This day in history 30 November
Images
Whitrope Siding: Snowy conditions at Whitrope on Sunday 30 November 1969, with Claytons 8586+8610 having paused and a crew member about to enter the cab of the second locomotive. The 50 wagons were being propelled south from Hawick to Newcastleton to be used for the collection of concrete sleepers following track recovery.
Elgin: 47093 dumped in the coal yard at Elgin, where it lay out-of-use for several days in November 1978.
Elgin: 47093, which had recently failed on the main line, seen dumped in the coal yard sidings alongside Elgin station on 30 November 1978 while awaiting repairs.
Elgin: 40135 waiting to depart from Elgin in November 1978 for Alves Junction and Burghead.
Edinburgh Waverley: Deltic no 55 022 Royal Scots Grey preparing to take The Deltic Deliverance railtour from Waverley to Kings Cross on 30 November 1996.
Edinburgh Waverley: A hint of things to come perhaps....? Deltic D9000 Royal Scots Grey (as depicted in image 29301 - take my word for it) casts a giant shadow over Edinburgh as The Deltic Deliverance railtour leaves Waverley on 30 November 1996. The special, organised by Hertfordshire Rail Tours, had arrived from Kings Cross behind 86424, with the return trip behind D9000 marking the return of a Deltic to the main line after a gap of nearly 15 years. Unfortunately.... see image [[29336]]
Berwick-upon-Tweed: A lucky escape for the canopy of Berwick station as D9000 Royal Scots Grey emits smoke and flames after being brought to a halt with The Deltic Deliverance railtour on 30 November 1996 see image [[29337]] . The locomotive was uncoupled and moved clear following which the local fire brigade attended. The fire, caused by burning oily deposits in the exhaust system, was eventually extinguished and 37702 subsequently arrived to haul the tour to Newcastle with D9000 DIT.
Talla Reservoir: Looking across Talla from the east shore in 2005. Note the cobblestones lining the dam.
Broughton [2nd]: Looking east over the frosty trackbed of the Symington, Biggar and Broughton Railway from the A701 road bridge at the south end of Broughton village in November 2005. The branch to Talla turned south approximately one mile east of this point.
Rachan 'Junction': View north from the B712 near Drumelzier, just south of Broughton in November 2005. The cutting took the Talla Railway under a now infilled road bridge shortly after leaving the 'main line' at Rachan Junction. From here the route followed the Tweed south.
Rachan 'Junction': The surviving abutment of the bridge south of Rachan Farm near Broughton which carried the Talla line shortly after it left the SB&B and turned south, November 2005.
Broughton [2nd]: Looking west towards the former Broughton station site from the A701 bridge in 2005.
Tweedsmuir Church: Sadly, not all made it to the Crook Inn on those infamous Friday nights in the early 1900s. The Talla Memorial stone, stands near the main gate of Tweedsmuir churchyard. The inscription reads: 'To the memory of the men who died during the progress of the Talla water works 1895-1905 of whom over 30 are interred in this churchyard. Erected by their fellow-workmen and others.' See image [[6067]]
Tweedsmuir Church: The church at Tweedsmuir, about a mile from the former railhead at Victoria Lodge, in November 2005. The faded headstone in memory of those who were killed during the Talla project stands near the main gate. See image [[6409]]
Rachan 'Junction': At first glance the tyre tracks along the frosty embankment give the impression of rails still in place. View is west towards Broughton along the trackbed of the Symington, Biggar and Broughton Railway in November 2005. The Talla Railway branched south behind Rachan Farm on the left of the picture.
Victoria Lodge: Frontage of Victoria Lodge in 2005. The top of the stairway down to platform level can be seen on the left. The EDWT boardroom lies behind the bay window on the ground floor.
Tweedsmuir Church: The memorial stone to the 30+ workers killed during the construction of Talla reservoir showing the crossed pick & shovel. Tweedsmuir churchyard 2005. For the full inscription see image [[6066]].
Markinch: Construction work on the creation of interchange facilities underway at Markinch.
Markinch: Works at Markinch, view from west. An extended platform is lined up behind what looks like a bus station.
Dalgety Bay: View east over Dalgety Bay station at 3.45pm on Sunday 30 November 2008, a day when the temperature remained below freezing.
