This day in history 12 December
Images
Faslane Military Port: A LNER wagon label in my collection, dating from 1945, for a journey despatched from Haverhill in Suffolk to Faslane via Berwick and Cadder yards. (What does the Fort Pine mean?)
Alves: View east at Alves station on the Aberdeen - Inverness line on 12 December 1978. The station closed in May 1965 and the station building is now a private residence. The track has also been relaid through the centre of the formation since the photograph was taken see image [[6173]].
Balgray Tunnel: This 10 and similar plates were in the Balgray tunnel northwards from former Kelvinside Station, Great Western Road, Glasgow. They were a distance of 1 chain (1 chain = 20.1168 meters) apart, showing the distance through the tunnel to assist rail staff. Other signs seen were 7, 14, 17 and 21.
Tamshill Tunnel: This 17 plate was in the Tamshill Tunnel northwards from former Maryhill [Barracks] Station to Possil Station, Glasgow. They were a distance of 1 chain apart, showing the distance through the tunnel to assist rail staff. Other signs seen were 7, 14 and 21.
Balgray Tunnel: 21 in Balgray tunnel north of Kelvinside Station.
Houston: View west over Houston station in December 1982. The station, along with the rest of the branch to Kilmacolm, closed the following month.
Holborn Viaduct: Last days at Holborn Viaduct, December 1989.
Holborn Viaduct: Last days at Holborn Viaduct, with 4EPB and 2HAP units standing at the buffer stops in December 1989. The station finally closed at the end of January 1990 following the opening of the new City Thameslink station on the revived north - south route through Snow Hill tunnel see image [[5243]].
Holborn Viaduct: Near the end. Holborn Viaduct (1874 - 1990) bathed in winter sunshine. Photographed in December 1989, a month before final closure. See image [[35334]]
Shippea Hill: Across the Fens. Shippea Hill, Cambridgeshire, December 1993.
Hamilton Central: Poster at Hamilton Central advertising the new timetable. Larkhall services began on the 12th December 2005
Larkhall: 'Well it definitely says platform 1 on the screen...' Arrival from Dalmuir at Larkhall platform 2 on a sunny 12 December 2005, first day of the new service. Still a few teething problems with the platform information display.
Larkhall: First day of service at the new Larkhall station on 12 December 2005 with 318255 arriving at platform 2.
Larkhall: 'The Second Coming and the First Going'. On the 12th December 2005, the first morning of services on the reopened line from Larkhall to Haughead Junction, 334022 waits at Larkhall terminus to take the 06.05 first service train to Dalmuir.
Broomhill Viaduct: To the south of Larkhall stands Broomhill Viaduct, built by the Arrol Brothers between 1898 and 1904 and claimed to be the tallest viaduct in Scotland. (The structure is also referred to as Larkhall Viaduct, Avon Viaduct and Morgan Glen Viaduct.) View north across the valley towards Larkhall in December 2005.
Stonehouse Viaduct: The remaining piers of Stonehouse Viaduct on 12 December 2005, looking east, showing its full 450+ yard span across the Avon valley. See image [[9171]]
Stonehouse Viaduct: Piers of the former Stonehouse Viaduct stand on the north bank of the River Avon in December 2005.
Larkhall Central: A service from Dalmuir enters a busy Larkhall station on its first day of public service.
Larkhall Central: A train leaves Larkhall heading north.
Merryton Junction: On the first day of public service a train passes Merryton Junction joining the former Mid Lanark lines route to Larkhall Central.
Allanton Loop: A Larkhall service from Dalmuir enters the passing loop to the south of Ferniegair.
Haughhead Junction: A Dalmuir bound train joins the Hamilton Branch Extension (Hamilton West - Ross Junction) at Haughhead Junction.
Merryton: A southbound service enters the wholly new station at Merryton.
Allanton Loop: Passing south a train from Dalmuir heads for Larkhall.
Larkhall Central: 1231 Dalmuir-Larkhall just arrived.
Larkhall Central: 1337 Larkhall-Dalmuir about to depart.
Larkhall Central: 1301 Dalmuir-Larkhall arriving.
