RUSSIA: Three Class RA3 diesel multiple-units to operate regauged regional railway routes on Sakhalin were formally unveiled by Transmashholding on July 26, at a ceremony attended by the Deputy Chairman of the Sakhalin oblast government Vitaly Gudin, RZD’s Deputy General Director, Passenger, Dmitry Pegov, and the First Deputy General Director

Passengers in Cheshire, the North West and Cumbria should check before they travel as landslips and flooding caused by heavy rain are affecting some journeys. Network Rail is busy at several locations working to clear debris, lower water levels and reopen railway lines so trains can run again as normal.

Meridian Water station in north-east London opened on June 3, serving a huge regeneration scheme on former industrial land.  The £46million, three-platform interchange will be served by Greater Anglia trains on the Lea Valley route, and replaces nearby Angel Road, one of inner London’s least-used stations.  A

It came as  a great surprise to many when The Railway Magazine broke the news last August that unrestored GWR ‘Castle’ No. 7027 Thornbury Castle had been sold to a 32-year-old enthusiast from Weston-super-Mare. Twelve months on and Jonathan Jones-Pratt is about to embark on the loco’s restoration, so Gary Boyd-Hope

Fourth strike called on East Midlands TrainsTHE RMT has called an additional Saturday strike on East Midlands Trains, in the unresolved dispute over what the union describes as ‘pay discrimination and contract issues’. The new walkout is set for 17 August. The last of the three strikes which had already

UK: Nine recommendations are set out in a review of the Rail North Partnership between the Department for Transport and Transport for the North which manages the Northern and TransPennine Express passenger franchises. Published on July 19, the review had been commissioned by Leeds City Council Leader Judith Blake and Rail

BELGIUM: Infrastructure manager Infrabel said on July 30 that it had been forced to defend itself and changes in its maintenance policy in a case brought before the Brussels Francophone Business Court by freight operator Lineas. Services run by Lineas and other operators had been affected by an unexpected change

CZECH REPUBLIC: ČD Cargo has taken delivery of the prototype Class 742.71 EffiShunter 1000M Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotive which CZ Loko has produced by extensively rebuilding a ČKD-built Class 742. ČD Cargo ordered 50 of the locomotives for shunting and light main line duties in a KC2·1bn contract signed in November 2018.

UK: Hitachi Rail has been selected to supply a fleet of 200 km/h inter-city trains to operate on the Midland Main Line, as part of the new East Midlands Railway franchise, where Abellio is due to take over from incumbent operator Stagecoach on August 18. The NS subsidiary announced on July 30

London Overground’s Hackney Wick station, which reopened after extensive redevelopment and expansion in May 2018, has won a prestigious design award from the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE).  The ambitious redesign, which transformed the North London Line station from a neglected site into a modern and attractive transport interchange,