THE first two tunnelling machines for HS2 have arrived in Britain, and HS2 Ltd said they will start work in the New Year. The 2,000 tonne machines – built in Germany and named Florence and Cecilia after women associated with Buckinghamshire – will now be reassembled, tested and commissioned. They have

Britain’s best-selling rail title The Railway Magazine is back for another month of award-winning photos, news, features and exclusives from the rail industry, past and present. This month’s The Railway Magazine covers first Vivarail train arriving on the Isle of Wight, plus Eurostar and HS1 warn their futures are at risk.

You may have seen reports that Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge are touring the country in the Royal Train to thank community workers and frontline staff for their efforts during the pandemic. Sim Harris suggests one small aspect of this tour is rather out of date. THE

Birmingham New Street’s highly successful Christmas Eve meal for the city’s homeless is returning this year – but with a difference. For the third year running Network Rail is teaming up with award-winning charity Midland Langar Seva Society (MLSS) to provide hot food and festive cheer for those who are struggling

THE Office of Rail and Road has praised Network Rail’s timetable planners for their extraordinary work in making four major timetable changes over six months, during ‘a very challenging time’. Rail schedules were adjusted repeatedly during 2020 to align as much as possible with the various states of lockdowns and other

Lifting hundreds of miles of roadworks and shortening rail engineering work are among measures aimed at avoiding Christmas travel chaos unveiled by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. The closure of London King’s Cross station on Christmas Eve for major engineering work has been postponed from the afternoon until the end of service,

A SHUFFLE of senior train operator posts has been announced by FirstGroup. A new managing director has been appointed at South Western Railway. She is Claire Mann, whose previous experience goes back 20 years and includes the post of director at the Docklands Light Railway and other posts at Arriva Trains

THE next chief constable of British Transport Police has been named as Lucy D’Orsi, who is presently the deputy assistant commissioner for Specialist Operations at the Metropolitan Police. The first woman to lead BTP, she will join in the New Year, shortly before the current chief Paul Crowther retires in February. Lucy

THE purchase of Bombardier by Alstom is set to be completed within two months. Alstom said ‘all necessary regulatory approvals’ have now been received, which means the transaction can go ahead on 29 January. The price for the acquisition of 100 per cent of Bombardier Transportation shares will be €5.8bn to €6.2bn,

THE Rail Accident Investigation Branch has reported that the derailment of a train of cement wagons at Sheffield which disrupted services for almost a week was caused by defective track fastenings which allowed the gauge to spread. The accident happened at about 02.45 on 11 November, when 16 of the 34