Larkhall: 'The Second coming and the First arriving'. 334040, on the first day of the reopened line to Larkhall, arrives at the terminus at 06.28 with a train from Dalmuir. 12th December 2005
Larkhall Central: 1301 Dalmuir-Larkhall on arrival.
Carlisle: First TransPennine services for Manchester Airport and Edinburgh Waverley meet at Carlisle on 12 December - both on schedule.
Bathgate: Platform scene at Bathgate on 12 December 2010 with Karen Whitefield MSP and Mary Mulligan MSP awaiting departure of the first train of the day.
Edinburgh Waverley: New destinations appear on the Edinburgh Waverley travel indicator on Sunday 12 December 2010.
Bathgate: The electronic departure board at Bathgate on 12 December 2010, first day of through services on the reinstated route via Airdrie.
Blackridge: A chilly Blackridge on the morning of 12 December 2010, the first day of passenger services from the new station.
Scale Hall: Site of a short lived station. Scale Hall opened in 1957 to serve a suburb of Lancaster but closed with the line in 1966. There were substantial concrete platforms and a footbridge but now just a mound of earth where the Lancaster platform was and a single surviving overhead catenary mast base. View towards Morecambe along the trackbed cycle path in December 2010.
Scale Hall: As far as I can ascertain this catenary mast base at Scale Hall is the only one surviving from the eight miles of Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham lines that were electrified until 1966. View towards Lancaster Green Ayre along the trackbed cycle path. I assume the railway tracks were straighter than the path that has replaced them.
Becconsall: One of the West Lancashire Light Railway's tinsel-wrapped Santa Specials in action on the evening of Sunday 12 December 2010.
Broughty Ferry: Sign of a revival at Broughty Ferry station on 12 December 2011.
Edinburgh Waverley: The long-term improvement programme at Waverley includes the station access from Market Street. The position is shown on 12 December 2012, with various enhancements already in place, including a new glass roof over the entrance hall and footbridge link. Although work is still in progress a general improvement is already apparent.
Princes Street [Tram]: Sign of the times... west end of Princes Street on 12 December 2012, looking north.
Haymarket [Tram]: Looking west along Shandwick Place towards Haymarket station on 12 December with tramworks in full swing. In the background, work is also underway on Haymarket station and interchange, with the jib of the 1,000 tonne capacity crane now on site protruding well above the station roof.
Edinburgh Waverley: The pedestrian link between Waverley station and Princes Street via Waverley Steps in December 2012. The 145 year old steps continue to perform their function admirably, while the escalators, installed earlier this year, could never be so reliable. Princes Mall stands on the left with the Balmoral Hotel to the right.
Edinburgh Waverley: It can't be... it is..! The new entrance to 'sub' platforms 8 and 9 from the cross-station walkway at Waverley on 12 December 2012. Work on the platforms themselves is currently underway.
Princes Street [Tram]: Tracks laid and supports in place, but buses still rule on Princes Street. View east on 12 December 2012.
Haymarket [Tram]: The 1842 station building at Haymarket on 12 December 2012, with tramworks in the foreground and station/interchange extension work in progress beyond.
Edinburgh Waverley: View east from Edinburgh's North Bridge towards the Calton Tunnel on a dismal 12 December 2012, with work on the new canopy over the 'sub' platforms well advanced. A Virgin Voyager is at platform 8. For the previous version of the canopy see image [[7446]].
Edinburgh Waverley: New roof canopy sections ready to hoist into place in the temporarily closed off south side car park at Waverley on 12 December 2012. For the view 6 years earlier see [[8252]].
West End - Princes Street [Tram]: View south west along Shandwick Place from Princes Street West End on 12 December 2012 with temporary pedestrian 'bridges' crossing the tramworks at various points. Haymarket station stands in the background. In the centre of the picture work is progressing on the Shandwick Place tram stop (later changed to West End). Note the crossover just beyond.
Edinburgh Waverley: No entry. Resurfacing work in progress on the north ramp at Waverley on 12 December 2012. View west from the cross-station walkway towards Waverley Bridge.
