Rail enthusiasts and engineering students are increasingly turning to their smartphones as a second toolkit, one that fits in a pocket and works just as hard as a laptop back at the depot or lecture theatre. For tracking live train movements or running structural calculations on the move, the...

Great British Railways (GBR) offers significant benefits. It will bring together the control of costs and income at an operational level, remove contractual barriers, and should ensure that strategic decisions consider the whole railway system. In his interview with Rail Engineer, Network Rail’s CEO, Jeremy Westlake, explains how GBR will...

On 19 June, two trains collided at Elstow, south of Bedford which sadly resulted in the death of a train driver and many passengers suffering major injuries. Although the UK has one of the safest railways in Europe, this shows that there is always the potential for a serious...

This article looks at why fleet strategy matters and what it could mean for Scotland’s rail future. Scotland’s Railway is a combined effort between ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper (under Scottish Rail Holdings) and Network Rail, as organisations receiving strategy, specification, and funding from Transport Scotland, the transport agency of...

The UK light rail sector finds itself at an interesting crossroads. After years of debate about the role of urban transport in supporting economic growth, decarbonisation, and regeneration, light rail is firmly back on the agenda. Combined authorities, regional mayors, and local authorities are once again exploring tram and...

The extent to which future rolling stock will be battery powered and the requirement for further electrification is to be defined by Great British Railways’ (GBR) Long Term Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy (LTRS&IS). There have recently been various reports and events concerning rail electrification. Furthermore, the UK Government’s...

Derby’s Litchurch Lane workshops have been producing railway vehicles since they opened in the mid-1870s, when the Midland Railway decided it needed a workshop to produce coaches and wagons.  Since 2005, it has been the only UK facility able to design, build, engineer, and test trains. In 2021, it was...

On a very hot 25 June, vans loaded with miniature locomotives, each weighing approximately three quarters of a tonne, started arriving at the Stapleford Miniature Railway (SMR) near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. By the time your writer (deputy head judge and scorer for the competition) arrived on the following...

On 21 October 2024, almost three years after the collision between two passenger trains at Salisbury Tunnel Junction, two trains collided head-on near Talerddig, Powys, Wales. At first sight, the accidents were similar. Both involved poor adhesion, both involved a train travelling beyond its permitted movement authority, and both...

Keeping older locomotives in passenger service comes down to one simple idea: age matters less than condition. If a fleet still suits the job, the route, and the operator, a heavy overhaul can turn what looks like yesterday’s traction into a reliable asset for today’s railway. That is exactly what...

Boarding or alighting from a train can still be difficult on much of the Great Britain (GB) mainline railway, even where accessibility has improved in other areas. The issue lies at the platform–train interface (PTI): the step and gap between the platform edge and the train door or footstep. On...