It's fast coming up to the Christmas and New Year period. And like clockwork, it's time for major engineering works across the UK Rail Network to kick off. Plan ahead if you can - Image, Network Rail  Why now? Network Rail notes that this is one of the quieter times of the year to conduct engineering works, with fewer people travelling than normal (given that commuter … [Read more...]

It's that time of year again, when the UK Office of Rail and Road releases the numbers for the busiest stations in the United Kingdom. And, for the third year in a row, it's London Liverpool Street, with almost 100 million entries and exits. … [Read more...]

It's been delayed (like a lot of rolling stock projects in the United Kingdom), but East Midlands Railway has brought its Class 810 "Aurora" trainsets into commercial service, carrying paying passengers. EMR Class 810 on its first commercial service - Image EMR (With JenOnTheMove on the right)  The maiden Aurora service departed Sheffield at 7am on Wednesday, bound for … [Read more...]

If you're planning to travel from Central London to Heathrow Airport this weekend, allow extra time for your journey. Why? The Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express will not operate this weekend. What's going on? There is engineering work on the line between Hayes and Harlington and Heathrow Terminals this weekend, requiring the line to be shut.  No trains will … [Read more...]

For those who travel with Lumo between London, the North East of England and Edinburgh, there's good news as the train operator has completed its seating refresh. Lumo's Seat Refresh - Image, Lumo.  The refresh involves 1,930 seats across the five Hitachi-built five-carriage trainsets, with around 400 seats per train (with 52 priority seats and 2 wheelchair accessible … [Read more...]

With Chiltern Railways announcing earlier this year that it was to take up the lease of the Mark 5A rolling stock, the company has finally had its press launch of the new trains. Chiltern MK5A train launch at London Marylebone Station - Image, Chiltern Railways The trains, to be introduced between London and the West Midlands from early 2026, will enable Chiltern to … [Read more...]

Another rail operator has transferred back to government ownership, with Greater Anglia making the move. The transfer took place on the 12th October. Greater Anglia’s services will become the third to enter public ownership under the government’s Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act, marking another step towards a simpler, more unified railway under Great … [Read more...]

With the weather changing and leaves falling, autumn has arrived. Network Rail is gearing up for its annual multi-million-pound battle against Mother Nature and ‘leaves on the line’, aiming to keep millions of passengers and trains safe and moving over the next three months. Entering the fray this season is the newest leaf-clearing train, ‘Ctrl Alt Deleaf’. NetworkRail … [Read more...]