West End - Princes Street [Tram]: Work in progress on Shandwick Place tram stop on 12 December 2012, with William Ewart Gladstone surveying the scene (top right) from his plinth in the adjacent Coates Crescent gardens.
Edinburgh Waverley: Resurfacing work on the north ramp in progress at Waverley in December 2012. View from the cross-station walkway looking out towards Waverley Bridge.
Rodney Street Tunnel: The approach to Rodney Street tunnel from the north on a rainy December afternoon in 2012. The path running off to the left climbs up to meet Broughton Road.
Edinburgh Waverley: Work on the stairway and canopy over the former 'sub' platforms 8 & 9 alongside Waverley's south wall is now underway. View from the car park stairway on 12 December with a Helensburgh Central train waiting at platform 8.
Haymarket [Tram]: View west over what is normally one of Edinburgh's busiest road junctions, seen here on 12 December 2012, with tramworks having taken over completely. Beyond the station building work is underway on expansion of the existing facilities to cope with future train/tram/bus/taxi interchange traffic.
Wuhan: Wuhan station showing the futuristic airport-like departure hall. The departure board helpfully has column headings in English, although train details may present some difficulties to English only speakers.
Wuhan: Taken in the futuristic airport-like Wuhan station. The train is the G84, 10.20 from Wuhan to Beijing West.
Bargeddie: 156503 heads away from Bargeddie during the early morning of 12 December 2014, two days before the end of scheduled diesel passenger services on the newly electrified Whifflet line.
Princes Street Gardens: Unidentified train passing through Princes Street Gardens on 12 December 2014. Merry Christmas.
Saltmarket Junction: Strolling along to the camera shop in Parnie Street on 12 December when a sudden rumble announces a train on the City of Glasgow Union overhead - a Deltic no less, with two coaches in tow, heading south ... the rest is a mystery
Galashiels: The new transport interchange takes shape in Galashiels on 12 December.
Bargeddie Bridge: Just after crossing the Cutty Sark bridge on 12 December, 156503 passes the spot where the M8 extension will pass under the Whifflet line. The 156s will be displaced by electric trains on this route within days.
Tweedbank: View over Tweedbank terminus on 12 December with platform construction well advanced.
Ayr: The 14.33 ex Girvan departs Ayr at 15.18 on 12 December for Glasgow Central via Kilmarnock.
Braehead Viaduct: 66077 with a train of coal empties near the spot where the planned M8 extension will pass below the Whifflet line. Photograph taken on 12th December 2014.
St Andrew Square [Tram]: Edinburgh Tram 260 at St Andrew Square on 12 December 2014.
St Enoch [Subway]: Progress on St Enoch subway entrance, 12 December 2014. Not quite there yet.
Preston: DRS 57304 Pride of Cheshire on standby in the north bay at Preston late in the evening of 20 December.
Rottweil: A HzL unit, Hohenzollerische Landesbahn AG the largest privately run railway in Germany sits in Rottweil's platform 4 with the HzL88070 Regio Shuttle 11.53 service to Braunlingen, it will also depart exactly on time!!! These class 650 units were built by Stadler Rail AG and are quite commonly used by privately run companies on rural lines in Germany.
Govan [Subway]: Glasgow Subway modernisation is nearing its end with only Govan station not fully made over. Here it is at half-way stage in December 2015 with only glimpses of the once ubiquitous 70s beige tiling. Note also the ceiling suspenders with nothing attached yet.
Glasgow Queen Street High Level: Pre-dawn on Saturday 12 December 2015 - but there are already excitable children around a festive-looking Queen Street station.
Barton and Broughton: Recent tree clearance has made the shallow cutting near the St Heliers Place footbridge a much brighter place, even on a dull day. See image [[46627]] for an earlier view. DBS 90029 and 90024 pass heading south with a fully loaded Mossend to Daventry container train on 12th December 2016.
Edinburgh Gateway [Tram]: An Edinburgh bound tram arrives at Edinburgh Gateway.
Perth: 158712 at the north end of Perth on the inaugural run of the new 0508 Perth-Inverness service, arriving at 0749.
