In The News | 16th April 2024 | Latest Rail News

Click here to listen to the latest rail news on Tuesday, 16th April 2024.

InTheNews: The latest rail news on Tuesday, 16th April 2024

Passengers on Birmingham’s Cross City Line have been travelling on a brand new train fleet for the first time on Monday (15 April).

Train operator West Midlands Railway (WMR) said the introduction of the Class 730 fleet represents the start of a new era for rail travel on the line, which is used by millions of passengers every year and connects Birmingham with destinations including Lichfield, Redditch and Bromsgrove.

The new fleet, part of WMR’s £1billion investment in new trains and infrastructure, can carry a third more passengers than the 30-year-old fleet they are replacing.

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Work is on schedule for a multi-million-pound rail heritage centre to open in time for the school summer holidays, a council has said.

The article on the BBC website says Hopetown Darlington is “on track” to open in mid-July, the head of heritage and culture at Darlington Borough Council Mike Crawshaw said.

It is hoped the £35m site, which encompasses the original Head of Steam museum, will attract 300,000 visitors a year.

Mr Crawshaw said the site, which includes a live station, will celebrate Darlington’s railway heritage.

Network Rail has successfully installed a new £3.6m footbridge and lifts at Dumfries station.

The infrastructure manager said that its engineers worked through the night on Saturday (April 13) into Sunday to install the steel structures, which will provide step-free access to the platforms.

The work was carried out as part of a £3.6m Access for All scheme investment, which aims to make it easier for people with impaired mobility or those travelling with luggage, children, or bicycles to travel by train.

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A young man is set to follow in his late father’s footsteps and graduate as a train driver for East Midlands Railway (EMR).

Owen Gunn, 22, from Long Eaton in Derbyshire, used to take photos of his dad passing through the town on a high-speed train (HST).

An article on the BBC website says now he is set to get behind the controls himself after moving on from being a host onboard EMR trains.

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