DavidB-AU

Caledonian Sleeper coaches ready for testing The first five of the 75 coaches that CAF is building for Caledonian Sleeper services between Scotland and London have arrived at the Velim test centre in the Czech Republic, where they will undergo several weeks of dynamic testing. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/traction-rolling-stock/single-view/view/caledonian-sleeper-coaches-ready-for-testing.html

"In addition, 18 refurbished class 442 five-car EMUs will be deployed on London Waterloo - Portsmouth services from December 2018." http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/commuter-rail/firstgroup-and-mtr-take-over-south-western-franchise.html

Amtrak Amfleet cars look much the same when the wheels are shiny. Give them a few days in traffic and they will be so grimy the casual eye won't see it. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ck4049/6786595407/ Cheers David

The first bit about styling is interesting.

The C class is still alive. Cheers David

Needs weathering. Cheers David

If you've never seen James Veitch before, check out some of his TEDx talks.

Department for Transport (DfT) announced on August 10 that it has awarded a contract to operate the West Midlands franchise to West Midlands Trains, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abellio Transport Group with East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Mitsui as minority partners. http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/main-line/abellio-jr-east-and-mitsui-clinch-west-midlands-franchise.html

Don't know how many of you are following All The Stations. The 37 is from 12:00. Cheers David

A Swedish rail operator has vowed to name one of its trains Trainy McTrainface after a public vote, saying it would bring joy to people disappointed when Britain rejected the name Boaty McBoatface for a polar research ship following a similar poll. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/20/swedish-rail-firm-approves-trainy-mctrainface-as-newest-member-of-its-fleet

Sheffield, Swansea and Windermere electrification cancelled http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/policy/single-view/view/sheffield-swansea-and-windermere-electrification-cancelled.html

The Welsh Government is to provide £1·9m and operator Arriva Trains Wales £1m to lease five Class 319 Flex electro-diesel multiple-units for use on the Wales & Borders franchise from 2018 until at least 2021. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/class-319-flex-electro-diesel-multiple-units-for-wales.html

There were four (now three) Ettamogah pubs based on the cartoon. The original at Ettamogah in NSW and copies at Palmview (Qld), Cunderin (WA) and Kellyville Ridge (a suburb of Sydney). Following a dispute over intellectual property rights, the one in Queensland dropped the name in 2014. Cheers David

As a single word, but the full and official name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. Cheers David

Two for the price of one!

The Department for Transport announced the shortlisted bidders for the next South Eastern passenger franchise on June 22. They are: South Eastern Holdings Ltd (NS’s Abellio Transport Group, East Japan Railway and Mitsui & Co); London & South East Passenger Rail Services Ltd (Govia 65:35 joint venture of Go-Ahead and Keolis UK); Stagecoach South Eastern Trains Ltd (Stagecoach Group); Trenitalia UK Ltd (Italian national passenger operator Trenitalia). http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/south-eastern-franchise-bidders-announced.html

The shortlisted bidders for the West Coast Partnership franchise were announced by the Department for Transport on June 22. They are: First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd, a joint venture between FirstGroup’s First Rail Holdings Ltd (70%) and Italian state operator Trenitalia SpA (30%); MTR West Coast Partnership Ltd, a joint venture of the MTR Corp (UK) Ltd subsidiary of Hong Kong’s MTR Corp and Guangshen Railway Co which operates the 481 km Shenzhen – Guangzhou – Pingshi Railway in China, with key sub-contractors including consultancy Deloitte MCS Ltd, Panasonic Systems Europe, Swedish travel software company Snowfall, ticket retailer Trainline.com Ltd and engineering consultancy; West Coast Partnership Ltd, a joint venture between Stagecoach Group plc (50%), Virgin Holdings Ltd (30%) and the SNCF C3 (20%) subsidiary of the French national railway group. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/three-shortlisted-for-west-coast-partnership-franchise.html

First MTR are only going to use 18 of them. Cheers David

TESTING of Saudi Arabia’s 453km Haramain high-speed line reached a milestone on June 15 when a Talgo 350 train reached 310km/h on the section between King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and Medina, exceeding the maximum commercial operating speed of 300km/h for the first time. http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/high-speed/talgo-train-reaches-310km-h-on-saudi-high-speed-line.html

Open access passenger service promoter Alliance Rail Holdings has dropped plans to procure Alstom Pendolino trainsets for its proposed London Euston – Blackpool North service. The Arriva subsidiary reports that it is now discussing with leasing company Eversholt the use of Class 91 locomotives and MkIV coaches which are currently operated by Virgin Trains East Coast. Meanwhile, Network Rail has identified seven weekday return train paths which Alliance’s Grand Southern Railway could use to launch a proposed Southampton – London Waterloo open access service during the 2018 timetable. The operator would initially use Class 442 EMUs. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/alliance-drops-pendolino-plan-as-southampton-paths-identified.html

Rail freight operator Lineas ran a pilot service carrying Jupiler beer from AB InBev’s brewery at Jupille near Liège to Delhaize’s warehouse in Ninove on June 13. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/freight/single-view/view/beer-train-launched.html

ISRAEL Railways (IR) presented details of its Shekels 123.6bn ($US 34.9bn) 2040 Strategic Plan at a conference at the Dan Panorama hotel in Tel Aviv on June 8, revealing ambitious proposals to double the size of the network over the next two decades with high-speed trains connecting key centres. Under the plan the network is projected to grow from 1232km to 2572km between 2020 and 2040, with the number of stations increasing from 68 to 120. IR’s passenger train fleet will almost triple from 139 in 2020 to 511 in 2040. http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/middle-east/israel-to-double-rail-network-by-2040.html

Just when you thought the joke couldn't go any further... https://thewest.com.au/sport/horse-racing/horsey-mchorseface-delights-punters-and-commentator-with-first-ever-win-ng-b88499690z