Colne Valley Viaduct: Colne Valley Viaduct concepts created for HS2 by Grimshaw Architects.
Falkirk High: With all the excitement about electrics now on the EGML let's not forget that most services are still diesel and will be until, when, May 2018 perhaps? 170 473 calls at Falkirk High with a Glasgow service on 12 December. (The following train was a 7-car electric).
Polmont: Its 12th December 2017 and some EGML services had just been temporarily put into the hands of seven-car Class 380s. Three out of four were still diesel however, and a Class 170 calls at Polmont with a Glasgow service. At time of writing, 27 February 2018, nothing has changed and there's no firm date for full electric services.
Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal: DRIFTs at DIRFT: DRS loco' 66.434 loads its train at the Tesco sidings. 68.003 can be seen in the background.
Glasgow Queen Street High Level: Nah - nothing to see here, same old, same old. In fact, a quick glance over the parapet of Cathedral Street bridge does now reveal how things are changing to those with an eye for detail. 380020 on a Glasgow - Edinburgh service prepares to depart from Platform 4 on 12th December 2017.
Glasgow Queen Street High Level: 380020 departs from Platform 4 at Queen Street on the third day of partial introduction of electric services on the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk route - 12th December 2017.
Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal: Looking the other way from image 62140, a couple of Class 90s can be seen in the headshunt at DIRFT, with a down 350 passing on the Northampton loop.
Scotland Street: A December 2018 view of what would be my local station if it hadn't closed a mere 150 years previously. It stayed in use as a goods yard for a further 99 years, until 1967 See image [[36593]]. The view looks north to Heriothill tunnel. The curved stairway is not original; the stairs to the (rather short) platforms ran down from where I am standing. Alexander McCall Smith fans may already know that there isn't really a 44 Scotland Street, but No 43 is more or less behind me.
Granton Gasworks [Station]: This building at the former Granton gasworks (note clues), seen here in December 2018, was not a station building as such, more an admin building with a workers' platform running through it. The platform went through the structure via a subsequently bricked-up arch (painted white) and workers then walked through the building and across a footbridge to the left. Trams never reached here and there was little housing nearby at the time the station was active, so the halt would have once been vital. My father remembers this building being a canteen in the late 1950s.
Warriston Junction: The site of Warriston Junction, where the Leith line left the Edinburgh, Leith and Granton 'main' line to Granton (ahead) at the end of Warriston viaduct. This is probably the busiest stretch of railway walk I know; it is used locally as a shortcut to Canonmills Tesco, which boosts numbers. Seen in December 2018.
County March Summit [West Highland]: A Sprinter on the climb northwards from Upper Tyndrum to County March Summit approaches the former overbridge. When the line opened the road north of Tyndrum crossed over the railway to run on its east side (left side of this view) until the summit when it recrossed the line. The old road is now the West Highland Way and passes under the line via a cattle creep near the missing bridge. Other nearby road improvements around the 1930s led to Bridge of Orchy station being on a side road instead of the main road north.
Bay Horse: Locomotive Services Ltd's acquisition of Driving Van Trailers, to complement its new fleet of AC electrics and MkIII coaches, will surely simplify their future charter operations. DVT 82139 was on the rear of the Euston - Glasgow Central excursion on 12th December 2020 but would later lead the return leg.
Nuneaton: The ersatz Midland Pullman shows a clean pair of heels as it leaves Nuneaton platform 5 (see image [[75173]]) in December 2020.
Blunsdon: The boiler and firebox from Bulleid Merchant Navy 4-6-2, 35011 'General Steam Navigation', awaiting repair at Blunsdon on the Swindon and Cricklade in December 2020.
Causewayhead: Presumably on a driver training run for future diversions, DRS 68004 'Rapid' took two up and two down trips between Stirling and Dunfermline on Saturday 12th December 2020. Starting at Grangemouth, it ran through to Perth, backtracked to Stirling, returned to Dunfermline and finally headed home to Grangemouth. This photo shows the loco scooting past the Wallace Monument near Causewayhead on the first leg of its journey.
