Just found this fabulous site for train lovers – 100 Trains Project

The 100 Trains Project started as one man’s personal journey to travel over 50,000 kms on the 100 greatest railway journeys and trains on the planet.

The plan has changed slightly, from one long non-stop journey to a series of shorter journey, but still a fascinating insight into some of the most spectacular railway journeys on earth.

Here is a list of the journeys taken from The 100 Trains website. There must be at least a few that we’d all love to do!

AFRICA

South Africa.

• The Blue Train: Pretoria – Cape Town

Tanzania.

• Tanzania to Zambia. Dar es Salaam – Kapiri Mposhi (Mukuba Express)

Zambia.

• Zambia to Tanzania. Kapiri Mposhi – Dar es Salaam (Mukuba Express)

 

AMERICAS  

Canada.

• The Canadian, Toronto to Vancouver, Canada
• Canada. Jasper – Prince Rupert (formerly The Skeena)
• Canada. Montréal – Halifax (The Ocean)
• Canada. Toronto – Vancouver (The Canadian)
• Canada. Vancouver – Calgary (Rocky Mountaineer)
• Canada to US. Toronto – New York (Amtrak Maple Leaf)
• Canada to US. Vancouver – Portland (Amtrak Cascades)

Mexico.

• Mexico. Chihuahua – Los Mochis (Copper Canyon Railway)

Peru.

• Peru. Cusco – Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu)
• Peru. Cusco – Puno/Lake Titicaca (Andean Explorer)

United States of America.

• US. Chicago – San Francisco (Amtrak California Zephyr)
• US. Chicago – Washington DC (Amtrak Capitol Limited)
• US. Los Angeles – New Orleans (Amtrak Sunset Limited)
• US. Los Angeles – Portland (Amtrak Coast Starlight)
• US. New York – New Orleans (Amtrak Crescent))
• US to Canada. New York – Toronto (Amtrak Maple Leaf)
• US to Canada. Portland – Vancouver (Amtrak Cascades)

 

ASIA

China

• China. Hong Kong – Shanghai
• China. Hong Kong (Victoria Peak Funicular Railway)
• China. Shanghai – Shanghai Airport (Maglev Train)
• China to Tibet. Qinghai – Lhasa (Qinghai-Tibet Railway)

India.

• India. Kalka – Shimla (Himalayan Queen)
• India. Mumbai – Amritsar (Golden Temple Mail)
• India. New Delhi – Alwar (Fairy Queen)
• India. Metupulaiyam – Ooty (Nilgiri Mountain Railway)
• India. Pathankot – Joginder Nagar (Kangra Queen)

Japan

• Japan. Tokyo – Sapporo (Cassiopeia)

Malaysia

• Malaysia. Gemas – Wakaf Bharu (Jungle Line)

Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka. Colombo – Kandy – Badulla

Thailand

• Thailand. Bangkok – Kanchanaburi – Nam Tok (The Death Railway – Bridge Over The River Kwai)

Vietnam

• Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – Hanoi (Reunification Express)

 

AUSTRALSIA

Australia

• Australia. Adelaide – Darwin (The Ghan)
• Australia. Adelaide – Melbourne (The Overland)
•  Australia. Cairns – Kuranda (Kuranda Scenic Railway)
• Australia. Sydney – Perth (Indian Pacific)

New Zealand

• New Zealand. Auckland – Wellington (Northern Explorer)
• New Zealand. Christchurch – Greymouth (TranzAlpine)
• New Zealand. Christchurch – Picton (Coastal Pacific)

 

EUROPE

Austria

• Austria. Innsbruck – Klagenfurt (Austrian Tyrol)
• Austria. Klagenfurt – Vienna (via the Semmering Railway)
• Austria to Italy. Innsbruck – Verona (via the Brenner Pass)

Denmark

• Denmark to Germany. Copenhagen – Hamburg (Direct – by “Train Ferry)
• Denmark to Sweden. Copenhagen – Stockholm (via “The Bridge”)

England

• England. Carlisle – Settle (Settle-Carlisle Railway)
• England. Newcastle Upon Tyne – Carlisle (Hadrian’s Wall Country Line)
• England to France. London – Paris (Eurostar)

France

• France. Clermont-Ferrand – Le Puy-en-Velay
• France. Clermont-Ferrand – Nîmes (Le Cevenol)
• France. Nice – Digne-les-Bains (Le Train des Pignes – Provence)
• France. St.Gervais-le-Fayet – Le Nid d’Aigle (The Tramway du Mont-Blanc)
• France to England. Paris – London (Eurostar)
• France to Netherlands. Paris – Brussels – Amsterdam (Thalys)
• France to Switzerland. St.Gervais-le-Fayet – Chamonix – Martigny

Germany

• Germany. Brocken – Eisfelder Talmuhle (Brocken Railway [Brockenbahn], HSB [HarzerSchmalspurbahnen])
• Germany. Nordhausen – Wernigerode (Harz Mountain Railway [Harzerbahn], HSB [HarzerSchmalspurbahnen])
• Germany. Plauen – Gera (Elster Valley Railway – Elstertalbahn)
• Germany. Quedlinburg – Eisfelder Talmuhle (Selke Valley Railway [Selketalbahn], HSB [HarzerSchmalspurbahnen])
• Germany to Denmark. Hamburg – Copenhagen (Direct – by “Train Ferry)