Paisley Gilmour Street: Incle Street, Paisley, just to the east of Gilmour Street station, photographed in November 2009. The squareish building was, for many years, known as The Tabernacle - presumably a religious hall - but also the base of Wallneuk Junction Signal Box. The hall was there when the box was operational - which must have been a bit noisy with the lever frame active and trains passing above.
Bishopbriggs: Photocall at Bishopbriggs on 30 November with (left to right) John Watson, Cllr Alan Moir, Jimmy Watson of 'Friends of Thomas Muir' and John Yellowlees of First ScotRail. See Evening Times news item.
Yorton: Standing in for the normal Class 153, and a long way from its usual South Wales haunts, Arriva Trains Wales 150264 was working the Crewe - Shrewsbury shuttle thoughout 30 November. It is seen approaching a deeply snow covered Yorton Station to form the 14.34 stopping service to Crewe
Wem: Wem signal box and level crossing looking north towards Crewe on a frosty 30 November.
Bishopbriggs: Thomas Muir, The Father of Scottish Democracy... detail from the unveiling at Bishopbriggs station on 30 November 2010 - see Evening Times news item.
Yorton: Yorton former station house, waiting room and ticket office extension on the Shrewsbury bound platform. The building is now a private residence. The original waiting room on the Crewe bound platform is still in use.
Interiors: 'I'm sorry, that was the last Topic bar...' Sandy the Squirrel goes nuts.
Glasgow Central: Virgin Pendolino 390044 awaits departure to Euston from Glasgow Central platform 2 on 30 November 2011.
Halfway: Something missing?. Winter on the upper section of the Great Orme Tramway and the tramcars are stored away and the looped haulage cable (one side for each car) has been removed. The cable rollers can clearly be seen in this view from the level crossing towards the summit. The vertical ones keep the cables between the rails on the curve.
Aberdeen: 'Oops... breathe in!' Sandy the Squirrel negotiates the platform entry gates at Aberdeen on 30 November.
Halfway: Halfway station on the Great Orme Tramway was completely rebuilt in 2001. This winter view (with haulage cables removed) from the nearby level crossing shows the lower station and tram shed on the upper section, with the exhibition hall, winding house and station of the lower section behind. The maximum gradient on the upper level is a moderate 1:10 but on the lower street running stretch it can be as steep as 1:3.8.
Great Orme Summit: With the Isle of Anglesey visible in the background this is the tramway's Summit station at Great Orme. Everything is battened down for winter at this exposed location with one of the two upper section tramcars inside the shed and all the haulage cables removed. The line celebrated its centenary in 2002 and will reopen for the summer season in late March 2012.
Penrith: After a night when nearby Shap was the coldest place in the UK (at -7C), a late running Stobart Tesco Express is diverted into the Down loop at a very frosty Penrith to allow two passenger services to overtake. DRS 66421 and 66423 were in charge of the train, the rear of which can be seen above the siding buffers to the right of 66421.
Preston: On a cold and frosty St Andrew's Day a Pendolino leaves Preston behind as it heads south past Skew Bridge Junction. The service had left Glasgow Central at 06.30 for Euston.
Penrith: A TPE service for Glasgow Central passes through Penrith station at speed in November 2012. 185119 is just passing the barrow crossing. This is for staff use only and, because of the restricted view, has a light on each side which goes out when a train is approaching (useful for enthusiasts as well as railway workers).
Penrith: Penrith station building and forecourt in November 2012, as seen looking west from the walls of ruined Penrith Castle which is in a park opposite the station.
Penrith: Idling in Platform 3 at Penrith are 66421 and 66423 on the northbound Stobart Tesco Express. On this morning in November 2012 the freight was running late and was diverted into this loop line to allow a Voyager and Pendoline to overtake. The local red sandstone, used in many of Penrith's buildings, can be clearly seen as can the renovated glazed canopy.
Oakworth: The second downhill KWVR Santa Special of 30th November 2013 passes Vale Mill, a few hundred yards west of Oakworth station, with EE Type 3 No. 37075 leading.
Haworth: Standby loco for the KWVR Santa Specials on 30th November 2013 was quasi-BR WD 2-8-0 No. 90733, seen here late morning standing in Haworth Yard. The yard seems strangely deserted compared with how I remember it in the 1980s, but Health & Safety has seen off it being open to the public.
