VIRGIN Rail Group is investigating the opportunities offered by the high speed rail market in Spain, after its bid with Stagecoach and SNCF for West Coast Partnership was disqualified by the Department for Transport in April amid disagreements over the amount of risk franchise-holders are expected to take, particularly in

The Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway is to welcome two visiting locomotives when it hosts its Summer Steam & Beer Extravaganza event. The July 13-14 event will see two Exmoor-built locomotives visiting the railway for the first time – 0-4-0STT St Egwin from the Evesham Vale Light Railway and 0-6-0

GERMANY: Passenger services were reintroduced on the 28 km Bad Bentheim – Neuenhaus route in Niedersachsen on July 6, following a €21m project to upgrade Bentheimer Eisenbahn’s previously freight-only line. Discounted preview fares were offered on the first day, with the full revenue service beginning on July 7. The line’s passenger services

The RM backs public transport initiative to protect children at risk Readers are likely to be familiar with the work of the Railway Children charity in India and East Africa, helping and supporting vulnerable youngsters. Lesser known is the fact the charity now provides vital support

USA: A groundbreaking ceremony at East Freetown in Massachusetts on July 2 officially marked the start of work on Phase 1 of the South Coast Rail commuter project. The $1·047bn project will extend Boston’s Middleborough Line commuter rail services to Taunton, New Bedford and Fall River, the only major cities within

By Cliff Thomas and Chris Milner THE Vale of Rheidol Railway’s (VoR) new Aberystwyth station was the first of three narrow gauge stations to be formally opened in the province during June.  On June 6, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, officially

Disabled rail passengers will benefit from a £20 million fund to boost accessibility, the Department for Transport (DfT) said. Railway station operators will be able to bid for a share of the investment for small-scale improvements such as textured paving, handrails and raising platform heights. Disabled rail passengers will benefit

EUROPE: Tracklaying is underway on the railway which Russia is building to link the mainland to the eastern end of the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014. A bridge across the Kerch Strait has been proposed for many years. Following the annexation, the Russian government awarded Stroygazmontazh a

TfL accused of withholding ‘vital’ information after tram crashMEMBERS of the London Assembly have urged the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to launch an independent investigation into allegations that Transport for London withheld ‘vital’ information connected with the Croydon tram crash of 2016. A motion put forward by Conservative Assembly

FURTHER proposals to rebuild and re-route the Exeter to Newton Abbot route between Dawlish and Teignmouth have been unveiled by Network Rail.  The ambitious plans include extensive works to protect the line from cliff falls and landslips, as well as high seas, around Parsons Tunnel and Holcombe Beach.