Rail Press

Class 43 Repainted For InterCity 50th Anniversary 125Group, the owner of various Class 43 Power Cars has repainted 43159 (formerly names 'Rio Warrior') into InterCity Executive for the upcoming tours on Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th October. More info can be found about both tours here: https://www.125group.org.uk/category/railtours/ Photo by the 125Group.

DB Class 90s To Be Exported Sources share that ex-DB Cargo UK Class 90s will be exported for work in Bulgaria. The plan is to take them to Germany by road and complete the remaining journey by rails. The locomotives mentioned were: 90019, 90020, 90024 90029, 90034, 90035, 90036, & 90037 While nothing has been publicly stated by DB Cargo, it has been suggested by various reliable sources. Photo by RailAdvent.

Chiltern Railways Nationalised Under Great British Railways On Sunday, 20th September 2026, Chiltern Railways joined the list of operators that are under the new nationalisation plan, offering better and faster services for UK railways. GBR | Chiltern confirm that there will be 25 extra services daily as of the December timetable change. They also state that 6 more 'Chiltern Explorer' Mk5a sets will enter service with the timetable change. The first service leading under Great British Railways | Chiltern was 2H11 Aylesbury - London Marylebone, operating with 165002, 168219, and 168322.  Photo by The Guardian.

Class 73 Repainted Into 'InterCity Swallow' Livery Earlier today, 73141 'Spa Valley Railway 25th Anniversary' was seen repainted Into a new livery, making a nice change from the usual GB Railfreight Yellow & Blue scheme. Photo by Andy Harlow.

Class 375 Recieves 'Temporary' GBR Branding + GBR Livery Update Earlier today, a Class 375 (375822) rolled out on 5Z69 Hastings Park Sidings - Grove Park C.S.D. using temporary Great British Railways | South Eastern branding. As well as this, the unit has also been named "King Harold II", and is now in service. Photo by 273 To Brighton. Additionally, we also have new blueprints showcasing temporary vinyls on current liveries on various Nationalised/to be nationalised operators. Including LNER's InterCity Class 91 livery.

Great British Railways Class 68 + Mk5a Set Revealed Earlier today, the GBR Class 68 & a Mk5 Nova Set was revealed on 5H69 17:38 Eastleigh Trsmd - Banbury Depot, the Class 68 is 68021, the Mk5 set is set CH09. This is the first set to be vinyled for GBR | Chiltern. Photo by MJDS Photography.

Class 60 Repainted Into Heritage Livery Earlier today, 60022 was spotted at Colwick TMD sporting a brand new, LMS inspired maroon livery for Devon & Cornwall Rail Freight. There is a nameplate seen on the side however we do not have knowledge of the name. If anyone could advise in the comments we would appreciate it. Photo by an unknown source.

Class 50 To Gain New Tenancy At Watercress Line Earlier today, Paul Spracklen, owner of 50021 'Rodney' and 50026 'Indomitable' has confirmed that 50026 'Indomitable' will gain a residency at the Watercress Line. Currently it's unknown if this is short term or permanent however Paul has said it would be nice to run 50026 with the MHR resident Class 50 50027 'Lion.' Both of these share a Network SouthEast livery. Photo by LD Rail Photography.

Class 507 Converts To Battery   507 Preservation have just confirmed that 507001 has ran under battery power for the first time. The test took place on September 1st 2026 at Derby Litchurch Lane. Paving the way for heritage railway operation.

Rail Collision Involving Vehicle & Class 769 In Lancashire Not long ago, a collision occurred near Westbury & Launceston in Lancashire, the unit involved was a Class 769 and a truck. This has been declared a major incident. While not much more is known we will continue to bring updates in the comments. Photo by an unknown user.

Class 60 Repainted Into Europheonix Rail Livery Earlier today, a photo surfaced of 60063 repainted into 'Europheonix Rail' livery, which has previously been seen on Class 37s 37423 & 37611.  Eastern Rail Service had 60063 previously painted in a BR Railfreight inspired livery, however as Eastern Rail Service purchased Europheonix Rail, they chose a new branding choice instead. Photo by Boden Rail

50035 Repainted Into InterCity 'Swallow' Earlier today, the Class 50 Alliance gave a sneak peak of 50035, repainted into InterCity 'Swallow' livery after having been put in a special wrap for The Greatest Gathering. The unit can be seen at Derby Litchurch Lane and will likely be moved to Kidderminster SVR in the coming weeks. Photo by Class 50 Alliance.

