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West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for and was opened from 1837 to 1869. With additional lines deviating to Northampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, this totals a route mileage of . The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh, however the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line. Several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing links to more rural towns. It is one of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
M1 Motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which later became part of the M6. The motorway is long and was constructed in four phases. Most of the motorway was opened between 1959 and 1968. The southern end was extended in 1977 and the northern end was extended in 1999. History There had been plans before the Second World War for a motorway network in the United Kingdom. Lord Montagu formed a company to build a 'motorway like road' from London to Birmingham in 1923, but it was a further 26 years before the Special Roads Act 1949 was passed, which allowed for the construction of roads limited to specific vehicle classifications, and in the 1950s, the country's first motorways were given the government go-ahead. The first section of motorway was the Preston Bypass in Lancashire, now par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CrossCountry
CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2006, incorporating elements of both the Central Trains and the Virgin CrossCountry franchises, ahead of its invitation to tender on October of that year. On 10 July 2007, the DfT announced that Arriva had been awarded the New Cross Country franchise. CrossCountry is one of only two franchised train operating companies that does not manage any stations, the other being Caledonian Sleeper. CrossCountry's services have been periodically disrupted by industrial action amongst its staff, often due to disputes over rostering and pay. While the franchise had been originally due to conclude on 31 March 2016, multiple subsequent agreements have been enacted; in October 2020, the DfT confirmed that the franchise has been extended for a further t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
25 KV AC Railway Electrification
Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The development of 25kV AC electrification is closely connected with that of successfully using utility frequency. This electrification is ideal for railways that cover long distances or carry heavy traffic. After some experimentation before World War II in Hungary and in the Black Forest in Germany, it came into widespread use in the 1950s. One of the reasons why it was not introduced earlier was the lack of suitable small and lightweight control and rectification equipment before the development of solid-state rectifiers and related technology. Another reason was the increased clearance distances required where it ran under bridges and in tunnels, which would have required major civil engineering in order to provide the increased clearance t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loading Gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and keep clear of platforms, trackside buildings and structures. Classification systems vary between different countries, and gauges may vary across a network, even if the track gauge is uniform. The term loading gauge can also be applied to the maximum size of road vehicles in relation to tunnels, overpasses and bridges, and doors into automobile repair shops, bus garages, filling stations, residential garages, multi-storey car parks and warehouses. A related but separate gauge is the structure gauge, which sets limits to the extent that bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure can encroach on rail vehicles. The difference between these two gauges is called the clearance. The specified amount of clearance makes allowance for wobbling of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quadruple Track
A quadruple-track railway (also known as a four-track railway) is a railway line consisting of four parallel tracks with two tracks used in each direction. Quadruple-track railways can handle large amounts of traffic, and so are used on very busy routes or sections. Such conversion is referred to as "quadruplication". A railway line with six parallel tracks, or a sextuple-track railway, has three tracks in each direction. The corresponding term is "sextuplication". There are also instances of railway lines or sections with eight tracks, and cases with three or five tracks. Advantages * Quadruple track can carry a larger amount of traffic, with usually at least twice the capacity of double track. It is often seen around large metropolises or on busy inter-city corridors. * On quadruple track, faster trains can overtake slower ones, and so quadrupling help speed up trains. High-speed rail with 200 km/h average speed and commuter rail with 40 km/h average can co-exist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Track
A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lines were built as double-track because of the difficulty of co-ordinating operations before the invention of the telegraph. The lines also tended to be busy enough to be beyond the capacity of a single track. In the early days the Board of Trade did not consider any single-track railway line to be complete. In the earliest days of railways in the United States most lines were built as single-track for reasons of cost, and very inefficient timetable working systems were used to prevent head-on collisions on single lines. This improved with the development of the telegraph and the train order system. Operation Handedness In any given country, rail traffic generally runs to one side of a double-track line, not always the same side a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GB Railfreight