Oakworth: It is easy to understand why Oakworth station on the KWVR, viewed here towards Haworth early on the sunny winter's afternoon of 30th November 2013, is much favoured as a filming location for period dramas.
Oakworth: Drifting along at the rear of the second downhill KWVR Santa Special of 30th November 2013 see image [[47004]] is Black 5 No. 45305.
Oakleigh Park: Oakleigh Park, a north London suburban station on the ECML opened on 1st December 1873 and rebuilt with two island platforms in 1892. This view is looking south to King's Cross, 8 miles and 30 chains away, on 30th November 2013, one day before the station's 140th anniversary. Only the outer edges of the two island platforms are used by the all-stations service to and from Welwyn Garden City and since this photo was taken, the platforms on the centre fast tracks have been fenced off, making it a touch more difficult to photograph express trains storming through with the same situation at New Southgate, New Barnet, Brookmans Park and Knebworth stations.
Oakworth: Black 5 No. 45305 forges uphill past Vale Mill with a mid-day Santa Special from Keighley on 30 November 2013.
Haworth: EE Type 3 No. 37075 rolls downhill midway between Oxenhope and Haworth with a morning KWVR Santa Special on 30th November 2013. The train is tailed by Black 5 N0. 45305, the presence of which is only betrayed by leaks from the steam heating connections.
Oakworth: A mid-day KWVR service train from Oxenhope to Keighley, comprised of dmu cars Sc51803 and M51189, rolls downhill past Vale Mill on the approach to Oxenhope station in November 2013. The off home signal indicates that the crossing gates there are closed to road traffic.
Cathcart West Junction: This is a view of the Cathcart Circle bridge (right) and removed but later Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway bridge (left). The arch now houses Beechings Bar, seen here on 30 November 2013 looking north west across Clarkston Road.
Edinburgh Park Station [Tram]: A tram calls at Edinburgh Park on 30 November 2014. Edinburgh Trams started carrying passengers on 31 May, so have now been in public service for six months.
Fouldubs Junction: DRS 68008 leaves Fouldubs Junction on 30 November with the 4A13 Grangemouth - Aberdeen intermodal.
Uetliberg: A unit of the Uetlibergbahn waits at the summit station with a service for Zurich on 30 November (the line is part of the Zurich S-Bahn network). Note the off-set pantographs and OLE (required as the line is shared for part of its route with another using a different voltage, thus requiring two sets of OLE on the shared section).
Grosmont: Hunslet 1944 built ex WD J94 132 Sapper, at Grosmont on 30 November on the rear of a recently returned 11.45 7 coach 'Santa Special'. After being checked for water it was then uncoupled and taken to the shed for a top up before taking out the 13.45 working, ably assisted by standard 4 2-6-0 76079, which provided most of the propulsion up the southbound gradients from the rear of the train.
Freisenberg (Zurich): A service for Uetilberg see image [[49615]] on the level crossing at Freisenberg in the Zurich suburbs in November 2014. Note the mish-mash of overhead wires - the road carries Zurich trolleybus route 32.
Egton: Former coal drops on the south side of the Esk Valley line to Whitby, near Egton Station which is actually located at Egton Bridge some 1.5Km from Egton village. The location is reached by a very testing steeply rising road, not recommended for anyone of a nervous disposition!
Grosmont: Ex works Horwich built Standard 4 2-6-0 76079 at Grosmont on the front of the recently returned 13.45 7 coach Santa Special working that ran to Newtondale and back. J94 132 Sapper was on the other end see image [[49618]]. 76079 was employed on these services to accumulate running in mileage, and provided much of the propulsion on the outward working. The pair took out the final return trip of the day at 15.45. For a view of the loco in a previous life see image [[72847]]
Emirates Royal Docks: Billy and the Snowdog feature in the bottom left of this view of the Emirates Air Line passing over the Royal Victoria Dock. The View looks south showing the route of the cable car over the dock, 'The Crystal', and the River Thames to Greenwich.
Glasgow Central: Christmas decorations at Glasgow Central today (30th).
Girvan: The 13.00 for Ayr. Another exciting ancient 156!
Eskbank: A cold and frosty November morning in 2017 sees ScotRail 158741 pull away from the platform at Eskbank and head for Hardengreen Viaduct with the first train of the day southbound on the Borders Railway.
