Rail Press

GWR Class 230 First Running Day CONFIRMED This Saturday Great Western Railway will run their battery powered Class 230's for the first time, with the first service confirmed by GWR to be 2G02 05:30 West Ealing - Greenford . Last year, 230001 (the unit running 2G02) broke the Guinness World Record for doing 200 miles on one charge.

The Chiltern Mk5 'Nova' Sets Enter Service The Class 68 Mk5 'Nova' sets are now in service after a few years of storage, the first run was with 68029 on 1H25 08:15 Birmingham Moor Street - London Marylebone , these are officially replacing the Class 68 Mk3 DVT sets, which are now closing in on the end of their life.

3 New Class 43 HST Liverys Revealed 125 Group  have just revealed 3 new power car liveries at Loughborough Brush Works, these are (in order of images top to bottom) 43025 , 43048 , 43060 'Heaton 150' (presumed).

40 Years Of Class 59s That is correct, the first Class 59 arrived in the UK on 21st January 1986 after being constructed the previous year in La Grange, Illinois by the Electro Motive Division , these Locomotives have since ran with Yeoman ,  Mendip Rail ,  EWS , DB Cargo ,  GB Railfreight &  Freightliner . These locomotives can still be seen across the southern network today with Freightliner & GB Railfreight .

25 DB Class 66s To Be Exported It's just been announced that DB Cargo will export 25 Class 66/0s to Romania, they have been bought by Grup Ferovia Roma , 66014 has already been seen in the new livery at Toton (see image below), all 66s confirmed to leave Toton for Romania by mid 2028 are below. 66006, 66009, 66014, 66024, 66027, 66040, 66047, 66069, 66075, 66076, 66080, 66085, 66086, 66087, 66089, 66095, 66110, 66111, 66115, 66197.

Tree Blocks Services On Portsmouth Direct Line Earlier this evening a tree has fallen on the tracks just north of Godalming, all services operating London - Portsmouth and vice versa have been delayed/cancelled. I will provide further updates when I receive them.

Class 802 Derails At Paignton Earlier this afternoon, 802105 derailed outside of Paignton while heading from Goodrington Sidings on 5A87 13:01 Paignton - Paignton , the 3rd coach of the unit came off the tracks due to an unknown cause. Not much more is known at this time. Photos by Devon Rail Photographer

Freightliner Class 70's Leave Intermodal Service On Friday 12th December 2025 , 70006 hauled the final Class 70 Intermodal Run, on 4S59 14:57 Southampton M.C.T. -Coatbridge F.L.T. , the 70s will go to Freightliner's new brand Heavy Haul , marking the end of an era for Freightliner.

First Guest Annoucement For The Swanage Railway Spring Steam Gala The first guest has been confirmed for the upcoming Swanage Railway Spring Steam Gala , taking place 27th-29th March , the first guest is: Austerity Class WD152 'Rennes' More info about the event can be found here: https://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/events/view/spring-steam-gala-1

Class 43 Repainted Into Heritage Livery Moments Ago, 43063 was revealed vy The Plym Valley Railway in a stunning InterCity Swallow Livery, a much better suit than the worn out First Great Western livery it previously wore.

Flying Scotsman To Head To The Watercress Line This Spring The Watercress Line Have Just Confirmed Flying Scotsman Will Be Visiting The Railway March 10th - 21st, Experiences Can Be Found Below And Will Likely Sell Fast. Flying Scotsman Rides https://watercressline.co.uk/special-days/day-out-with-flying-scotsman-from-alton/ https://watercressline.co.uk/special-days/day-out-with-flying-scotsman-from-ropley/ Flying Scotsman Footplate & Static Days https://watercressline.co.uk/special-days/flying-scotsman-static-display-and-footplate-tour/ Flying Scotsman Photography Day https://watercressline.co.uk/special-days/flying-scotsman-photography-experience/

Colas Rail Class 67 Repainted  Tomorrow  Colas Rail Class 67 67027  will depart Eastleigh Arlington emerging in its new Colas Rail livery, formerly it was in GBRf.

Rail Fares Frozen For The First Time In 30 Years For the first time in 30 years Rail Fares have been frozen, with exceptions in Scotland, Wales & The Transport For London brand (e.g. Underground, Overground, Elizabeth Line, etc) with the aim to increase affordability for rail travel in Britain, the fares will return to normal as of March 2027.

