK via the Channel Tunnel. |
| 2017 | Push for control of railways to be devolved to Scotland [Scotsman] | A campaign to devolve control of Scotland’s railways to Holyrood is to call for support from all political parties. It has been claimed the move would save the taxpayer £100 million a year and enhance customer experience on the railways by reducing journey times and delays. Any savings would also be reinvested to fund increased services and improved rolling stock. Scottish ministers are already responsible for the funding and managing of railways north of the Border through the ScotRail franchise which is currently operated by Dutch company Abellio. |
| 2018 | EGIP^s Millerhill milestone [Rail Engineer] | Like any major infrastructure programme, the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) must achieve many milestones to meet its end goal, in this case running faster electric trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow that are two coaches longer than the current service. On 10 December, the project delivered three milestones in one day, of which one, not visible to passengers, was Millerhill depot. Initially, the depot will service a small number of trains. However, when fully operational, it will be one of ScotRails main stabling points, with many of its 70 new class 385 Hitachi EMUs serviced there overnight. At the depot, trains will be washed, cleaned, toilet tanks emptied, sanders filled, and screen washers topped up and there are also facilities for maintenance staff who may be called to the depot to repair minor faults. |
| 2019 | Kilmarnock stations £2.7m access improvement project nears completion [Network Rail] | The new lifts at Kilmarnock will be in public use from today (Friday, January 18) as access improvements at the station near completion. |
| 2020 | Councillor in call for improvements to far north train service [John O Groat Journal] | A Caithness councillor is calling on the Scottish Government and ScotRail to take notice of the plight of local train passengers. |
| 2020 | ScotRail fined more than £3.3m over service failures [The Herald] | ScotRail has been criticised over its level of performance after racking up more than £3.3 million in fines last year. |
| 2020 | Fall in Fife passenger numbers sparks call for service improvements - The Courier [The Courier] | A significant fall in rail passenger numbers in Fife has sparked calls for action to improve services and end overcrowding. |
| 2020 | Campaigners say rail usage stats in Courier Country strengthen case for St Andrews rail link - The Courier [The Courier] | A marked rise in the number of passengers using Leuchars railway station last year merely strengthens the case for train services to be restored to St Andrews, campaigners have claimed. |
| 2020 | Major harbour revamp planned for Gourock - but car ferry hopes dashed [Greenock Telegraph] | The Scottish Government immediately reinforced its determination to maintain passenger-only ferry services when quizzed about a broken vehicle ramp at Gourock and the pier^s inability to dock larger vessels. |