Hardengreen Viaduct: The 0855 Tweedbank - Edinburgh has just cleared Hardengreen Viaduct and is approaching its next stop at Eskbank on a crisp autumn morning in November 2017. [Ref query 25 November 2018]
Hardengreen Junction: ScotRail 158741 passes the site of Hardengreen Junction see image [[17896]] on 30 November 2017 with the 0924 Edinburgh - Tweedbank. The train is about to make its next scheduled stop at the 2015 Eskbank station. Visible beyond the smoke stained arch of the bridge in the background is the up platform of the original (1847-1969) station.
Shadwell: 357210 with a C2C service approaching its destination at London Fenchurch Street, having travelled from the Essex coast some 35 miles away to the east, seen from the DLR's Shadwell station, on 30th November 2018. The former Shadwell & St. George's East station was just to the east of the DLR's island platform and closed as a war economy in 1941, never to reopen. There are scant platform remains but substantial remains of the entrance at street level below the former London & Blackwall Railway viaduct of 1840.
Angel: Going down the first of two escalators at Angel station, LUL Northern Line, on 30th November 2018. This first of the escalators is now the longest on the London Underground, following the rebuilding of the station, replacement of the lifts with escalators and re-siting of the entrance from City Road to Islington High Street, in 1992. Prior to then, the longest escalator on the Underground had been at Leicester Square station (Northern and Piccadilly Lines).
Hawick [2nd]: Captain Chris Smith checks out the plaque that he has just unveiled at Hawick Leisure Centre on 30th November 2018. The centre stands on the site of Hawick Station. The Jellicoe Express, which ran between Euston and Thurso, was the longest rail journey in Britain and operated during both world wars transporting mail and navy personnel. It is being commemorated with a series of plaques. Hawick, on the old Waverley Line, was a station where the Express called in one direction for coal and water and now is the only Jellico location that no longer has trains.
Hawick [2nd]: A close up of the Jellicoe Express plaque unveiled at Hawick. The Teviotdale Leisure Centre is on roughly the site of the second (better known) station on the Waverley Route in Hawick.
Custom House [EL]: View west from the footbridge at Custom House with the DLR station on the left and the still incomplete Crossrail station, which should have opened a few days after this photo was taken, on 30th November 2018.
Preston: The first of TPE's new Class 397 sets to enter public service, departs from Preston on the 1S38 0810 hrs service from Manchester Airport to Edinburgh. This should have been the second unit in service but the earlier 1S30 to Glasgow was cancelled. However all was again not well between Preston and the border for the second time this week with OLE problems on the Down Line in the Upperby area. The result was that this service was delayed over 60 minutes and several other services were cancelled or similarly disrupted, although nothing as bad as earlier in the week.
Wemyss Bay: About thirty guests turned up in brilliant sunshine on 30th November 2019 to see a Transport Trust red wheel plaque unveiled at Wemyss Bay station and hear Gordon Masterton hail the station as a transport icon in a style, the impossibility of whose classification was surely its unique charm. He cited Simon Jenkins as having written that it had variously been called domestic revival, Queen Anne, arts-and-crafts and “chaletâ€, but Jenkins had found also a touch of Los Angeles Spanish, perhaps under Caledonian Railway engineer Donald Matheson’s American influence which was reflected also in architect James Miller’s inclusion of theories about passenger circulation. Friends of Wemyss Bay Station Chair Greg Beecroft conducted a guided tour beforehand and provided hospitality for guests afterwards.
Donibristle Platform: Azuma 800108 passes Donibristle with the 1E15 09.52 Aberdeen - Kings Cross on 30th November 2019.
Preston: Inside one of the new Class 397 EMUs on the first day in passenger service being operated between Scotland and the North West of England. Looking from the vestibule area into the seating area, while the general feel of the seated area was very pleasant, it was noted that the aisle was quite narrow and it is definitely a case of BYOC (Bring Your Own Cushion) if you don't have in-built padding of your own!
Bay Horse: The sun is setting as 66006, still in EWS livery, takes a Daventry to Grangemouth service through the cutting at Forton, just to the south of Bay Horse, on 30th November 2019. It is now over twenty one years since this loco arrived at Newport Docks as part of the first wave of the Class 66 revolution.
