It seems the Hitachi order book continues to fill up with Avanti West Coast (the new franchise holder of the West Coast Main Line route) ordering new trains from them The order covers 23 new trains - or 135 carriages if you work to that metric. Avanti West Coast new Hitachi trains - Image, Hitachi Rail It covers 10 seven-carriage units and 13 five-carriage bi-modal units. … [Read more...]

On Sunday, Avanti West Coast will take over the West Coast Main Line route between London Euston to Glasgow (and Intercity points in-between). Here is a quick Q and A of the information and changes we know will happen on Sunday/Monday onwards. Wait. Virgin Trains won't be a thing? After 22 years in the industry, Virgin Trains West Coast (own by Virgin Group and … [Read more...]

EDITORS NOTE: I've published an FAQ into some of the changes here In around 10 days time, Virgin Trains (West Coast Railway)who have operated the West Coast Rail Franchise for 22 years will be no more. Enter Avanti West Coast. Avanti West Coast is the result of the FirstGroup and Trenitalia partnership which won the recent franchising round. Initially, Avanti … [Read more...]

Lufthansa is expanding its Air-Rail connectivity through it’s Express Rail Brand, adding through rail ticketing and protection if something goes amiss. ICE Trains at Frankfurt Haptbhanhof - Image, Economy Class and Beyond. Frankfurt Airport will gain connections to Aachen, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Stuttgart and Ulm. This is in addition to Dortmund, Göttingen, Kassel, … [Read more...]

If you're planning to take either Heathrow Express or TfL Rail (ex Heathrow Connect) services between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport this Saturday, you might have to make new plans - as the line between Hayes and Harlington and Heathrow Airport will be closed on Saturday 19th October. As such: Heathrow Express services will be suspended completely TfL … [Read more...]

One of the odditities of train travel in the UK are return rail fares. A perfect example of this is one of the routes I use - London Marylebone to Brimingham. If I brought a single ticket - it would cost £31.30. However, if I brought a return ticket, it costs a £31.40 - a grand total of 10p extra. 10p extra for a return ticket is a bargain. Not so much if … [Read more...]

It's coming up to the Bank Holiday Weekend in England and Wales. And that's the "go" signal for engineering works on the UK Rail network. Network Rail continues to insist that the railways are quieter than normal during bank holidays - and the perfect time to conduct engineering work. Here are some of the big things that will hit you over the Bank Holiday … [Read more...]

Luton Airport is feeling the benefits of Abelio taking over the East Midlands Rail franchise, with East Midlands Railway planning to launch an "Express" service between London St Pancras and the airport. East Midlands Railway Class 222 train - Image, Luton Airport/East Midlands Railway The agreement between London Luton Airport and Abellio (which will operate the East … [Read more...]

EDITORS NOTE: I’ve published an FAQ into some of the changes here where Avanti West Coast will take over the Virgin Trains operation. Virgin Trains has been part of the privatised railway since 1997 when it took over runing of the West Coast Mainline. This will come to an end this year as First Trenitalia (a joint venture of FirstGroup and ) take over the West Coast Railway … [Read more...]

East Midlands Railway - the incoming Midland Main Line franchisee operated by Abellio - has selected new rolling stock for its network - with the company taking on Hitachi High Speed trains for its new intercity fleet. This is part of the complete fleet replacement that Abellio committed to East Midlands Railways when signing for the franchise. In total, 165 carriages … [Read more...]