International - items of interest

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/SCMPNews/status/1039827208821342209

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/baolau/status/1040511385535299584

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/HanoiMetro/status/1042995446208024576

[ozbob]

A dewirement in grand style ..

https://twitter.com/KevinGroves3/status/1043496999981666310

[Cazza]

Maybe that's what happened to the NGR in the tunnel near Central??

[ozbob]

ITV --> Glider bus passengers increase 17% in first month


The Glider service operates every seven to eight minutes and promises to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions. Credit: Pacemaker

Thirty-thousand more passengers are using the new Glider buses in Belfast every week, according to Translink.

That's an increase of more than seventeen per cent since the launch last month.

The £90m project experienced some initial problems, but Translink says the system is now working well and 90% of the services are on time.

    We continue to monitor capacity and will respond to demand so we keep passengers coming back and build on the early success.

    We have also already purchased two additional vehicles and are looking forward to their arrival in the spring next year.

– Chris Conway, Translink

The system is being hailed as a step towards modernising the city's public transport and easing congestion on its roads.

Chris Conway, Translink's Group Chief Executive said: "We are very pleased with the initial response from the public to Glider, we have had much positive feedback, both in terms of the look and feel of the vehicles, but also in terms of the opportunity for people to connect across the city.

"The strong passenger growth meant we had some bedding in issues to manage capacity but we have added extra vehicles and refined network schedules to manage busy periods and are now achieving 90% on time performance which is good news for passengers.

He added: "The growth brings good news for the city of Belfast as more people using the hybrid Glider vehicles means less congestion on our roads. These increased numbers equate to removing over 4,000 car journeys every day and 300 full Gliders of extra passengers each week - this helps protect the environment,improves local air quality and brings considerable health benefits for everyone."

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/DarrenDavis10/status/1057078611100950529

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ScotRail/status/1059836809427992576

[ozbob]

Bi-articulated trolley bus!

https://twitter.com/The_Rail_Life/status/1063861139405238272

[Cazza]

[rogerfarnworth]

The Orkneys

My wife and I are on holiday on Orkney (April 2019). Naively we thought that this would be a holiday away from railways ..... No chance!

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/04/29/the-railways-of-orkney

[ozbob]

The Orkneys

My wife and I are on holiday on Orkney (April 2019). Naively we thought that this would be a holiday away from railways ..... No chance!

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/04/29/the-railways-of-orkney

Welcome Roger!  Nice work on the blog.   

[red dragin]

The Orkneys

My wife and I are on holiday on Orkney (April 2019). Naively we thought that this would be a holiday away from railways ..... No chance!

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/04/29/the-railways-of-orkney

Hi Roger,

Been following your posts from another railway forum. Loved the stuff on Japan & Africa (Ghana?)

[rogerfarnworth]

Thank you. It was Uganda.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[rogerfarnworth]

The Orkney Islands

So much for a holiday away from everything (including railways). ... Here is the second attempt to get railways out of the system for the holidays here in Orkney!

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/05/03/the-railways-of-orkney-part-2

[rogerfarnworth]

The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne & Manchester Railway

This post is about one of my local railway companies, which is long-gone as an independent entity, but which was responsible for the building of the first Woodhead tunnel.

This is a very short reflection on how the struggles of this smaller company ultimately left the Great Central Railway (GCR) with its own financial struggles!

It may not be without controversy.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/05/04/the-sheffield-ashton-under-lyne-and-manchester-railway-4

To keep the post itself brief, the detail is carried in Appendices. In those Appendices is a significant story about the financial management of the GCR.

[rogerfarnworth]

Orkney Railways .... A final post!

This post has been prompted by finding a secondhand copy of Wilfred Simms book about the Railways of Orkney.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/05/18/the-railways-of-orkney-part-3

[rogerfarnworth]

What is the longest load ever to be carried on rails?

Before reading the link below have a think about a length of load that might have been the longest carried on rails, then open the link.

We crossed back from Orkney on 11th May 2019 and drove via John O'Groats and Wick before heading south through Inverness. About 6 miles north of Wick on the A99 we drove over a narrow gauge (metre-gauge) line. This was a surprise and it needed to be investigated. .... This post is the result.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/05/11/caithness-double-track-narrow-gauge-line

[ozbob]

Hong Kong Free Press --> MTR train derails at Hung Hom station while carrying passengers

An MTR East Rail Line train has derailed at Hung Hom station.

At 8:32am, it detailed as two carriages became detached, mangling one of the doors.

The train originated in Mong Kok East and was headed to Hung Hom.

Passengers had to leave on foot to enter Hung Hom station along the tracks.

Services between Mong Kok East and Hung Hom have been halted, and Hung Hom station has closed.

Trains between Hung Hom and Tuen Mun every 12 minutes and those between Nam Cheong and Tuen Mun run every six minutes.