First Refurbished Class 159 Returns To Service Earlier today, the first 'New' Class 159 'Sprinter' returned to service, following an extensive C6 overhaul at Bournemouth Traincare Depot and various corrosion repairs at the Salisbury depot. The unit, 159103, lead 1L32 Exeter St David's - London Waterloo from Salisbury onwards, marking the first revenue service for the refurbished set. 

Greater Anglia Class 720 Derails At Wickford Earlier today, a Class 720 derailed at Wickford, the service, 2K71 Southend Victoria - London Liverpool Street saw a rear coach derailment on unit 720131, due to a track defect, further details are to be confirmed at this time however further details will be posted below when we recieve them. Photo by The Telegraph.

Major Rail Derailment At Lewes Just an hour ago, an incident was declared outside of Lewes in Sussex, the service was 1F34 London Victoria - Eastbourne hauled by 387172 (GBR 387) & 387304. Southern Rail have confirmed disruption until at least 22:00 tonight so do plan carefully if you're heading towards London Victoria, Ore, Seaford, Brighton or Eastbourne. Currently the status of the trapped passengers remains unknown. We do, of course, hope that everyone involved will leave the site with no injuries. It has been said that this has been caused by track buckling, which is what happens when the temperatures is high enough that it causes the iron rails to warp. We will update this post when we have more news. UPDATE 1 - 13/08/2026 (17:44PM) The Department for Transport has confirmed there are no fatalities aboard the service, as well as this BBC have sent out a drone capturing live angles at the scene. UPDATE 2 - 14/08/2026 (09:42AM)  British Transport Police have spoke and decl...

LMS Mogul To Make Mainline Return Earlier today, it has been confirmed that The Severn Valley Railway's Mogul locomotive No. 13268 will make a mainline return later this year, with the help of Vintage Trains who will run the locomotive,with the debut charter set to be 'The Shakespeare Express' on November 8th, 2026. Photo by RailAdvent.

Students To Recieve Half Price Rail Fares Earlier today, it has been confirmed by the Labour Party that all students aged 16-18 will recieve half price rail fares as of September 1st 2026. At this stage, it is unlikely to change.

The Greatest Gathering Commemorated At London Paddington Event Earlier today, a press event was held at London Paddington to commemorate the first anniversary of 'The Greatest Gathering', which took place at Derby Litchurch Lane on August 1st - 3rd 2025. 800012 recieved a commemorative vinyl featuring the numbers of every loco & unit at the event, as well as the logo. 390016 (390200) and 57604 also attended.  Photo by Phillip Haigh.

395008 Returns To SouthEastern After Major Collision Today, RailAdventure hauled 395008 back to Kent on 7Q95 08:22 Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) - Ashford Down Sidings , the unit, hauled by 2 Class 20s suffered a major collision in November 2024, destroying the front coach and forcing extensive repairs which were carried out in Eastleigh Arlington since December 2025. The unit should return to service soon.

Paignton Station Footbridge On Fire There have been confirmed reports that the footbridge at Paignton station has caught fire, from our current understanding no one is hurt or critically injured, however GWR have confirmed that inbound and outbound services will be cancelled or disrupted until at least 2PM today. The fire was put out at around 6AM this morning however a cause and other information are still being researched. We will provide further information when we have it. UPDATE 1 - 21/07/2026 (19:10)   We have seen reports that the station is unlikely to reopen today and should reopen sometime tommorow, despite damage to other sections of the station. UPDATE 2 - 22/07/2026 (13:15) This was confirmed by local police to be an arson attack, 3 teens have currently been let out on conditional bail until further questioning. Photo by Luke Cooper.

Ex-DRS Class 57s Sold It has officially been confirmed that 4 DRS Class 57/3s have been sold to various operators, after being listed for sale earlier this year. I've listed the locomotives below with who they've been sold to and in brackets the planned use.  57304 - West Coast Railways (Charter Use) 57307 - ROMIC Group (Hiring Services) 57308 - Locomotive Services (Charter Use) 57308 - ROMIC Group (Hiring Services) Photo by TheFlyingTornado.

First Class 175 Repainted Into GWR Livery Earlier today, rail enthusiast Mark Beal found 175103 wearing the GWR livery, marking the first of the class to wear it. The unit was found at Wolverton Works and is expected to be delivered to GWR in the coming weeks. Photos by Mark Beal.