Italy

• Italy. Tirano – Milan
• Italy to Austria. Verona – Innsbruck (via the Brenner Pass)
•  Italy to Switzerland. Domodossola – Locarno (The Centovalli Railway)

Netherlands

• Netherlands to France. Amsterdam – Brussels – Paris (Thalys)

Norway

• Norway. Bergen – Oslo (The Bergen Railway – Bergensbanen)
• Norway. Flåm – Myrdal (The Flåm Railway / Flåmsbana)
• Norway. Oslo – Stavanger (The Sørland Railway – Sørlandsbanen)
• Norway. Oslo – Trondheim (The Dovre Railway – Dovrebanen)
• Norway. Stavanger – Bergen (by bus!)
• Norway to Sweden. Trondheim – Östersund

Poland

• Poland to Ukraine. Warsaw – Kiev

Russia

• Russia. Moscow – Vladivostok (Trans-Siberian Railway)

Scotland

• Scotland. Fort William – Mallaig (Jacobite Steam Train)
• Scotland. Glasgow – Fort William (West Highland Railway)
• Scotland. Inverness – Edinburgh (Highland Main Line)
• Scotland. Kyle of Lochalsh – Inverness (The Kyle Line)
• Circuit. The Highlands of Scotland by Train.

Slovakia

• Slovakia. Bratislava – Kosice
• Slovakia. Poprad-Tatry – Strbske Pleso
• Slovakia. Strbske Pleso – Strba

Spain

• Spain (Mallorca). Palma to Sóller (El Tren de Sóller)

Sweden

• Sweden. Östersund – Gällivare (Inlandsbanan)
• Sweden to Denmark. Stockholm – Copenhagen (via “The Bridge”)
• Sweden to Norway. Östersund – Trondheim

Switzerland

• Switzerland. Zermatt – St.Moritz (The Glacier Express)
• Switzerland to Italy. Brig – Domodossola
• Switzerland to Italy. St.Moritz – Tirano (The Bernina Express)

Ukraine

• Ukraine to Russia. Kiev – Moscow

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Some think it is vital to the future of our country, some thing it is a waste of money and resources, and some of us are not quite sure what it is – we just know it’s caused a bit of a fuss!

 Well the official HS2 website describes it as “The High Speed Two rail network will bring the UK’s Victorian railway infrastructure dramatically into the 21st century, releasing space on crowded lines and bringing the whole country closer together.”

The website includes the HS2 Ltd Phase Two Consultation, which launched on 17 July 2013 and will run until 31 January 2014. This consultation seeks your views on the proposed high speed rail route, as well as on the sustainability impacts of the proposed line of route.

The website has  a wealth of other information, including facts, figures and dates relating to the development of HS2, and even The Exceptional Hardship Scheme (EHS) which enables those who have an urgent need to sell their property, but can only do so at substantially reduced prices as a direct result of the announcement of the HS2 Phase Two.

On the other side of the fence are  STOP HS2 who believe it HS2 will never deliver on its promises, and cost far more than the official budget suggests. A recent post on their website claims that a study undertaken by the Tax Payers Alliance has shown that a total of £302m was paid out between January 2011 and October 2013.

This includes £104,891 to run the website for 10 months, and aaroundt £9,000,000 to recruitment agencies, despite the fact that by the end of October 2013 HS2 Ltd only employed 557 staff.

 Another group called 51M “is an alliance of councils that has come together to challenge the evidence base about the HS2 project. They are known as “51m” because that represents how much HS2 will cost each and every Parliamentary Constituency…£51million.“

So, all in all a rather complicated and controversial project that will almost certainly consume far more money that originally anticipated. But will it be money well spent – only time will tell…

Network Rail have been  running  Britain’s rail infrastructure since October 2002. Network Rail is a statutory corporation – a corporation that is created by statute. In the UK,  this is a body without shareholders, whose powers are defined and modified by Parliament. Statutory corporations include county councils, Channel 4 and the Olympic Authority.

The rail network in Britain was created and run by a number of small private railway companies until 1947 when it was nationalised and run by British Rail. In 1994 it was privatised and the running was taken over by Railtrack, a company listed on LSE.

Railtrack went into administration after the Hatfield disaster in October 2000, and Network Rail was born.

Network Rail is responsible for the railway tracks, signals, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and most stations, but not the trains which are owned by private companies. Network Rail is also not responsible for the London Underground which is run by Transport for London, the local government body responsible for most  of the transport system in London.

So, if your fares go up, or your driver is on strike, don’t blame Network Rail! If your train is delayed because of a problem on the line then Network Rail will be the ones tasked to fix it.

You can keep up to date with what’s happening at Network Rail by checking the News Page of their website.

White Knight has been a leading manufacturer of Network Rail approved signalling lamps for over 25 years