GBRf Class 60s Withdrawn As of today - GB Railfreight has withdrawn their Class 60 fleet as shown on TOPS ( Total Operations Processing System ), it is unknown if these 60s will go to DC Rail  or if they'll be stored/scrapped.

The Final Trains With Every Operator In 2025 The final trains to complete a service in 2025 with every operator (Keep in mind all services shown are simply based from RTT search results and maybe incorrect.) Avanti West Coast - 390044 9S77 14:20 Rugby - Glasgow Central (arrives at 19:45) https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:W01944/2025-12-31/detailed#allox_id=0 C2C - 357030 2R71 23:22 Grays - London Fenchurch Street (arrives at 23:59) https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:F12025/2025-12-31/detailed#allox_id=0 CrossCountry - 221113 1M70 17:45 Bournemouth - Birmingham New Street (arrives at 20:51) https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C72368/2025-12-31/detailed#allox_id=1 Chiltern Railways - 168216 2H86 21:31 Birmingham Moor Street - London Marylebone (arrives at 23:51) https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C91413/2025-12-31/detailed#allox_id=0 Caledonian Sleeper - 66759, 73790 & 92043 1M16 20:45 Inverness &  Aberdeen - London Euston (arri...

The Western Poplar Line Has Been Activated For HS2 Diversions At 4am this morning, the Western Poplar Lines were turned on for 25,000 volts of overhead AC Power, these will be utilised by the new Class 895  trains (seen in image 1/2 below) when HS2  begins service sometime in the 2030s, the purpose of this is for potential HS2 diversions out of Old Oak Common Station . More info about the electrification process can be found here .

We Wish You All A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year.  Sincerely, RailPress .

Class 465s To Have Bogie Refurbishments At Alstom's Crewe Depot Alstom & Eversholt Rail Have signed a £20 Million Great British Pounds contract for the Southeastern Class 465 EMU Sets, all 97 units will visit the Alstom Crewe location (located north west of the railway station) over the next few years, it's also said they will receive a new paint job (likely SE Blue ) and other parts will be transferred.

LSL Class 90 90002 New Livery Revealed We've just had our first look at 90002   'Wolf Of Baden och' , and just like its class mate 90026  it has gone in LNWR Lined Black , and will likely head back to Crewe  in the coming weeks with 20096 ,  20107 , & 57302 .

First Preserved Class 150 To Head To Heritage Railway Tommorow The first Preserved Class 150 DMU ( 150231 ) will head to the Watercress Line  tommorow running 5Q15 08:58 Derby Litchurch Lane - Alton   after attending the Alstom ' Greatest Gathering ' event earlier this year. 

Farewell Class 455s - The End Of An  Era The time has come - The Class 455 s have officially finished their farewell services, on December 23rd they will run their final services, which will indefinitely mark the end of over 40 Years of servicing the London & Southern Regions, The official farewell tour, held by  Branch Line Society  & South Western Railway , has just ended, the tour had 2 sets and the allox for both are below. SET 1: 455727 + 455871 SET 2: 455712 + 455717

The End Is Here For Pathfinder Tours. Pathfinder Tours Have Officially Just Ended Their Final Railtour With  WCR Class 57/0 57008 & WCR Class 57/3 57314 'Conwy Castle' , Both Locomotives Ran The Tour From Salisbury To Gloucester,   D1015 'Western Champion' (rebranded as D1001 'Western Pathfinder' one on side), Was Put On At Gloucester, And Took The Train To Lostock Hall , Just Outside Of Preston , And Back Again, Pathfinder Tours Has Now Ceased Operations Permanently.

Tyne & Wear Metro Reach A Huge Milestone In Their Fleet It's official - all 46 of the T&W Metro's Class 555 fleet has completed construction. The Class 555 began construction in 2021 and cost £362 Million Great British Pounds to create, the fleet began service at the end of 2024 to replace the ageing Metrocar  fleet.

GBRf Class 57 57306 Named 'Branch Line Society' Earlier today GB Railfreight 's Class 57 57306 has been named " Branch Line Society '' during " The Christmas Train " Railtour which ran London - Newcastle earlier today, with the naming ceremony taking place at Newcastle .

Landslip Forces Cancellations At The Watercress Line Earlier this evening, The Watercress Line have announced this evenings (and possibly future) Steam Illuminations  operations will not take place due to a landslip somewhere on the line, not much further is known but you can book tickets to ride the Illuminations here . UPDATE - 19/12/2025 13:12 The landslip has been cleared and services will resume as normal.