'Hagley Hall' Reverses Into Shed On The SVR Reports are flooding in of a collision which took place last night on the Severn Valley Railway, this involved GWR Hall Class 4930 'Hagley Hall', which only returned to rails 3 years ago. The damage caused to the locomotive was extensive, a full list is added: • Tender Frames Bent • Tender Tank Damaged • Collapsed Brick Arch Inside The Fire Box • Multiple Broken Boiler Stays • Damage to a buffer stop, a workbench and crane. A further report detailing repair costs, a locomotive return ETA, and other details is yet to be determined. We sincerely hope that everyone involved is well. Photos by an unknown source.

First Anglia Units In GBR Revealed Earlier today, a press event was held at London Liverpool Street showcasing newly re-vinyled GBR units from Greater Anglia & C2C respectively. The units shown at the event were GA Class 720 - 720144 & 720501 C2C Class 357 - 357008 & 357020 It is confirmed that more 357 & 720 units will continue to recieve the Great British Railways livery as time progresses. We will keep you updated on further updates in regards to GBR and other rail news.  Photos from Network Rail's Press Centre.

Class 350/2s Confirmed For Northern Rail Northern Railway has confirmed that the full Class 350/2 fleet will be joining its electric operations, sitting alongside the existing Class 323s. All units will receive a £25 million refurbishment, including interior upgrades and reliability improvements, before entering regular service. The refurbished fleet is planned to enter service in late 2027. With some test runs having already taken place on the Glossop Line in Summer 2025. Source: Northern Rail Photo by an unknown user.

Part Of Rail200 'Inspiration' Train Preserved It has officially confirmed one of the coaches of the Rail200 'Inspiration' Train would be preserved at Locomotion in Shildon. The coach in particular is the Wonderlab coach, which is Mk3 11093. The coach is expected to arrive at Shildon in the next week. Photo by TheFlyingTornado.

Cambridge South - Now Open The £250m station located in Cambridge, UK, has just opened today after 3½ years from being constructed. The station sees upwards of 9 services an hour with the first on to stop for passengers was 2C09 06:31 Cambridge - Welwyn Garden City , hauled by a Great Northern Class 700 'Desiro City', which stopped at the station at approximately 06:34 this morning. The station has 4 platforms, a second floor above the 4 platforms, where you can find lifts, ticket machines, small retail stores, accessible toilets, two entrances, and various bike and information facilities. Photo from BBC.

Class 720's Repainted Into Great British Railways Livery Earlier today this photo was taken at a Greater Anglia depot (we presume Crown Point, in Norwich), showing off unit 720501 in the new GBR livery with another Class 720 unit alongside it. (Number unknown). The unit is still in the final stages of vinyl and should return to service in the coming week. Photo by an unknown user.

Tyne & Wear Metro Withdraw Class 599s After 46 Years Earlier today, Tyne & Wear Metro ran their final Class 599 services, these units have ran since 1980 despite being built as early as 1976 and were introduced as the first trains to the Metro Network, they are now being replaced by newer Class 555 units. The final service departed Airport at 12:35PM, and then furthermore arrived into Regent Centre at 17:35PM, the units were 4024 & 4050. Photo from Wikipedia.

Ex-LNER Class 43s Repainted Yesterday, 2 ex-LNER Class 43s were found sporting the new Colas Rail/Network Rail hybrid livery, these 2 units were 43272 & 43251, these have joined 43257 & 43277, which have already been put in the livery. The next workings of these power cars are unknown. Photo by John Harris (Flickr)

Transport For Wales 'Citylink' Class 398s Enter Service Earlier this morning, unit 398028 ran the first TfW service hauled by the Stadler-built Class 398. The service was 2B06 06:55 Pontypridd - Cardiff Bay . The service was ran partly on the Rhonnda Line however is also shared by the Merthyr Line, Aberdare Line, and partly the Coryton Line.  What is a Class 398? The Class 398s began production in 2020 at Stadler Rail's Valenca Spain facility, 38 units have been built specifically for Transport for Wales to replace their ageing Class 150 & Class 153 DMU 'Sprinters on the Core Valley Lines'. These new 398s run in 3 car formations and have a capacity for around 250 people sitting and standing.  Photo from Wikipedia.

2 East Midlands Trains Collide After SPAD  A serious rail incident occurred earlier this evening near Bedford, where East Midlands Railway service 1H46 16:40 Corby - St Pancras International operated by unit 360115, collided with the rear of service 1B67 15:50 Nottingham - St Pancras International , formed of unit 810015. Preliminary information indicates that 360115 passed a red signal, resulting in a Signal Passed At Danger (SPAD) just moments before striking the stationary train ahead. The circumstances leading to the SPAD are not yet confirmed, and investigators are expected to begin work shortly. This page will be updated as verified details emerge. Emergency services responded rapidly to the scene. While the full extent of injuries has not yet been released, thoughts are with everyone affected. We sincerely hope that all those hurt make a swift and full recovery. UPDATE 1 - 21:28PM (19/06/2026)  Police confirm the driver of 1H46 has died by this incident. Photos by unkn...