Wemyss Bay: Detail of the new Transport Trust plaque, unveiled at Wemyss Bay on 30th November 2019.
Preston: Looking through Coach towards Coach C on TPE Class 397 unit 007 after all the passengers had disembarked from the late running (90+ minutes) service to Manchester Airport that had been terminated at Preston. The ceiling area almost immediately above is lower than in the rest of the carriage due to the pantograph well on the roof.
Preston: TPE 397007 after the second run in passenger service was terminated at Preston on 30 November 2019 due to late running caused by OLE issues earlier in the day. The unit later returned north on the 1S75 to Edinburgh. In the picture on the left is another unit from CAF, a Northern Class 195, on a Manchester Airport to Barrow in Furness service.
Broomhill: Although it is missing the headboard, this is the Strathspey Railway's first Santa Special of 2019 and is pictured approaching Broomhill on 30th November 2019.
Keswick: The Games Room of the Keswick Hotel, under the canopies of the old station, looked inviting on a cold wet November evening. There was a second similar canopied platform here (See image [[34066]]) but that has been lost to car parking. It is good that this building survived the 1972 closure and was later adopted by the hotel to which it has always been connected.
Events
Events from the chronology which occured on this day. This generally lists events before 1995, the creation of the website.
| Year | Companies | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1841 | Stockton and Darlington Railway | Runs service from Darlington (North Road) to the Clarence Railway^s terminus at Coxhoe. (This was in anticipation of the Newcastle and Darlington Junction Railway^s opening.) |
| 1864 | Clyde Street Ferry | 20 men drowned when this rowed River Clyde Trust passenger ferry is swamped. |
| 1888 | Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway | Link from CR_>Ardrossan CR to the Ardrossan Harbour Company lines and the Glasgow and South Western Railway's Ardrossan station opened. |
| 1896 | Great North of Scotland Railway | Doubled Gartly to Huntly opened. |
| 1935 | Glasgow District Subway | Cable haulage ceases. |
| 1965 | Greenock and Ayrshire Railway | Last boat train travels from 2nd_>Greenock Princes Pier 2nd . |
| 1966 | Exe Valley Railway (Great Western Railway) | Thorverton to Stoke Canon closed. |
| 1968 | Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway | Sighthill East Junction to Germiston Junction Low closed. |
| 1969 | Great North of Scotland Railway | Inverurie to Kintore to Dyce singled. |
| 1983 | Ely Valley Railway | Colliery and washery at Coed Ely closed and line closed from Coed Ely to Mwyndy Junction, excluded. |
| 1983 | Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway | Neath Canal Side branch completely closed. |
| 2001 | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway | Due date for the opening of the new £247,000 Beauly station is delayed by Rail Inspector due to the short platform. |
| 2009 | Whitehaven Junction Railway | Workington North opens, a temporary station opened to connect the north and south of Workington after the loss of the Derwent Road Bridge (A597) due to floodwater. (The nearby harbour railway bridge was severely damaged.) Shuttle trains were operated by Direct Rail Services (DRS) between Workington and Maryport - starting before the new station on the 27th. Travel was free. |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Elgin to Forres to re-open | The line between Elgin and Forres is due to re-open following repairs to the flood damaged line. The section between Keith and Elgin may take another four weeks to repair. |
| 2004 | Delay means huge rise in rail tickets [Scotsman] | RAIL passengers face having to pay up to six times more for tickets over the festive season after network chiefs failed to provide timetable details on time. |
| 2004 | Blunkett repays lover^s rail fare [BBC News] | David Blunkett repays Parliament for a train ticket he gave to his ex-lover and apologises for a "genuine mistake". |
| 2006 | Glasgow rail link gets go-ahead [BBC News] | The rail link between Glasgow Airport and the city centre is approved by MSPs. |
| 2006 | Massive fares increase for rail travellers [Scotsman] | THOUSANDS of rail passengers travelling to and from Edinburgh are facing huge fare rises in the New Year. |
| 2006 | Rail fare rises to outstrip inflation [Scotsman] | RAIL passengers will be hit with another above-inflation fares increase next year to make them yet again contribute more to improvements to the network. |
| 2006 | Train derailment report released [BBC News] | A report on the derailment of a train travelling from Inverness to Edinburgh is critical of Network Rail. |
