Sparks fly in celebration over Transpennine Route upgrade
The UK government may be unable to make up its mind, but its infrastructure agency Network Rail is powering ahead with energising the north of England. The Transpennine Route Upgrade has seen its first electric...Read more
Network Rail explains Trans Pennine Upgrade and upholds needs of freight
The UK government may have cancelled plans for a dedicated high-speed line across the Pennine Mountain range, but work continues to improve the existing network. The Trans Pennine Upgrade (TRU) project has been criticised as...Read more
New intermodal service by Maritime connects Tilbury and Manchester
Logistics operator Maritime Transport has launched a new intermodal service in partnership with P&O Ferries, connecting TILBURY2 with the newly-refurbished Trafford Park Euroterminal in Manchester.Read more
Quick quick slow: Hope Valley upgrade dances around freight traffic
Network Rail has begun upgrading the ‘Hope Valley’ route railway between Manchester and Sheffield as part of the wider Trans Pennine Upgrade project. The route, serving rural communities between the two cities, will provide more...Read more
UK rail freight joins in the Jubilee celebrations
Union Jack flags waving from drivers’ cabs, maybe even ‘God Save the Queen’ on the horn and a right royal drive past. From 2 to 5 June, the UK is celebrating the platinum jubilee of...Read more
Transpennine Route Upgrade continues with Manchester signalling commissioning
Manchester’s raging signalling system will leap into the twenty-first century with a significant overhaul during the Queen’s Jubilee weekend. The network around Manchester will see a step-change in control when the country returns to work...Read more
Wires up, rails down between Manchester and Stalybridge
The huge Transpennine Route Upgrade improvements programme, driven by Network Rail, continues in the Greater Manchester area. Works are underway to electrify and improve tracks between Manchester and Stalybridge. The multi-billion-pound project will see the...Read more
The next stop for HS2 will be Manchester
Britain’s HS2 high-speed rail project will be debated in parliament shortly. The Bill (the parliamentary proposal for debate) has been laid before the House of Commons, the start of the official procedure for finalising the...Read more
From urban freight route to green oasis
The Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester is congested – but only with wild flowers and weeds. Plans will see the 330m-long landmark turned into an urban oasis for next summer, as the Victorian structure sees new...Read more
Manchester freight facilities benefit from signalling upgrade
Signalling upgrades to Freightliner’s Manchester terminal, and the DB Cargo and GB Railfreight infrastructure at the Trafford Park Euro Terminal are part of what has been called a “once in a generation” overhaul of the...Read more
England’s Hope Valley to be upgraded
The UK government has rubber-stamped a 137 million pound investment (153 million euros) for the Hope Valley line. The route is the major mixed-use connection between the cities of Sheffield and Manchester, and also serves...Read more
Battered Britain: snow and rain disrupts rail
Floods in the south, blizzards in the north. Storm Christoph delivers a weather shock to the UK, and rail services are affected in several areas. Vast quantities of rain caused multiple flood incidents, disrupting rail...Read more
Restoring UK railways – the freight option
Among the ten schemes supported in the first round of UK’s Restoring Your Railway Fund, two have a rail freight element and one may help relieve the busiest mixed use main line in Europe. The...Read more
Rolling electrification needed to decarbonise UK’s railway by 2040
A consortium of business interests from around the UK has called on the UK government to immediately start a programme of rolling electrification to help meet the target of decarbonising the railway by 2040. The...Read moreRailFreight Summit UK comes to Greater Manchester
Significant changes in UK’s rail freight sector are to be addressed at the RailFreight Summit UK, to be held in Greater Manchester on 7 April. For the first time, the internationally successful forum for discussion...Read more
New daily service between Southampton and Manchester
A new daily intermodal service between the UK cities of Southampton and Manchester was launched by GB Railfreight on Monday 2 September. In the southern port, the train departs from Solent Stevedores, while it calls...Read more