Railway 200 celebrates the dawn of the ‘Railway Age’, inspired by the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway on 27 September 1825. Looking back through the history of various rail developments, it is clear that this should be recognised as a momentous date, because, for the first time,...

Just 38 years after the birth of the modern railway in 1825, the first underground railway was opened in London. In case anyone is unaware, the Underground is usually known as The Tube, strictly a term for the small gauge deep lines. Here, we will canter through 162 years...

The final of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ (IMechE) Railway Division’s Young Members annual presentation competition – The Future of Rail – was held in London on 8 May. The competitors were winners of heats held at the Railway Division’s centres throughout the UK and were competing for a...

In March 2025, Rail Partners, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) hosted the Fleet Cyber Security Conference, at Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum. The event brought together fleet operators and owners and their supply chain to share cyber security best practice and real-world...

Network Rail’s report ‘CP7 delivery plan – Our approach to digital signalling (OADS) in CP7’ states that “ETCS (European Train Control System Level 2) is cheaper to deploy and maintain than conventional signalling and requires less infrastructure out on track,” adding “this means we can replace more life-expired signalling...

Much has been written and continues to be written on European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) / European Train Control System (ETCS) and the benefits it can bring to the railway. In short these may be summarised as the reduction or even elimination of lineside signal infrastructure, the creation...

Over the Easter weekend, Network Rail and its supply chain partners successfully completed a diverse programme of work valued at approximately £86.6 million, across 1,190 possessions nationwide. Major infrastructure renewals and upgrades were delivered across the country, including both asset renewal and enhancement schemes aimed at supporting future network improvements....

GTR, Network Rail, GB Railfreight, Rail Delivery Group, ProRail, ERTMS (the Netherlands), SNCF, University of Birmingham and Grand Central Rail are just some of the companies that will be participating in the first ETCS Business Readiness Congress taking place on 1 -2 July this year at the Crowne Plaza...

“Having spent over two decades in the UK railway industry, I’ve never seen a situation this dire. Slow CP7 spending is hitting suppliers which forces layoffs. The industry is losing skilled professionals at an alarming rate, with engineers, site managers, and experienced rail workers moving to other sectors due...

In February, Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy described how GBRX has been established to deliver one of the five priorities that Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander has set for the Shadow GBR (Great British Railways) organisation which are: Integration between operators and Network Rail to ‘rip out duplication’...

 Sir Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail, has announced he will retire from the company in October 2025. “It has been a privilege to lead Network Rail through a time of such change and transformation for Britain’s railways, and I am proud of the progress that we have made...

In 1841 Edward Alfred Cowper, a founder member of the IMechE, devised a warning signal for trains on foggy days. This had a detonating compound packed into a small circular container and was fastened to the rails by lead clips. By 1844 such fog signals were in widespread use...