Nuneaton: This sort of thing will happen if you stable a locomotive next to a primary school. 66720, a GB Railfreight loco, doesn't seem to have a name; but is quite unmistakable in its rainbow livery as it passes Platform 6b at Nuneaton. The photographers thrown into sharp relief by the low sun were waiting for the ersatz Midland Pullman (see image [[75173]]).
Bay Horse: A LSL post-lockdown excursion from Euston to Glasgow ran in dreadful weather on the morning of 12th December 2020. 90002 headed a sparkling set of first class MkIII coaches, with a DVT on the rear, seen passing Bay Horse on the outward leg.
Euxton Junction: 90002 'Wolf of Badenoch' heads an immaculate Inter City set of Mark III coaches on a Euston to Glasgow charter near to Euxton Junction on 12 December 2020. While the train was perfectly turned out, unfortunately the same couldn't be said of the weather.
Nuneaton: Well, at least I was on the right platform this time (see image [[74461]]). This is LSLs reproduction Midland Pullman set, out on tour from Crewe to St.Pancras via Hinckley, Leicester, and Harringworth Viaduct on 12th December 2020. You have to squint a bit to imagine this as a Midland Pullman, but I am just happy to see an HST in Nuneaton again. The leading power car appears to be 43055. This was the second tour for this set in this condition; it headed North from London the day before.
Nuneaton: The lettering and heraldry on the ersatz Midland Pullman (see image [[75173]]) certainly looks the part.
Preston: This superb stone bridge carried the East Lancashire line out of Preston and I travelled over it many times before it closed in 1972, when trains were diverted to run via Farington Curve. A low December sun illuminates the patterns in the stonework, the craftsmanship reflecting its position separating two adjacent public parks. This view looks from Avenham Park into Miller Park, which sits between this railway and the WCML.
Preston (Old Tram Bridge): A view from the top of the rope worked canal tramway incline in Preston. A winding house stood near this point to lift wagons up from the river bridge to a level where they could continue to the canal basin near the town centre. The incline closed in 1864 and has now been landscaped into the park features but the replica tramroad bridge over the Ribble can be seen through the trees in this view from December 2020.
Bay Horse: I was looking forward to trying the new Blackpool-Euston Grand Central services with ex-ECML MkIV coaches and Class 90s but Covid put paid to all that. 90026 was fully reliveried in anticipation but has since been debranded and returned to DB. The black and orange loco is paired with 90036 on a southbound intermodal at Bay Horse on 12th December 2020.
Nuneaton: The ersatz frosted glass drop glasses on the doors of the ersatz Midland Pullman (see image [[75173]]) look rather good, actually.
Preston: The imposing Park Hotel in Preston was jointly owned by the LYR and LNWR, passing in turn to the LMS and then British Transport Hotels. It was connected by a covered footbridge to the present day Platform 4 at the station. The hotel was closed and sold in 1950 and became offices of Lancashire County Council but the bridge remained open until around the time of the 1972 electrification. The building is presently being refurbished to become a hotel again with a new conference centre attached.
Blunsdon: A former Balfour Beatty 12T rail crane, DRP 81522, now working on the Swindon and Cricklade Railway, an excellent asset. 12th December 2020.
Preston (Old Tram Bridge): On the Preston side of the old tram bridge over the River Ribble there was a rope worked incline. The winding engine building was just in front of the white Italianate style house but was demolished in 1869, five years after the tramroad closed. This view, with the (presently closed) bridge immediately behind, shows a path in Avenham Park that generally follows the route of the incline. At the top the tramroad continued through the town to the canal basin just to the north of the present Preston station.
Blunsdon: Christmas Mail on the platform at Blunsdon, waiting for the Santa Special on 12th December 2020.