GB Railfreight (GBRf) is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is owned by the global investment company Infracapital. GB Railfreight was established in April 1999 as the rail freight operating subsidiary of the train operating company GB Railways. It was granted an operator's licence in June 2000, and started running Intermodal container trains in February 2002; the haulage of other freight traffic commenced later that year. GBRf acquired numerous Class 66 locomotives to haul its trains; another early type would be the Class 20 and Class 73 locomotives. In August 2003, GBRf, via its parent company GB Railways, was acquired by FirstGroup; it was later rebranded as ''First GBRf''. In 2005, it began running services for Royal Mail and Metronet; two years later, First GBRf ran its first coal trains. In 2009, it was granted a passenger license, after which it operated such services under contract to First Great Western. In June 2010, the company was acqui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freightliner Group
Freightliner Group is a rail freight and logistics company headquartered in the United Kingdom. It is presently a wholly owned subsidiary of the American holding company Genesee & Wyoming. It was originally created after the Transport Act 1968 as ''Freightliner Ltd'', a British government-owned company . From its onset, Freightliner was focused on the haulage of international traffic, thus came to centre its activities around Britain's sea ports, often building new multimodal freight depots adjacent to such locations to better capture this business. During the late 1970s, it was reorganised under British Rail, and became a part of its Railfreight Distribution subsidiary during the late 1980s. Work to expand the loading gauge on routes such as the East Coast Main Line were undertaken, allowing trains hauling larger containers to be routes, were conducted around this time. Numerous domestic depots previously operated by Freightliner were closed during the 1990s in preparation for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Direct Rail Services
Direct Rail Services (DRS) is a rail freight company in Great Britain. As of 2022, it is one of seven publicly owned railway companies in the United Kingdom, the others being NI Railways (the passenger rail operator in Northern Ireland), LNER, Northern Trains, Southeastern, Transport for Wales Rail and ScotRail. DRS was created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) during late 1994 with the primary purpose of taking over the rail-based handling of nuclear material from British Rail. As early as 1997, the company begun diversified into other operations, initially bidding for contracts to haul freight traffic for other companies such as Tesco and Eddie Stobart Group. Furthermore, DRS has branched into passenger services, these have included charters, such as the Northern Belle, and contracts with operators such as National Express East Anglia, Chiltern Railways, and Arriva Rail North. Additional rolling stock, such as the Class 57 and Class 88 locom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DB Cargo UK
DB Cargo UK (formerly DB Schenker Rail UK and English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS)), is a British rail freight company headquartered in Doncaster, England. The company was established in early 1995 as ''North & South Railways'', successfully acquiring and merging five of the six freight companies that were sold during the privatisation of British Rail,The sixth rail freight company created during privatisation, Freightliner, was privatised through a management buyout. On 25 April 1996, the EWS brand was revealed and implemented over successive months. By the end of March 1997, it controlled 90% of the UK rail freight market, operated a fleet of 900 locomotives and 19,000 wagons, and had 7,000 employees. During the late 1990s, EWS invested heavily into rolling stock renewal, procuring a large number of British Rail Class 66 diesel locomotives, headcount was also reduced. It also acquired National Power's open-access freight operator in April 1998. During January 2001, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Midlands Trains
West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the West Midlands region) and London Northwestern Railway (LNR) (outside the region). West Midlands Trains was created as a consortium of three companies, Abellio, JR East, and Mitsui & Co., which joined to bid for the West Midlands franchise; they were amongst the three bids to be shortlisted in April 2016, and were awarded the franchise during August 2017. In addition to the DfT, it is also accountable to the West Midlands Rail Executive for services that operate wholly within the West Midlands region. On 10 December 2017, West Midlands Trains took over operations from the prior operator, London Midland. As per the original terms of the franchise, West Midlands Trains is expected to continue to operate it until March 2026. During October ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transport For Wales Rail
Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail ( and ), is a Welsh publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Government-owned company. It commenced operations of the day to day services of the Wales & Borders franchise on 7 February 2021, as an operator of last resort, succeeding KeolisAmey Wales. Transport for Wales Rail manages 248 National Rail stations, including all 223 in Wales, and operates all passenger mainline services wholly within Wales, and services from Wales, Chester, and Shrewsbury to Liverpool, Manchester, Manchester Airport, Crewe, Birmingham, Bidston and Cheltenham. History In May 2018, the Wales & Borders franchise was awarded by Transport for Wales to KeolisAmey Wales. Scheduled to run for 15 years, it commenced in October 2018. Following a collapse in revenues, and a significant reduction in passenger numbers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the original franchise had b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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