Here we are in November, and yet it seems only yesterday that we were cheering on our athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. It was all a great success, in many ways, but now we are left with those memories and the clearing up, some of...

Stabilising Hooley Cutting Issue 96 of the rail engineer (October 2012), covered the strategic approach being used by Network Rail to manage its earthworks and drainage assets. This month’s article looks at work being carried out on a classic example of a structure that a railway engineer would consider...

In North Shields, the whole of the shops were closed and nearly every window exhibited some sign of rejoicing, either in the shape of a Union Jack or, in humble imitation, a red petticoat. The day was observed as a general holiday. Long before the hour of starting, a number...

Commemorating a centenary should always be high profile and the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers did justice to this milestone with its Aspect Conference and Annual Convention in London over the six days, 10 - 15 September. The temptation is always to reflect on past glories and achievements, and whilst...

This summer has undoubtedly been one that will go down in the history books. The Jubilee, the Olympics, the Paralympics - the eyes of the world has been on the UK. The doubters have been silenced, the Union Jacks flown, and the country displayed at its very best - the...

The UK’s rail networks are getting busier. This is reflected in increasing activity levels within depots, in turn placing increasing burdens on depot staff and existing infrastructure. Improving productivity and efficiency are therefore key to reducing these pressures and to the continued successful operation of rail depots across the...

Electrification will be one of the big stories covered by the rail engineer over the next few years. Millions will be spent on projects to electrify the Great Western, various lines in the North West, and also the Midland Mainline. The most obvious result of all these activities will be...

The Olympics and Paralympics are over, and life on the railways can now get back to normal. That, of course, means night- time and weekend possessions as the never-ending job of maintaining and renewing the railway continues apace. However, not everything stopped during the Olympic period. Certainly, there was a...

Well, that was a surprise. Who did we find right by the entrance of hall 22 at InnoTrans? There with an imposing open plan, two storey construction was our very own Network Rail. Dynamic rail images formed the backdrop of the stand, showing people exactly what Network Rail does...

We are operating more trains and moving more passengers and freight than ever before and our asset performance is at an all time high. We are reducing the number of incidents that affect train performance as well as our operating costs while undertaking record levels of renewals and we...

Britain has largely forgotten that locomotives can usefully pull passenger trains. With most of the TOCs almost exclusively using DMUs and EMUs in various configurations, the humble locomotive has been primarily consigned to freight and work trains. But that is not true of other countries around the world. Even developed...

Forget HS2. The next big set of railway projects in the UK will be the mass electrification of the Great Western, the Midland Main Line, the Welsh valleys, a major freight route running north from Southampton and large portions of the North West. The first high-output electrification train is under...