GOVIA Thameslink has added rainbow vinyls to set No. 700155 in connection with the Brighton & Hove Pride event from August 2-4. It is seen passing Brockley on July 16 with the 14.35 Bedford-Gatwick Airport train. The unit is the first to carry any branding other than its white base

TRANSPENNINE Express has accepted the first Hitachi Class 802 bi-mode train into its fleet. Dubbed ‘Nova 1’, TPE received the set following approval from the Office of Rail and Road.  TPE has ordered 19 five-carriage ‘Nova 1’ trains, each containing 342 seats, an extra 161 compared to

LNER Class 91 No. 91108 became the first of the 31-strong class to be taken out of service on July 22. Withdrawal of Class 91s was anticipated following the introduction of the Hitachi ‘Azuma’ trains on LNER services, and is in line with LNER’s plans to hand locos back to the

THE first units of a fleet of Class 387s that will take over Heathrow Express services by December have been returned from Bombardier Ilford with a new external livery. GWR is taking over responsibility for the 15-minute frequency operations, and the current Class 332s, now more than 20 years old

GWR has unveiled a series of new cast nameplates with ‘Castle’ names that will be applied to its HST power cars.  The HST power cars are used on the shortened 2+4 formations, which run between Bristol and Penzance. The plates are of a new design and feature

Although summer is currently in full swing, charter operators have already turned their thoughts to the end of the year. UK Railtours is no exception and has announced a trio of days out by train visiting Christmas markets in Manchester, Lincoln and Beverley during December.  The empty stock of UK

CZECH REPULIC: Expanding independent operator RegioJet has ordered 15 Bombardier Transportation Traxx MS3 multi-system electric locomotives, with an option for more. The contract announced on September 3 follows RegioJet’s 2017 order for eight Traxx MS2e locomotives, which entered service last year. The additional locos are intended to work domestic routes including

CZECH REPUBLIC: National operator ČD has been fined KC274·8m after anti-monopoly office ÚOHS ruled that it had abused its dominant position in an effort to prevent competitors entering the passenger market. ÚOHS found that ČD had violated Czech and EU competition laws by submitting artificially low bids for 10-year contracts to

This year sees the 150th anniversary since the ‘Pacific Railroad’ was finished, which linked the existing eastern US network with the Pacific coast at Omaha, Nebraska. The 1,912 miles of continuous railway line was built between 1863 and 1869. 2019 also marks 60 years since the “Big Boy”

EUROPE: Channel Tunnel concessionaire Eurotunnel is prepared for the UK’s scheduled departure from the European Union on October 31 ‘no matter the outcome’, it said on September 2. The company said there would no change to immigration formalities for the 22 million passengers/year who use Shuttle and Eurostar services. Additional VAT