Weekly Overview 13/09/2015.

Here's this weeks news from around the UK;
66 743 at Eastleigh - © Andy.

ANDY:
  • GB Railfreight has boosted it's capacity at Felixstowe by 23% after the company ran their first train in the 7th slot on September 2nd. The train runs five days a week from Felixstowe - Birch Cppice (near Birmingham.) 
  • Staying with GBRF, the company has also ran it's first train from the new North London Terminal in Cricklewood. The contract is currently 3 years and 1 train per day (Mon-Fri) will run.
  • Southeastern Class 395 unit 395 015 will run from London Victoria through to Kent and Eastbourne in a Commemorative livery on 7th November, ahead of Remembrance Sunday, with all money raised going to the Royal British Legion.
  • The DfT would like the next South Western Franchisee to develop ideas for the Island Line on the Isle of Wight to become a separate but sustainable business during the next franchise.
  • Freight traffic in the UK is on the rise, with Britain filling 80 more trains every week compared to this time last year due the steadily increasing demand over the last decade.
  • In a week's time, FGW will be rebranded to Great Western Railway. The TOC has commissioned the help of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's great great great grandson Isambard Thomas.

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    @BordersRailway
  • The first Crossrail bodyshell was unveiled on 10th September (Thursday.)
  • And lastly, HM The Queen officially opened the Borders Railway on Wednesday 9th September 2015. The Queen was a little delayed in arriving at Edinburgh Waverly due to fog, however she soon boarded the Steam special, hauled by A4 60009 "Union of South Africa. Many thousands of people flocked to witness history in Scotland, and may long the Borders Railway continue. Steam Specials also continue to run for 6 weeks, with Union of South Africa the main locomotive, while recently returned to action A1 "Tornado" is the back up steam engine. Feel free to take a look at the fantastic video produced from the air of the first Steam Special on Thursday - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ME23bxv-Jw&sns=tw
Regards:

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