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 … [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 … [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...]

Whilst High Speed 2 (HS2) causes more than a few political headaches, manufacturers are getting on with the process of unveiling designs for new trains. Alstom has revealed theirs today, as part of the Avelia high speed family of trains Alstom Avelia HS2 Train - Image, Alstom The design for the HS2 trains have some limitations - this design being the "Classic … [Read more...]

It seems that those of you who are waiting for the new CDG Express service connecting central Paris to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport to turn up are going to have to wait a bit longer -  with an announcement the project is going to be delayed Alstom Coradia Liner, the planned trains to be used on the CDG Express – Image, Copyright Alstom and Jean Schweitzer (via … [Read more...]

As some of you might know, I'm a fan of Eurostar for connecting between the UK and France/Belgium/Nederlands by rail. Well - Good News! They've got another set of decent travel deals. Eurostar Class 374 Velaro's at London St Pancras - Image, Economy Class and Beyond. On offer this time both Standard and Standard Premier are on sale. The offers in Standard … [Read more...]