801128 Renamed ‘Gresley 150’ for Sir Nigel Gresley's Anniversary Earlier today, LNER held a naming ceremony at Doncaster Railway Station to celebrate the 150th birthday of Chief Mechanical Engineer Sir Nigel Gresley, born on 19 June 1876. The CME gave way to some of Britain’s most famous locomotives, including Flying Scotsman, Mallard, and his namesake Sir Nigel Gresley. To mark the occasion, Class 801 unit 801128 received a new vinyl wrap and a fresh name. Previously known as 'Century', the unit now carries the title 'Gresley 150' in honour of the milestone anniversary. Photo by an unknown user.

LMS Stanier 5MT Derails During 'Jacobite' Railtour Reports suggest that earlier today, LMS Stanier 5MT No. 44871 derailed during a shunting manoeuvre between Mallaig & Fort William. ScotRail have publicly stated they cannot run services until 44871 is rerailed due to blocking the line. The cause of the incident is unknown however we hope that everyone involved is ok. Source: ScotRail Photo: TheFlyingTornado

Network SouthEast Turns 40! On 10 June 1986, Network SouthEast was officially launched at London Waterloo, introducing the red, white and blue identity that would soon spread across much of the Southern region. The brand brought together a huge range of routes under one consistent look, with updated signage, refurbished stations and a more modern approach to passenger service. NSE continued to operate until the start of railway privatisation in April 1994, when the sector was gradually broken up and replaced by the new train operating companies. Today marks 40 years since the first NSE‑branded passenger services ran, and the colours, style and legacy of Network SouthEast remain some of the most recognisable and well‑loved in British railway history. Photo by TheFlyingTornado (YouTube)

£3 Million Funded To The National Railway Musuem For Central Hall Project Early today, it was confirmed that the UK's Prime Minister has helped fund the National Railway Museum's Central Hall Project during a visit to the city of York. The main construction contract can now be signed meaning work can officially commence soon. Photos & information by the National Railway Musuem.

LMS 2MT 46447 Returns To The East Somerset Railway Just last weekend, LMS 2MT No. 46447 returned to service at the East Somerset Railway, so we asked the team some questions about the return of this Locomotive Q: What was the most challenging task of 46447's Overhaul? A: The overhaul was reasonably straight forward this time. Having done the much tougher job ten years previous of the restoration from Barry Scrap Yard condition, this time we were only addressing minimal wear on bearings, lots of stripping and cleaning for inspection and then also fortunately the boiler is still in very good condition. There were some lower platework on the boiler which needed replacing which we did in house. Q: How long is 46447 expected to stay in traffic at the ESR?   A: 46447 will remain at the ESR for at least ten years and will be used for any of the ESR’s services including normal service trains, dining trains, galas, santa trains, photo charters etc. Q : Does this feel like a signifi...

Nene Valley Railway Launch 'Resilience' Fundraiser The Nene Valley Railway has launched a Resilience Fundraiser to keep their Railway going, below is an image showing how much essential items cost for the railway.  If you can, please make a donation to the NVR to ensure they can stay running for generations to come. https://www.nvr.org.uk/product.php/164

Class 701 In Great British Railways Livery Minutes ago, unit 701006 left Bournemouth TCD bound for Wimbledon Depot, scheduled for a press event tommorow at London Waterloo station. The unit is complete and will likely enter service in the coming days. Photo by Southuktrains.

Great British Railways Full Livery Revealed  Earlier today the first unit to be put in GBR livery was seen shunting around Lovers Walk TRSMD depot. The unit is former GWR Class 387/1 387172. According to online rumours there will be a press event next week for an official look at the livery. We will keep you all updated as soon as we know more. Photo by an unknown user.

Preserved Class 50 To Head To Scotland Next Month It’s now confirmed that this June, a Class 50 from the Class 50 Alliance will head to Scotland on a three‑day charter. The trip begins on Saturday 6 June at Kidderminster, where the locomotive will depart for the first leg of the journey. Day one concludes at Polmont. On Sunday 7 June, the Class 50 will take the train to Oban, before returning to Polmont later that day. The charter then leaves Polmont on Monday, making its way back to Kidderminster to complete the tour. The trip was first announced in April and will be operated by the Branch Line Society . Further information, including ticket options, can be found here:   https://www.branchline.uk/fixture.php