| 2009 | Workington^s new railway station opens [BBC News] | A temporary railway station at Workington in Cumbria has opened after the town was cut in two by severe flooding |
| 2010 | Government did know about night train plan says rail firm [Herald] | Government officials knew that a recently reopened railway was likely to carry overnight freight trains despite publicly denying responsibility, the company operating them has claimed. |
| 2010 | Ongar - Epping heritage railway closer to reopening [Essex Chronicle] | PLANS to re-open a heritage railway line between Ongar and Epping have moved a step closer, with the installation of new signals at North Weald. |
| 2010 | Is he dim up north - or just on the wrong track? [LEP] | It is one of the most vital and eagerly awaited projects in Lancashire. And Government transport chiefs have repeatedly ensured concerned campaigners that electrification of the Manchester-Preston rail line IS happening. But transport minister Philip Hammond has sparked fresh disbelief when he was questioned about the scheme - by appearing not to even know where Preston is. |
| 2011 | Lego Christmas tree for St Pancras | London St. Pancras International station has come up with a new and original way of expressing the holiday spirit - by erecting a Christmas tree made completely out of Lego. [With thanks to GlobalGrind] |
| 2011 | Sandy the squirrel^s St Andrew^s Day journey [Scottish Wildlife Trust] | Sandy the Squirrel has arrived in Aberdeen for a very special St Andrew^s Day journey. In times gone by, red squirrels used to be able to travel from one side of Scotland to the other without touching the ground; however, due to habitat loss, urban development and changing land use, this journey is not now possible... unless you travel by public transport! |
| 2012 | The most impressive underground railway stations in Europe [Telegraph] | Link to picture gallery. |
| 2015 | Flying Scotsman steams to head of world^s most famous trains list [Telegraph] | The Flying Scotsman has topped a poll of the world^s best known trains and locomotives. People across four continents were asked to name five trains or engines they had heard of and the famous green-and-black loco topped a league table that also included the Japanese bullet train, India^s Rajadhani Express and the fastest-ever steam locomotive, Mallard. The National Railway Museum commissioned the worldwide survey, by YouGov, and released the result to coincide with the 81st anniversary of Flying Scotsman being the first locomotive to break the 100mph barrier. [From Mark Bartlett] |
| 2015 | Scotland’s worst performing train station revealed [Scotsman] | Just one train out of 16 arrives on time at Scotland’s worst performing rail station. The Dutch firm that now operates ScotRail, Abellio, has revealed just how bad its record is for punctuality. Arbroath station in Angus came out as the worst performing station in the country with just 6.1 per cent of the services terminating at Arbroath in the year up to October arriving on time – within a minute of its schedule. Second bottom was Ardrossan Harbour, in Ayrshire, with an 10.9 per cent punctuality rate. It was followed by High Street in Glasgow which recorded a rate of 19.5 per cent and Springburn in Glasgow, on just 22.2 per cent. At the other end of the scale, 89.6 per cent of trains terminating in Cowdenbeath, Fife, and 89.4 per cent of those completing their journey in Dunbar, East Lothian, arrived within 59 seconds. Posters in railway stations claim more than eight in 10 trains - 83.3 per cent to be exact - on the network arrive on time. The official figure used to calculate punctuality is called a public performance measure and it regards all long-distance journeys as on time if they arrive no more than 10 minutes late. |
| 2016 | First test tram runs along Metrolink’s new Second City Crossing [TGM] | Metrolink began testing trams on the new section of the route between the new-look St Peter’s Square tram stop and Exchange Square stop in the early hours of Thursday morning (1 December). The transformational Second City Crossing, due to open to passengers early next year, will allow Metrolink to run more frequent tram services through the city centre and across the 93-stop network. The new line – which connects the expanded St Peter’s Square stop via Princess Street and Cross Street with Exchange Square and Victoria Station – will also allow greater operational flexibility and improve service reliability. [From Mark Bartlett] |
| 2016 | Aberdeenshire railway station requires £3m to reopen [Scotsman] | AN ABERDEENSHIRE railway station which closed over 50 years ago will be revived - if authorities can plug a £2.9m funding gap. Kintore railway station in Aberdeenshire will be brought back into use 52 years after it was closed if bosses at Nestrans, the region’s transport partnership, can agree how to source nearly £3 million of funding. Opening a new station at Kintore will cost £12.2 million, with 50% of that total already secured via contributions from Aberdeenshire Council and the Scottish Stations Fund (SSF), administered by Transport Scotland. Nestrans transport chiefs will meet soon to decide how to plug the funding gap of £2.97 million required to complete the project, and will push for SSF to increase their contribution by 10%. |
