ISSN 1751-8091 RailwayThe Herald 7 September 2007 Issue 99 TheThe complimentarycomplimentary UKUK railwayrailway journaljournal forfor thethe railwayrailway enthusiastenthusiast For the latest issue and copies of all back issues, visit www.railwayherald.co.uk RailwayThe Herald Issue 99 Front Cover In First Great Western 'Local Lines' livery, Class 150/2 No 150244 approaches its Dawlish stop on 1 September, forming the 09.11 service from Paignton to Exmouth. Brian Morrison Back Cover Two of the remaining Class 37/6 locomotives operated by London & Continental Railways, Nos. 37601 and 37603 pass through Paddock Wood on 7 September. Steve Philpott Contents ABOVE: An aerial view of the E19 motorway - the space between the two carriageways will become the new line! Paris to St Pancras International in just over 2 hours. Page 3 Infrabel unveil plans for new Diabolo project On 7 September, track railway, which creating a new link, and the routes to First TransPennine unveils new look Belgium infrastructure will further reduce allowing high-speed Leuven, Germany and interior to Class 170/3s Page 4 operator Infrabel, the journey time from services to travel Luxembourg. should have the Netherlands to through and serve The route is due to Go-ahead for Wrexham and completed the Brussels as well as Brussels Airport open to traffic in 2013. Shropshire Railway Page 5 financial closing BELOW: The course of the new high-speed route from Schaerbeek to Mechelan will traverse Submissions and signing of this green area between the two carriageways of the E19 motorway. Both: RailManager We welcome submissions from all the Public Private Partnership (PPP) readers, especially digital photographs. for the construction Pictures should be sent to the editor at of a new high-speed [email protected] chord running north- Good quality scans of colour slides east from Schaerbeek and prints are also acceptable. Currently to the Netherlands, there is no financial payment made together with a new for photographs published in Railway underground link Herald. Where possible we always try to from Brussels Airport use news photographs taken within the to the new line. production week of the publication date. Unfortunately, technical issues Publication with the PPP which The Railway Herald is due to be is funding the underground link, published every Friday and is available prevented the signing on e-mail subscription or by download from going ahead. Mechelen from our website - www.railwayherald.com The planned new route is shown The new route from Antwerp highlighted in yellow on this map, Schaerbeek will take Rotterdam which also gives an insight into how Amsterdam Editorial Team a course northwards the new lines will fit in with the existing rail network. Infrabel Richard Tuplin Magazine Editor along the centre of the E19 motorway to Brian Morrison Contributing Editor New line to be built in John Whitehouse Railtour Editor Mechelen, the trackbed central reservation of E19 For our team contact list, click here. using a 40-metre-wide motorway. To open 2012 Northern connection Editorial Address: area previously set Public-Private Partnership The Railway Herald, PO Box 252, Scunthorpe, aside for the expansion To open 2012 North Lincolnshire. United Kingdom. DN17 2WY. Telephone: 0870 28 56041 of motorway lanes. E-mail: [email protected] However, the decision has now been taken 25N Railway Herald is produced by Railway Herald Ltd to scrap the plan and © Copyright Railway Herald Ltd 2006-2007 Brussels Airport replace it with a new Nossegem curve 160km/h double- Haren (2005) Hasselt BREAKING NEWS Leuven 36 Zaventem Liège Just as Railway Herald closed Schaarbeek Cologne for press, news was reaching us Nossegem of a reported, but unconfirmed, Four track line problem with LNER 'A4' No. Leuven – Brussels 60019 Bittern. + Leuven curve (2006) It appears the locomotive Brussels Paris developed a fault with the Future tunnel London Schuman – Josaphat middle big-end during its test To open 2012 run from Didcot to Bristol on 7 Source graphic: Infrabel September. If this is the case, its proposed charters next weekend Namur are now in doubt. Luxembourg 2 RailwayThe Herald NewsDesk Paris to London in just two hours and three minutes by Eurostar Eurostar achieved the fastest minutes from journey times High Speed 1 has been built ABOVE: Eurostar Class 373 half-sets ever journey time between between London, Paris and on time and within budget. Nos. (37)3223 and (37)3224 becomes the French and British Brussels. It is quite remarkable The improved connections the first Eurostar to arrive at the new capitals on 4 September, with St. Pancras International station direct to think that from November, between domestic and Eurostar from Paris on 4 September. a record-breaking run of just the time for a London to services at the new St Pancras 2 hours 3 minutes and 39 Newark