Scotland To Keep Class 170 Trains
This article on Global Rail News, which is entitled Scotland promises bumper timetable from 2018, says this.
ScotRail will introduce 200 additional services to its timetable from 2018 after extending its lease on 13 Class 170 diesel multiple units.
Additional funding from the Scottish government will allow ScotRail to retain 39 Class 170 carriages beyond 2018.
The deal, which was announced yesterday (March 15), represents 20,000 extra seats daily.
It’s all a bit of a surprise to me, in that I had assumed that the Class 170 trains, that will be released by brand-new Class 385 trains would be moved elsewhere.
So it could be that Scotland’s gain is a loss in England and Wales?
But there could be another reason, why there has been no adverse comment from the rest of the UK!
New trains could be coming to lines that desperately need replacements for elderly diesel multiple units.
Already we’ve had the order for CAF Civity trains, but this non-transfer tells me something else could be on the cards.
- Another order for new trains.
- The predicted Class 387 IPEMUs will finally appear.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
Developing Rail Systems In Eastern Europe
I like travelling in Eastern Europe and so I was pleased to see this article in the International Rail Journal, which is entitled EU funds help to unlock rail’s potential in Eastern Europe.
It gives a long summary of the rail projects in the East, which I think are essential to improve the prosperity of the area.
I’m looking forward to the day, when I fly to Helsinki and take a ferry to Tallinn in Estonia.
From there I will take Rail Baltica through the Baltic States to Warsaw and Berlin, before taking a direct train from the German capital to London.
You might ask, what benefits spending money in Eastern Europe does for the UK other than opening up tourism for those who like travelling on trains?
The roads of Eastern Europe are clogged with trucks bringing exports and imports all across Europe.
One of the aims of these projects is to get freight on rail. As the last time I went on the M25, there seemed to be loads of East European trucks, surely freight trains through the Channel Tunnel will cut the numbers.
The other large aim is to link Eastern Europe better to Western Europe and help loosen the economic ties to Russia.
The Anonymous Widower 