Disruption On The South Western Main Line This Evening To those travelling on The South Western Main Line to night do be advised there is a flood at Sway  (located approximately 15 miles east of Bournemouth Station ) and as a result is seeing delays between 15-45 minutes in both directions, delays will likely continue until the end of the day, I will update this post with more updates as we progress. UPDATE 1 - 18/12/2025, 16:21: The branch line connecting Salisbury - Southampton has now been flooded, many services have been delayed and in a number of cases cancelled, and that should be expected to continue until tommorow morning.  UPDATE 2 - 18/12/2025, 16:46: A tree has fallen in between Woking & Farnborough , causing major disruption & cancellations across that section of the South Western Main Line , and what appears to be a near collision with Class 47 47727 'Edinburgh Castle'  while operating 0Z84 Wimbledon Park Depot Sidings - East...

More Class 455s Sent For Scrap Yesterday 2 More Class 455s Were Sent For Scrapping At Derby, These Units Were 5701 & 5869 , They Were Dragged By 37884 'Cepheus' (otherwise known as the railway grim reaper) On 5Q57 14:40 Wimbledon Park Depot Sidings - Derby Litchurch Lane https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:38910/2025-12-17/detailed

Everything You Need To Know About The Class 455 Farewell Tour  As The Title Describes, This Is Everything You Need To Know About The Class 455 Farewell Tour Which Will Be Taking Place This Sunday  Across The South Western Network, The Tour Times And Extra Details Can Be Viewed Below. Tour 1 : 5Z40 0835 Wimbledon Park Depot Sidings - London Waterloo https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:Q27968/2025-12-21/detailed 1Z41 09:33 London Waterloo - London Waterloo https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:Q37085/2025-12-21/detailed 1Z43 11:34 London Waterloo - Guildford https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:Q37084/2025-12-21/detailed 1Z45 15:15 Guildford - London Waterloo https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:Q33010/2025-12-21/detailed 1Z47 18:12 London Waterloo - London Waterloo https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:Q27967/2025-12-21/detailed 5Y73 18:54 London Waterloo - Wimbledon Park Depot Sidings https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb...

Bo'ness And Kinnell Railway Announce 2 Winter Diesel Gala Guests The Bo'ness And Kinnell Railway Have Just Announced 2 Diesel Gala Guests For Their Gala Taking Place 29th December 2025 , These Are A GBRf Class 69 , And A Colas Rail Class 56 . Tickets And Further Details Can Be Found Below. https://www.bkrailway.co.uk/page/winterdieselgala

Europheonix Class 37 37512 New Livery Revealed Just Minutes Ago, A Facebook User Andrew Murkin  Has Revealed 37512 In BR Railfreight Grey , The Images Below Show 37512  In Derby R.T.C ,  Credit: Andrew Murkin

Class 175s Officially Enter Service With Great Western Railway Just 2 Days After The Final Farewell Of Great Western Railway 's Class 43 (255) Castle Sets, 175001  Entered Service With GWR On 2C26 13:40 Plymouth - Penzance . More Class 175s Are Assumed To Roll Out With Great Western Railway  In The Coming Weeks.

Swanage Railway Publish The 2026 Winter Warm Up Timetable Earlier Today Swanage Railway Put Up The Timetable With Allocations For The Upcoming Winter Warm Up  Event, Scheduled To Take Place 3rd-4th January 2026 , The Fleet And Timetable Is Seen Below But You Can Find More Info & Book Tickets At: https://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/events/view/winter-warm-up Class 33 D6515 Class 33 33053 SR West Country Class 34028 'Eddystone' SR U Class 31806 LSWR T3 563

Farewell Great Western Railway Class 43 Castle Sets The Time Has Come, Great Western  Railway Have Officially Ceased Use Of Their Class 43 (Class 255) Castle Sets   After 49 Years Of Use, The Final Units To Run Were 43093 'Berkeley Castle'  & 43198 'Driver Stan Martin, 25th June 1950 - 6th November 2004' , The Class 255 Sets Are Being Replaced By Ex-TfW Class 175  Sets, Which Will Join Class 800   & 802  Sets That Run The Current Plymouth - Penzance Service, Replacing The 255 Sets. Unfortunately This Means You'll Only See These Sets Run Network Rail Runs Or With ScotRail.

Hello there! You may (or may not) know me as the railway YouTuber " TheFlyingTornado " and this is my new Blog Page, here I will be making bi-daily posts related to Railway News. *NOT AFFILIATED WITH RAILWAY OPERATORS*