The final train in Virgin Trains’ fleet of 56 Pendolinos was fitted with new hardware in May, giving customers access to free WIFI and to its onboard entertainment hub, BEAM. The new connectivity is part of a range of improvements to improve customer experience on Virgin Trains...
On Tuesday night, the world’s largest steam locomotive, Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. X4014, returned to life¹, and yesterday it made its first test run in preparation for a steam locomotive “race” starting tomorrow. Both of Union Pacific’s historic steam locomotives – Big Boy No. 4014 and...
This summer, The Steam Dreams Rail Co. is launching The Royal Windsor Steam Express, the first regular steam train service in recent history from London Waterloo to Windsor. The service will leave Waterloo at 08.02, 11.10 and 14.10 every Tuesday, June 4th – September 3rd. There will...
It’s good to see our heritage railways taking advantage of the crowds at King’s Cross station this week. The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways have two historic locomotives and a coach on display in the booking hall concourse at King’s Cross from today through to Sun 24...
Vilnius is using its Railway Station and the adjacent Lithuanian Railway Museum to host an ‘Independent Christmas Village’, and the city is making a statement about the hyper-consumerism that tends to take over the holiday season, encouraging a more local and authentic approach to Christmas instead. Their...
South Africa’s famous Blue Train has some new rolling stock. The Blue Train is actually two trains. Train Set 1 was shorter than its sibling and had no Observation Car, but it has now been extended to 15 carriages with the addition of a new observation car...
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has installed a system called Seat Sensor on all its trains. The new technology, which has just gone ‘live’, can tell which seats are free and, by referencing LNER’s booking data, whether a seat is reserved. Passengers can now see the status...
The Museum of Industry and Railways in Silesia will be hosting its annual ‘Steam Gala’ next week. This will be the 7th Steam Gala featuring historic steam engines from Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. Last year over 15,000 visitors came to see, touch and experience these...
Private railway carriages are not new, but these days the ability to rent one and attach it to a train is rare outside the USA, where they are known as “Private Varnishes”*. Now, Golden Eagle Luxury Trains has introduced the Romanov Suite to its (already) private Golden...
A new, specially designed, luxury tourist train was launched yesterday in Japan. The Royal Express will operate from Yokohama station in Yokohama and Itokyu Shimoda station in Shimoda City at the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula with its full of hot springs and picturesque coastlines. Around...
The National Railway Museum in York is just one of those key landmark museums in the UK, like the Science Museum in London, or IWM Duxford, that you have to see… and you don’t have to sacrifice any ‘me time’ away from your family or partner to...
The massive 57-kilometre Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) in the Swiss Alps is finally opening this weekend after 17 years of construction. From Sunday 11 December, train passengers will be able to speed between northern & southern Switzerland in 17 minutes, cutting the overall cross-border journey time from...
Deutsche Bahn’s new long-distance train, was presented to the public yesterday at Berlin Central Station. The new ICE 4 train, which according to Dr. Rüdiger Grube, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Deutsche Bahn, “ushers in a new era” comes with numerous technical innovations and...
A brand new railway museum is due to open this spring in Japan’s cultural capital, Kyoto. Kyoto Railway Museum will open on 29 April 2016, with a over 50 trains on display, telling the history of Japanese rail from the steam era to modern day Shinkansen bullet...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
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