[ozbob]

 

https://twitter.com/Ogilvie_CJ/status/1244671842763395072

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1271475095270158338

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1293561204414111745

====

"A ScotRail train derailed at around 9.45am in Stonehaven after reportedly hitting a landslide
There are fears at least three people - including the driver - are dead
Multiple others are reportedly seriously injured with a major incident declared by the NHS
Footage posted nine minutes after the crash showed waterlogged tracks nearby
The train is understood to have turned back after seeing the landslide only to hit another"

[ozbob]

^

https://twitter.com/BTP/status/1293569531730890752

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/RailExpressNews/status/1300678287845326852

[techblitz]

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/uknews/rail-firms-will-be-penalised-for-running-late-and-dirty-trains-says-grant-shapps/ar-BB19hMKr?ocid=spartanntp

Britain's train companies will be punished financially for running late or dirty trains, as the government announced the end of the rail franchising system which has held for 25 years.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said a new system would see payments withheld from any private operator that fails to meet new performance targets. 

"With the old system you could fail to run trains on time a huge amount of the time and still earn profits for doing so," said the minister — adding that future payment would only be given "when they do their job and do it really well".

Mr Shapps pledged that management contracts would be set up in such a way as to incentivise trains being both clean and on time. 

"If they don't get people there on time, if they don't run a clean service that people can be confident in, then they won't get that management fee, so there's a huge incentive," he said.

Operators have been moved to "transitional contracts" ahead of the creation of a "simpler and more effective structure", which will be developed over the coming months, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.

The existing franchise contracts were suspended in March when passenger numbers plummeted due to the coronavirus lockdown. About £3.5bn was spent on emergency agreements to keep services running.

The DfT announced on Monday that temporary contracts would be extended for another 18 months, but a brand new system would replace them.

It effectively scraps the franchise system introduced during the privatisation of the railways in the mid-1990s.

The government's announcement on the future control of rail services was criticised by both Labour and trade unions — prompting fresh calls for public ownership.

Tan Dhesi, Labour's shadow rail minister, welcomed the extension of emergency funding but claimed it was "completely unacceptable" that taxpayers will continue to pay "hundreds of millions of pounds" in management fees to private companies.

He added: "These agreements paper over the cracks of a broken rail system. It's time to put passengers before profit and bring our rail franchises back into full public ownership."

Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union general secretary Mick Cash urged the government to "ditch its obsession with the free market and call to a halt any attempts to reanimate the corpse of rail privatisation".

He continued: "Public ownership is the only model that works and can steer us through a crisis such as Covid-19."

Transport Salaried Staffs' Association general secretary Manuel Cortes said: "Sadly, it looks like the government is once again kicking into the long grass what to do with our railways, and instead of grasping the nettle is opting for transitional measures which prop up the status quo."

But the announcement was welcomed by the rail industry. FirstGroup chief executive Matthew Gregory said: "We have long advocated for a more sustainable long-term approach to the railway, with passengers at its centre, and we look forward to working constructively with the DfT to make this a reality."

Mr Shapps said: "The model of privatisation adopted 25 years ago has seen significant rises in passenger numbers, but this pandemic has proven that it is no longer working.

"Our new deal for rail demands more for passengers. It will simplify people's journeys, ending the uncertainty and confusion about whether you are using the right ticket or the right train company."

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/mfuentesrail/status/1388547910304927746

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/declanmartin75/status/1389067014178689028

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/TrainsMagazine/status/1391049926969339908

[ozbob]

^

International Rail Journal --> Hitachi class 800/801/802 IETs withdrawn from service

SOME class 800/801/802 long-distance bi-mode trains operated by Great Western Railway (GWR), London North Eastern Railway (LNER), TransPennine Express (TPE), and Hull Trains were withdrawn from service as a precaution on May 8 following the discovery of cracks in the jack points underneath the coaches of some class 800 trains.

The problem was identified at GWR's Stoke Gifford depot, near Bristol, on the morning of May 8. Checks for cracks in the train's yaw dampers, the area where the suspension system attaches to the vehicle body, resulted in the identification of cracks in the jacking point area on some coaches.

Regular yaw damper inspections were prompted following the withdrawal of eight class 800s from service on April 28 after hairline cracks were discovered on two trains with suspected issues on another six. These withdrawals had no impact on services.

Hitachi, the manufacturer of the trains, said in a statement that it was working with all partners to resolve the latest issue as quickly and safely as possible.  ...

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/LithuaniaMFA/status/1391422711625183239

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/seatsixtyone/status/1395314050188386307

[#Metro]

Good. It's essentially a national version of our Translink.

[ozbob]

In Depth: The Government's Plans to Reform Britain's Railways

> https://railway-news.com/in-depth-the-governments-plans-to-reform-britains-railways/

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/lokfuehrer_tim/status/1407771236797661188

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railjournal/status/1428003512001118212

[#Metro]

Highest train station in Europe

[verbatim9]

^
Looks great. Must of been taken during Christmas one year, as there was a Christmas tree at the lookout

P.s. If they can manage electrification all the way to the top, surely electrification can happen to Toowoomba and from Cairns to Kuranda.

[verbatim9]

Riding the Matterhorn Railway.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railjournal/status/1470402139361095682

[verbatim9]

Indian railways going gang busters with rail electrification.

Take note Australia!

https://twitter.com/premranjanPR/status/1473562264292655113