Northgate, Birmingham will enable passengers from RIGHT: Invited guests and seconds. International or Bristol Parkway across Great Britain, Belgium passengers crowd around the train The train left Gare du journey is around the same as and France to reach a variety of shortly after arriving at the new Nord station in Paris at 10.44 a London to Lille through rail destination across the whole of international terminal in Central CET, arriving in St Pancras journey - 1 hour and 20 minutes! Europe quickly and easily. London. International at just after 11.47 BST. It travelled at speeds of up to 200mph (320km/h) on the Ligne a Grande Vitesse across northern France and on the UK’s new high-speed line, High Speed 1, over the Medway Bridge. Richard Brown, Chief Executive of Eurostar, said: "Eurostar has today proved that our 186 mph trains are by far the quickest way of travelling between France and Britain. Paris and London have joined the ‘two-hour club’ and our great cities are now even closer together." The record was set 10 weeks ahead of the new Eurostar launch at St Pancras International on Wednesday 14 November. Eurostar will move to its new London terminus overnight, with services at Waterloo ending the previous evening. The move will cut at least 20 RailwayThe Herald 3 NewsDesk First TransPennine preview refurbished Turbostar sets First TransPennine Express 102 Standard Class passengers. (FTPE) previewed the first of Class 170/3 No. 170306 is its newly refurbished Class the first unit to be outshopped, 170/3 Turbostar DMUs at Hull each set taking around four on 7 September. weeks to be completed. All The nine sets, which were nine units are scheduled for previously in use with South completion in early December. West Trains, are to go through The fleet is numbered 170301- the workshops at Clacton 170308, with the ninth vehicle, where the carpets and dado No. 170399 becoming 170309 panels are being renewed and following the refurbishment. the seat coverings changed. The introduction of the Powerpoints are being fitted at Class 170/3s exclusively onto seats and a number of internal the Manchester - Hull services alterations are taking place. will allow the company The Class 170/3s originally to make use of the spare had a First Class compartment Class 185 DMUs on the new within each coach. One of Manchester - Glasgow and these has been downgraded to Edinburgh service, when Standard Class, with one set FTPE takes over from Virgin of seats removed to provide CrossCountry in December. an additional luggage area. A Interestingly, these trains will tip-up seat opposite the non- employ Freightliner Heavy disabled toilet has also been Haul drivers northwards from TOP: Class 170/3 No. 170306 stands at Hull on 7 September. removed for the same reason. Preston in the interim, due to ABOVE: The new-look First Class area seating. The disabled toilet area the lack of time available to BELOW: The Standard Class area seating. All: Richard Tuplin has been upgraded with new train and 'pass out' new FTPE vanity units together with drivers. new activating buttons, which When the new Scottish meet the latest disability service does start, there will be requirements. a slight reduction in through Throughout the train, the trains between Barrow and new-look Class 170s now have Windermere to Manchester a typical TransPennine Express Airport. To compensate, a feel to them, the aim being to shuttle service will operate bring them more in-line with at some points in the day the feeling and comfort of the between Windermere and Siemens-built Class 185s. An Lancaster, with services from automated announcement Manchester Airport dividing system and CCTV camera's at Preston for either Barrow/ have been fitted, as has a front Windermere and Glasgow/ facing camera in the corner Edinburgh. of the secondman's window, FTPE says that the where the dash area has been withdrawn through services recovered in the driving cabs will, in the main, be the and a new seat fitted for the lighter used trains, rather than driver. The 'Turbostars' can creating a regular clockface now seat eight First Class and timetable. The 4 Remember you can always 'click' on an advert to go straight to the advertisers website! Railway Herald NewsDesk Wrexham & Shropshire to start in Spring 2008 after approval from ORR The company campaigning connecting them to London.” for refurbishment within the some modification will be to operate a regular service, The rights to call at Gobowen, next two months. Discussions required to allow the Bo-Bo seven days a week, between Chirk and Ruabon for one are presently ongoing locomotives to work in push- Wrexham, Shrewsbury and northbound weekday service with a number of possible pull mode with the DVT sets. London Marylebone has won will be contingent. As per contractors regarding the actual WSMR say that the possibility its battle.