Events
Events from the chronology which occured on this day. This generally lists events before 1995, the creation of the website.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Great train robbery: Scots lose out on direct link to France [Scotsman] | CROSS-channel rail operators were last night condemned for refusing to run direct trains between Scotland and the Continent - even though Scots taxpayers stumped up £200m towards the cost of a link in London that could pave the way for a non-stop service. |
| 2006 | Blitz launched on Christmas railway crime [Scotsman] | A CRACKDOWN on Christmas crime on the railways was set to be launched at Waverley Station today. |
| 2006 | Lib Dems welcome business case for trams scheme [Scotsman] | THE city^s Liberal Democrat group has welcomed the business case for Edinburgh^s tram network, which claims the scheme will deliver hundreds of millions of pounds in benefits. |
| 2006 | MSP helps get new rail service on track [Scotsman] | A NEW rail service for commuters travelling into Edinburgh from East Lothian was flagged off from Dunbar today by local MSP John Home Robertson. |
| 2006 | Rail work on track for the festive break [Scotsman] | ENGINEERING work on the main railway line between Edinburgh and Glasgow will take place over the Christmas and New Year period. |
| 2006 | Union leaders^ warning to rail giant over redundancies [Scotsman] | UNION leaders have vowed to fight any attempt by rail giant GNER to impose redundancies on its staff. |
| 2008 | We^ll buy UK share of Eurostar and run it better say Germans [Times] | Germany is seeking to buy Britain’s share of Eurostar in a move that would leave the high-speed international train service entirely under foreign control. [from Mark Bartlett] |
| 2008 | New rail link exceeds expectation [BBC News Article] | A new study has shown the number of people using the new Alloa rail link has exceeded all expectations. |
| 2010 | New £300m Airdrie - Bathgate rail ink reopens [BBC News] | A £300m rail link has opened that re-establishes passenger services between North Lanarkshire and West Lothian for the first time in 54 years. |
| 2011 | Walking the line: Uncovering the work of the Upper Tweed Railway Paths group [Scotsman] | Next year marks a century since one of the most remarkable railway lines in Britain was torn up for scrap. Now plans are being laid to bring it back to life as part of a railway path network, finds Alastair Dalton |
| 2011 | Northern Rail adds 50 more carriages to commuter trains [BBC News] | Fifty more carriages are being put on some of the busiest Northern Rail routes providing more than one million extra seats a year, the company says. The second-hand stock will see more capacity on trains serving five key urban centres: Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. [From Mark Bartlett] |
| 2011 | Railway will give long term boost to Borders [Border Telegraph] | MIDLOTHIAN South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale MSP Christine Grahame is welcoming the announcement that Capital spending worth up to £60 billion will mean investment in Scotland^s rail network, including the Borders Railway. The Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment made the pledge as he published the Scottish Government^s Infrastructure and Investment Plan, which details plans for up to £60 billion of spending right up until 2030. |
| 2012 | First glimpse of New Street^s bright future [Network Rail] | An early glimpse of Birmingham New Street’s bright future appeared this week as the first sections of the station and new retail destination^s stunning new façade were installed. Workers have started the huge task of installing 8,000 reflective stainless steel panels which will eventually envelop the entire building. When complete in 2015, the façade will transform the drab, grey station building which has dominated the city centre for the last 40 years into a futuristic transport hub and aspirational retail destination for Birmingham. |
| 2012 | Plans for wi-fi on ScotRail trains due to be announced [BBC] | Plans to roll out wi-fi on more ScotRail trains are expected to be announced by the Scottish government. |
| 2013 | Reopening east-west railway line between Cambridge and Oxford wins Government backing [Cambridge News] | Reopening of the railway line between Cambridge and Oxford has been backed by the Government. Local authorities have commissioned a report with the backing of ministers into the economic benefits of eastern section of the link, between Bedford and Cambridge. Reopening the western end in 2017 has already been agreed. |
| 2013 | Kenilworth station: Government funds for trains by 2016 [BBC News] | Plans to reintroduce a railway station to a town which lost its rail link in the 1960s have been given final government approval. The Department for Transport has announced it will give £5m towards the £11.3m railway station in Kenilworth. It said it hoped local services between Coventry, Kenilworth and Leamington Spa could start in December 2016. These could be followed by rail services between Kenilworth and Birmingham in 2019. [From Mark Bartlett] |
