Infrastructure

Bridlington is a key location on the route served by the Community Rail Partnership. Northern 170477 waits to leave the Yorkshire seaside town with the 1300 Scarborough to Sheffield service on March 23 2022. PAUL BIGGS.

Feature

A railway with “people at its heart”

Andy Comfort discovers how volunteers are working with a train operator to promote and improve a Yorkshire line.

Engineering 13 Jun

Could a stop like this be coming to somewhere near you? This mock-up is a proof-of-concept design for the planned Coventry VLR system. RAIL PHOTOGRAPHY: PETER PLISNER.

Feature

Very light rail: the lower cost alternative to traditional light rail

As the costs of traditional light rail schemes rise, there’s more interest in smaller, cheaper alternatives. Cue the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre.

Light rail 11 Jun

A train… straight into town. That’s the promise of tram-train, and one that more UK cities are interested in adopting. A Stadler Class 399 crosses the bowstring bridge over Park Square and Commercial Street in Sheffield. ALAMY.

Feature

Restoring your railway with tram-trains

There’s been much debate about the high cost of both heavy rail investment and new light rail lines. But how about combining the two?

Major projects 28 May

Success! Completion of the Northolt Tunnel West is an opportunity for the team to celebrate. From left: Leighton Doherty, Stephen Doherty, Alvaro Pavon, Jordan O’Donn. ell, Darren McGlinchey, Steve Moss Orpin, Joseph Ruck, Cezar Damian, Kalvin McShane, Richard Reynolds, Dylan O’Donnell, Argyrious Voudouris, Tomas Miksa, Barry Boyle, Jordan Saville, Adrian Voicu, Akhiljith Jithendran. HS2

Feature

HS2 tunnelling: a boring job - but exciting!

Out of sight in the London clay, engineers have built a five-mile tunnel for HS2. Tom Edwards goes underground.

Engineering 19 May

Comment

Guest Comment:

Emma Partlow, Director of Consumer Engagement and Policy for Transreport, explains how technology is transforming rail accessibility.

Industry views 19 May

Railways didn’t just provide scrap - they transported it too. Metal is loaded onto wagons ‘somewhere in England’ during 1941. ALAMY

Feature

Railway 200 Then and Now: from salvage to recycling

A look at how salvaging the railway‘s unwanted metal was essential to Britain’s war effort, and how the practice evolved into recycling.

Maitenance and refurb 14 May

"Within those ten days I was able to accomplish my credentials in the roller and the dumper, and it has been an upward trajectory from there." - Fatima Tejan-Jalloh

Feature

Welcome to the HS2 Bootcamp

A small project at Euston could lead to bigger things… and help to build a legacy. Tom Edwards reports.

Major projects 12 May

Comment

Comment: HS2's high costs and a better planning regime for projects

Editor Dickon Ross on RAIL's coverage of the benefits of HS2 beyond the route itself.

Editor's comment 7 May

HS2’s Long Itchington Wood Tunnel in Warwickshire is the first deep tunnel on the high-speed route to complete its civil engineering phase. More of HS2 runs through tunnels to satisfy objectors. HS2 LTD.

Feature

HS2: paying for more than just a railway…

Why is HS2 ‘so expensive’, and is it being ‘gold-plated’? Mel Holley investigates.

Major projects 5 May

Oxford station showing progress on the Botley Road project on January 12. CHRIS HOWE

Feature

Botley Road: more trains will be the prize

The lengthy and ongoing closure of Botley Road in Oxford to enable rail bridge replacement works continues to anger residents. But what exactly does the project entail, and how has work progressed? Chis Howe reviews the story so far.

Engineering 21 Apr

A lost tunnel… but what was it for? PAUL CLIFTON

Feature

Salisbury’s future… and a mysterious past

Plans to transform Salisbury station are being developed. Meanwhile, a lost tunnel has been rediscovered beneath the buildings. Paul Clifton goes underground.

Stations 9 Apr

An example of an entrance for the HUB station. The Network Rail HUB station has been developed after an initial design competition which was won by Edinburgh-based architect 7N. NETWORK RAIL.

Feature

Station design goes back to the future

As part of a wide-ranging programme to revamp how it approaches designing a station, Network Rail has looked to prefabrication. Richard Wilcock finds out more.

Stations 8 Apr

HST 43002 Sir Kenneth Grange powers over Largin Viaduct on August 6 2017. ALAMY.

Feature

Railway 200: Brunel's timber viaducts of Cornwall

In his latest tribute to Britain’s railway infrastructure, Dr Joseph Brenann travels to Cornwall to honour the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Engineering 10 Mar

Volk’s Electric Railway, Brighton, postcard. PHOTO COLLECTION OF SIMON BRADLEY.

Feature

Railway 200 Then and Now: Electrification's tale of Volk and volts

Parallel's from the past in our present: Our first extract from Bradley’s Railway Guide: A Journey Through Two Centuries of British Railway History 1825-2025.

Electrification 4 Mar

Comment

Comment: The decline of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

Railways should not be just about heritage. They're at their best when they are functioning lines serving an economic and social purpose, says Christian Wolmar.

Christian Wolmar 3 Mar

Euston’s approach, looking in the ‘Up’ direction towards the station (top left). The red double-decker bus is travelling south on Hampstead Road, while the bridge above the orange-fronted Class 710 and the green Pendolino carries Granby Terrace over the West Coast Main Line. Granby Terrace is being extended (right) to also traverse the future HS2 lines. CHRIS HOWE

Feature

Euston is a work in progress that doesn't stop

It got the go-ahead late last year to resume turning London Euston into the southern terminus of HS2. But, as Chris Howe discovers, the work never stopped…

Major projects 28 Feb