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    Freightliner calls on Government to set ambitious rail freight target

    No way this kind of growth can be achieved without Government intervention which inevitably means the tax payer stumps up somewhere along the way. One thing which has been tried elsewhere is to mandate certain commodities travelling over a certain distance have to use rail for all or part of the...
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    Rail Freight Flows and News UK

    Do we know fromwhere the aggregate for Chessi gton originated and how it made its way to Willesden, assuming Willesden is a staging point for DCR
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    DCR locos

    Has any more information become available on DCR's plans for the future with regards to increasing their fleet (more 60's from DBC poss) and also possible new flows apart from the one mentioned above from Hackney Yard. There was mention of route learning further up the thread. Also are they or...
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    Wembley parcels vans

    little surprised these have survived so long. There has been a bit of a frenzy of scrapping in the recent past with steel prices being so high (iron ore prices are at all time highs).
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    Crewe station - any work being done?

    As we cant get out and about I was hoping locals could let me know if there was currently any work being undertaken at Crewe. I know that when they refurbed the canopies they left the portions at the southern end which are a rusty mess. from some photos ive seen recently these do seemed to have...
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    Is the class 455 really life expired?

    Isnt this a justification of the structure set up at privatisation. The stock is owned by a ROSCO who take a commercial risk on it. The ROSCOS obviously did very well with the ex BR stock but it is a competative marketplace now and it seems that new stock can be provided without a massive...
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    Old fashioned stations still existing

    Depending on how far back you want to go in history there are some nice Art Deco examples around such as Leamington Spa and Surbiton. For really quaint and old fashioned you could go out into the sticks in Scotland at Glenfinnan and Upper Tyndrum. In Wales places such as Betwys y Coed retain a...
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    Good News on the U.K. Rail Network in 2020

    i believe they are redoing the roof and Network Rail recently purchased the old Brunel building but not sure to what end.
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    Good News on the U.K. Rail Network in 2020

    Network Rail have managed to retain their funding for the Control Period and stations continue to be revamped and capacity improved despite demand temporarily disappearing. Glasgow QS is about done, work has started on Gatwick Airport and also on Bristol TM. SMaller stations such as...
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    DCR locos

    Delivering spent ballast to Leicester is an interesting development considering the proximity of then various quarries in the area. I worked at Leicester TOPS in the early 90's and was always surprised that a town the size of Leicester actually generated no railfreight traffic of any sort. The...
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    The enhancement pipeline seems to have dried up!

    For the last couple of Control Periods the have been several major projects being run concurrently by NR. There does however seem to be a dearth of new projects starting up in the new Control Period and not all of this can be put down to HS2 and its temporary suspension. As projects are...
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    Most faded grandeur (trivia)

    The advent of the RHT and a more enlightened appreciation of railway heritage in general means that there are not nearly as many stations retaining that slightly rundown,wistful and neglected feel. The unpainted parts of Crewe plus the abandoned portions are a reminder of former glories...
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    Rail Freight Flows and News UK

    They have spent a lot of cash at Padeswood on tickling up the sidings etc and I doubt if they would do that if they were not thinking of a long term use.
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    Rail Freight Flows and News UK

    Havent they done some gauge clearance on the line from Immingham to allow for container trains to run - NR spent some money I believe in the expectation of something running that would justify the work
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    Preston Station Roof (Mon 13th Jan)

    there is a debate to be had regarding form over function on the railway. a lot of cash does get spent on aesthetics and imaging and as pointed out does it help the trains run on time. if you look at how much is spent on retaining heritage features and the massive costs associated with...
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    Preston Station Roof (Mon 13th Jan)

    arent repairs to the roof scheduled in this CP? could this have anything to do with this?
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    State rail operator hunts for staff to run failing routes

    As mentioned above it is a commercial necessity to run the railways as lean as possible and therefore some franchises would be expected to struggle as an element of optimum bias is going to be prevalent in a blind bidding process. It does appear that there is a direct correlation between the...
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    Any new station additions to open in 2020?

    wolverhampton's new building looks well advanced. Kettering is having platform extensions and some work to the canopies as is Wellingborough which will have a new platform and I assume lifts/footbridge. Mkt Harborough should be finally finished soon. Inverness is having a refurb this year also...
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    What is your favourite station in the UK?

    it is nice to see some of the smaller stations that have retained some authenticity and are now being valued. a few that spring to mind are Great Malvern, Hale, Knaresborough, Hebden Bridge, Heslby, Abergavenny, multiple stations in Scotland outside of the major conurbations. Kettering is my...
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    ORR say NR doing well on efficiencies. Does this mean the railway can ever "break even?'

    Im wondering if the railway almost by default will end up getting closer to balancing its books. The biggest swallower of subisdy is NR and the new Control Period does seem to focus much more on renewals rather than enhancements. If further electrification is off the cards for the foreseeable...

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