| 2014 | Edinburgh tram inquiry: Key figures refused to co-operate [BBC News] | The man leading the public inquiry into the Edinburgh trams fiasco has told how key figures refused ^point blank^ to co-operate. In a BBC Scotland interview, Lord Hardie pledged his investigation would be tough and effective. The Scottish government said last month the inquiry was to be given the power to compel witnesses to participate. |
| 2015 | London Marylebone Station closed after train fire [BBC News] | Up to 700 people were evacuated from London Marylebone station after a fire onboard a train that pulled into a platform. An air conditioning unit is believed to have caught fire, police said. No injuries were reported. Chiltern Railways suspended services leaving the station. Light smoke could be seen on the concourse and appeared to be coming from platform one, BBC World Service presenter Danny Cox said. The station was evacuated shortly after 21:00 GMT and five fire crews were called to the station. |
| 2016 | Oxford to London Marylebone railway line opens [BBC News] | Trains have started running on a second line between London and Oxford city centre following a £320m project. Chiltern Railways said its new service to London Marylebone would offer ^genuine competition^. Great Western Railway already runs a service between Oxford and London Paddington. The new service started running from the new station Oxford Parkway, when it opened a year ago, but was extended to the city centre from Monday. Network Rail contributed £190m towards the project, with Chiltern Railways investing £130m. More than 850,000 journeys are expected to be taken to or from Oxford on the new services in the next year. |
| 2017 | Investigation ordered into ^misleading^ festive tickets [BBC News] | Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has ordered an investigation after reports rail firms ^misled^ customers. The watchdog Transport Focus said companies were selling tickets for services over Christmas, despite knowing they will not run. Mr Grayling said was ^unacceptable^ for passengers to have to pay higher ^walk-up^ fares at Christmas. Industry body the Rail Delivery Group said its members would ^develop a plan^ to address the complaints. Mr Grayling said: ^It would be totally unacceptable if any passenger has to pay walk-up fares this Christmas because advance tickets were not available.^ ^I expect passengers to be offered the highest standards of customer service and have ordered an immediate investigation into this report.^ |
| 2017 | West Midlands Trains and London Northwestern launch first services [RTM] | The new West Midlands franchise officially launched this weekend as West Midlands Trains and London Northwestern began operations. The new operator is a joint venture between Abellio, JR East and Mitsui which won the contract from London Midland in August. Splitting the franchise into two sections means that, while west coast services will be controlled through the usual TOC system, West Midlands Trains will be operated by the JV and managed jointly by West Midlands Rail (WMR), a consortium of 16 councils, and the DfT. After the award of the contract, the new operators announced £680m worth of spending on 107 new diesel and electric trains, with space for extra 85,000 passengers. |
| 2017 | DRS traction policy [Rail] | Direct Rail Services has developed a business plan for the next 20 years, but admits that the use of heritage vehicles (20s, 37s, 57s) is no longer economically, technically or environmentally viable for the entirety of the current strategy period. |
| 2018 | Amco awarded Dunbar station upgrade contract [Network Rail] | Network Rail has appointed Amco as the main contractor for the planned £13m enhancement of Dunbar station. |
| 2018 | ScotRail introduces EMUs onto newly-wired Central Belt routes [RAIL] | Electric trains start serving Alloa, Dunblane and Stirling as ScotRail brings more Class 385s into traffic |
| 2019 | Long-awaited Kilcreggan ferry transfer ^to happen in new year^ [Helensburgh Advertiser] | Years of campaigning by fed-up Kilcreggan ferry users are set to pay off in the new year when oversight of the route is transferred to Scotland^s national transport agency. |
| 2019 | Work progressing on Levenmouth rail link reopening [Fife Today] | Network Rail has started development work to choose the most appropriate scheme to reopen the Levenmouth rail link. |
| 2019 | Shops empty and seafood rots as Barra^s ferry lifeline fails [The Herald] | A winter gale howled across the Western Isles this week. So too did a crescendo of protest. |
| 2019 | Plans on track for return of Bonnybridge rail station [Falkirk Herald] | A new railway station for Bonnybridge could finally be on track following a long-awaited report presented to Falkirk Councils executive. |
