TheGreatBritishRailScene

In Summary: ScotRail have begun tests of the  Class 385  stock on the Edinburgh to  Glasgow corridor.   Next, the first 14 Class 345s ( which replace 315s ) for TFL Rail have been built and passed trials. Of these, 3 are in service and 2 are used for Driver  Training (007-011).  Meanwhile, Govia Thameslink has reached a major milestone in its transformation of the railway by replacing the last of the 29-year-old Class 319 train fleet with modern Class 700 trains. GTR added: "On Sunday 27 August, units 319217 and 319435 were coupled together as an eight carriage service to make the final southbound journey. The train left Bedford on time at 15.06 with a salute from the drivers and a blast on the horn as the train left the station with a small commemorative headboard fitted to the front. Greeted by a crowd of enthusiasts at Brighton, the same train then left the seaside resort full and standing at 18.14 as passengers, enthusiasts...

For those of you who follow us on Twitter, you'll see us sharing, liking and posting news, stories and photos.  However, for those of you who aren't apart of the social media platform, I wouldn't want you to miss out on anything exciting .  So that's why we've condensed down the year so far from our Twitter feed into this handy dosage.... It's practically a year review, so we'll call it just that....  At the start of 2017,  345002 was on tests and trials prior to entering service on the Liverpool Street to Shenfield section of the Cross-Rail route. In June, the first of the new fleet  went into passenger service. Also in February, Thameslink 387124 went on hire to Gatwick Express. Brand spanking new  EMUs were planned for Mersey Rail. Between the 8th and 23rd April, there were significant upgrades to Bath Spa station. Primarily, the platform were widened to ensure that the gap isn't so big between the train & platform edge once the ne...

Harry Here, Summarising Some Of The Interesting Fleet News Between Oct 2016 and Spring 2017...... 10/2016: 142073 heads to  Doncaster for overhaul , as all ArrivaTrainsWales are going into the new livery gradually. 27/01/2017: 37423 and an extra DRS MK2 arrive at Norwich from  Derby, for Short Set usage.  Meanwhile, 68021 and 68016 arrive to take over duty's on the 68 Hauled Anglia Short Set, because 68025 and 68005 both need exams.  01/17: Virgin East coast finish the overhaul of all 45 trains! 

In order to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of GBRf, numerous charity tours will take place around the UK between the 8th/11th September - where momey will be donated to the British Heart Foundation, Ripple Project and Woking Hines - as nominated by GBRf staff. These tours will be using 15 of their locomotives,  including  59003  since it has returned to the UK and  66779  ( the final built 66 ), along with 20s, 47s, 73/1s,  73/9s,  86s and 92s, trailed by a convoy of air-conditioned MK2s with First Class and Standard Accommodation available (plus a buffet car for a selection of light refreshments and a sales outlet for memorabilia. 

Welcome To The 1st Week Review For August. Some Of This News Also Regards The End Of June/July, Just As We Haven't Reported All Of The Significant Stories Out There Yet!  GE Focus: Following on  from older posts,  I now bring a quick update on Gatwick Express.  387s are the talk  of the town, entering service on the corridor. And they have gone elsewhere too, as  387202  has been on loan to  TLink  whilst one of their 387/1s undergo maintenance. And what happened to the class 442s and 460s? Well 442s have been  going into storage,  eventually leaving just of these at GE by Summer. The 460s have been gone a while, dismantled and the internal carriages used to add a coach to SWT 458/5s. The  driving cars are at Doncaster still. 

Kirkstall Forge station, on the Northern Rail network in Leeds, opened on Sunday 19th June - providing one train per hour in each direction. The orignal station was not too far from the current site, but this one is host to numerous aspects: 129 spaces in the carpark; Fully accessible platforms; A footbridge and ramps; Secure cycle parking; and Waiting shelters.

The Week Review Is Back, By Popular Demand! And We're Giving This Series A Whole New Lease Of Life With A New Style! So Here We Go.... Today, we tie up loose ends of news we haven't yet reported on this blog.

Short Post From Me (Harry) Today, Following On From Jordon's Post For The Flying Sc otsman. Today,  I Bring You All Updates For Its Next Few Events.... On 25th June it will be on 'The Yorkshireman', running from London Victoria to York, followed by 'The Hadrian' on 2nd July between Leicester and Carlisle. We will bring you the latest updates of this on our own Blog Social Media feeds, Facebook.com/GBRailScene and Twitter @TheGBRailScene. Another opportunity to see the Scotsman is on the 10th July and 17th July, when it runs 'The Waverley' from York to Carlisle. Timings will be available closer to the time, on RealTimeTrains and many other sites.

Edd Hughes.   Southern: As announced in 2015, ScotRail lost 9 of their 170/4 units as they prep for new additions  - though  5 of these have returned to ScotRail following  sub-lease.  The units which are staying were cascaded to Southern due to plans to use the stock on the Uckfield branch - converted into 171s so they're compatible with the existing units of their fleet. Anyone wishing to identify these ex-170/4 units, just look at the headlight arrangement compared to sister 171 units.