| 2017 | Government green light for £22m tramway [Blackpool Gazette] | Blackpool^s £22m tram extension dream has been officially backed by the Government. The Department for Transport (DFT) tonight revealed it had approved the plan to extend the track from North Pier to North Station along Talbot Road, re-establishing a link which ceased operation in 1936. |
| 2017 | Grayling misleading Commons on East Coast rail ^bailout^, says Labour [Guardian] | Labour has accused the transport secretary of misleading parliament over the early termination of the East Coast rail franchise as it emerged that the operator, Stagecoach, had been due to pay the Treasury more than £2bn in the final four years of its contract. A new rail strategy announced by Chris Grayling on Wednesday contained plans to replace the Virgin Trains East Coast (Vtec) contract running to September 2023 with a model of a partnership between track and train operators from 2020. |
| 2018 | Jellicoe Express plaque-unveiling at Hawick on 30 November [] | Forthcoming: at Teviotdale Leisure Centre on Mansfield Rd, Hawick TD9 8AG at 1130 on Friday 30 November will be the unveiling of the sixteenth in a series of plaques commemorating the stations at which the Jellicoe Express called in both wars on its long journey conveying naval personnel and mail between London and Thurso for Scapa Flow. As at other locations along the onetime route, the unveiling will be in the presence of Captain Chris Smith RN, Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland. Guests travelling from Edinburgh can catch the 0924 train from Waverley, connecting into the X95 bus at Galashiels to reach Hawick Mart Street at 1105. This event is supported by Scottish Borders Council and by the Borders Railway Community Partnership. |
| 2018 | Rail fares to rise by 3.1% in January [BBC News] | Millions of commuters will have to pay an average of 3.1% more for rail tickets from 2 January. The rise, announced by industry body the Rail Delivery Group, comes after a year of timetable chaos, strikes, and delays on some parts of the network. There had been calls for a price freeze following the chaos caused by the introduction of new timetables in May. |
| 2018 | You will be paying 2.8 per cent more to travel by ScotRail from January [Scotsman] | ScotRail passengers will pay an average extra 2.8 per cent to travel from January, the train operator announced today. |
| 2018 | Decoupled ScotRail train ^most serious railway incident in recent years^ [Scotsman] | A trade union boss has branded the ScotRail train which decoupled and abandoned rush hour passengers as the ^most serious railway incident in recent years^. |
| 2018 | Dingwall Level Crossing upgrades delivered [Network Rail] | The safety of train passengers, pedestrians and motorists has been improved by the completion of work to upgrade two Level Crossings in Dingwall. |
| 2018 | HS2 rail chief Terry Morgan faces sack over spiralling costs [The Guardian] | Morgan, who Chris Grayling described as ^world class^, set to go after four months in job. The chairman of HS2 is facing the sack less than five months after his appointment because of fears that costs are spiralling out of control. Sir Terry Morgan is also set to be removed as the chairman of Crossrail, the ambitious line linking east and west London, relieving him of leadership of two of the UKs highest-profile infrastructure projects, according to a report. |
| 2019 | Transport Trust Red Wheel unveiled at Wemyss Bay [Railscot] | About thirty guests turned up in brilliant sunshine on 30th November 2019 to see a Transport Trust red wheel plaque unveiled at Wemyss Bay station and hear Gordon Masterton hail the station as a transport icon in a style, the impossibility of whose classification was surely its unique charm. He cited Simon Jenkins as having written that it had variously been called domestic revival, Queen Anne, arts-and-crafts and ^chalet^, but Jenkins had found also a touch of Los Angeles Spanish, perhaps under Caledonian Railway engineer Donald Mathesons American influence which was reflected also in architect James Millers inclusion of theories about passenger circulation. Friends of Wemyss Bay Station Chair Greg Beecroft conducted a guided tour beforehand and provided hospitality for guests afterwards. |
| 2019 | Rail fares to go up by 2.7%: Why do prices rise every year? [ITV News] | The cost of train travel will become more expensive on January 2 2020. |
