TRANSPORT secretary Grant Shapps says a ‘go or no-go’ decision will be made about HS2 by the end of the year. The DfT said a review will ‘consider whether and how the project should proceed’, and will take into account the benefits, cost and practicality of building

UK: Abellio officially launched East Midlands Railway as the new operator of the East Midlands franchise on August 19, the day after it formally took over from Stagecoach which had operated the services for 11 years under the East Midlands Trains brand. More than £600m is to be spent on enhancements

FORMER Midland Railway ‘1F’ 0-6-0T No. 41708 will be returned to full working order for the first time since 2003 following its acquisition by the Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society (BHESS). The purchase of the 1880-built ‘Half Cab’ for an undisclosed sum from the 1708 Locomotive Preservation Trust officially reunites the

Transport secretary ‘more open’ about TfL suburban expansionTHE new transport secretary Grant Shapps is reported to be ‘more open’ about the transfer of more National Rail suburban services in Greater London to Transport for London. Grant Shapps met London Mayor Sadiq Khan yesterday for the first time since the resignation

ESSEX Locomotive Society-owned Southern ‘S15’ No. 825 could be undergoing its post-overhaul trials at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway by the time this issue of The RM goes on sale. At the time of writing work was well into the final stages of the Maunsell 4-6-0’s 10-yearly overhaul. 

RUSSIA: Transmashholding’s Tver plant is to produce a pilot batch of 61-4517 and 61-4516 passenger coaches which will operate in coupled pairs, a concept which the manufacturer said was being implemented in Russia for the first time. Shipments are planned to start in September. One coach from each pair will have

GERMANY: Leasing company Northrail has signed a full-service agreement to provide RTB Cargo with three Siemens Mobility Smarton electric locomotives for up to five years. Announcing the contract on August 20, Northrail said the locos would be delivered by spring 2020 for use on automotive trains within Germany. Paribus Group’s Northrail business

AISA: The Transasia Express passenger service between Tehran and Ankara has been relaunched after a four-year suspension. The first departure left the Iranian capital on August 7, watched by Managing Director of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Saeed Rasouli and the Turkish ambassador. The train is scheduled to run once per

As printed from the January 1972 edition of The Railway Magazine, take a look at this story by Peter A Hogarth about the Barrow Hill roundhouse. On Sunday, September 26 1971, British Railways held one of its increasingly popular “open days” at Barrow Hill diesel servicing depot, Staveley, Chesterfield. Despite

UK: Network Rail is to begin public consultation this summer on plans to rebuild and electrify a 13 km section of the trans-Pennine corridor between Manchester and York via Leeds.The plans form part of the infrastructure manager’s £2·9bn Transpennine Upgrade programme, which is intended to modernise the route by adding capacity,