Today, I cover for Matthew who's at the peak of Mount Snowdon! And as this is pre-scheduled, I'm probably occupied myself (Harry).  So I bring a news roundup. Some stories are quite outdated, but unfortunately I haven't had much time to research into new articles.  This month, there are rumours that we say farewell to many 442s, except from 402, 406, 408, 410, 413 and 419 which will apparently remain until 2018. We'll have to wait and see whether this becomes reality!

In 2021 First Group will launch a new rail service between Edinburgh, Stevenage and London. BBC say 'A new budget rail service between Edinburgh and London has been given the green light by the Rail Regulator from 2021. The 10-year deal will allow First Group to operate five trains a day each way. It said average fares would be less than £25 and there would be only one class of carriage.'

In Anglia, Demonstrator 321448 passing through Ipswich on a test run after having new traction motors fitted. 25/5/16. This is at Ipswich, on the way to Norwich to be able to return to Colchester on another test later that day.

Aydan here now, for my input on recent events. Further to  Harry's post for the Mid-Norfolk Railway Diesel Gala,  between 1st April and 3rd April, I now bring you some of my own photos too. Here is  66426 , suprisingly at the gala.  This wasn't planned, but it stepped in when  56006  suffered fault at Leicester. For some videos of the event, we recommend you to go and visit  Steve's Bus And Train blog . A full review of the day there too.

PART 1 IS HERE IF YOU'VE MISSED IT, FOR GENERAL NEWS. Fleet News.   The New Livery As stated by  Matthew , the FTPE fleet of nine 2-car 170s are all to be subleased to Chiltern Rail, all departing within the next year, for their benefit. Five of these 170/3 units have already transferred, meaning that FTPE were naturally under capacity. Thus, the same amount (six at present) of  156 Sprinters are sub-leased  from Arriva Northern to bring up numbers, used for the hourly service on the Manchester Airport to Blackpool North corridor  - as announced in January 2015.

Old FTPE livery on a Class 185 at York. This livery is  soon to be extinct (more explained in Part 2!) Since Keolis left the Transpennine franchise, leaving just FirstGroup, we haven't had any updates. So here we go with a TOC focus. First and foremost, a summary of the operator. In total, FTE operate 71 units over their network serving: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester (Piccadilly and Airport) Middlesbrough, Newcastle Central, Scarborough and Sheffield.

As announced, Virgin Trains East Coast will be operating IEP Class 800s from 2018 on their Mainline between London Kings Cross and Scotland, via Stevenage, Peterborough, York, Leeds and Newcastle. These units have been named as the  Azuma  (which translates as East in Japanese). On  Friday 18th March , at London Kings Cross, they unveiled 800101, the first of the fleet, at a ceremony attended by no other than Richard Branson. NOTE: This is a promotional livery, which is likely to be adapted when the entire fleet is launched.

Northern Rail Demonstrator 144012. It's been a while  since we last reported this unit, but this project shows how the dated Pacer units can be transformed into something which is simply spectacular.... Even though at a fairly significant price tag! This post will express the highlights and features of this unit which makes a 1984 (Hunslet Barclay) built unit look like it's from the 2020 era!

Harry here! The most significant today is of course the return of the Flying Scotsman, following it's £4 million refurbishment. Further to our recent post, I am delighted to bring you updates regarding it's Trip North from London Kings Cross today, Thursday 25th February 2016.  Departing London Kings Cross on time at 07:41, there was certainly a large number of spectators for the entire route. Although none of the team could attend, there were indeed many photos published on Social Media (including over 12,000 messages for it on Twitter, causing the event to be trending worldwide).

For the second of three posts today, I'll (Jonathan Maxim) be showcasing photos from my recent visit to Doncaster.  Firstly, a Class 321 (Ex-London Midland) which is awaiting conversion and overhaul before transfer to Abellio Scot Rail in February.  These units will then be able to comply and operate with the current fleet. For further updates, see some of our older posts in the archive. 

Today, I bring you updates from Northern England. NORTHERN RAIL:   Firstly, DBSOs 9705/07/10 have been converted for use on the Cumbrian Coast, in Northern Rail colours. These units were previously operating at One Rail before becoming privately owned. Whilst 98 new trains are added to the fleet, 323s transfer to London Midland and Pacers are withdrawn. As announced by Andy last week, Arriva have been awarded the tender to run the Northern Rail franchise from 1st April 2016. As part of the franchise, an Automated Delay Repay compensation system will be introduced for both Season Tickets and Online Advance Tickets. Oyster-style smart tickets are also on the cards!  Not only this, but over £400 million will be invested by Arriva into a new fleet of 98 trains. As a result, Pacers will be withdrawn by 2019. Furthermore, there will be an additional 2,000 services a week (400 of these are on Sundays).