hidden infrastructure gems
UK military site reopened for civilian use
A former UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) railway yard has been returned to active service. The site is at Eastriggs, on the border between Scotland…
Red granite from Scotland, green trains to the world
The rich red granite that runs through the Lanarkshire hills of Scotland is the feedstock for Cloburn Quarry. That distinctive stone has found uses throughout…
Colas Rail enters French rail freight market with new subsidiary
Colas Rail, a rail company active in the United Kingdom, can now carry out traction and freight operations in France. This will be possible through…
Colas move mountains to re-rail TransPennine’s express
Equipment unique to specialist rail freight operator Colas Rail was recently used to rescue a stricken passenger train under complex circumstances. Colas employed the heaviest…
Seeing the wood for the trees
Another UK timber trial project has seen a flow return to rail freight. A sawmill in Abergavenny in Wales has received its first load of rail-transported…
Colas Rail onboard to support mental wellbeing of railway staff
Colas Rail UK has pledged to support the Railway Mental Health Charter (RHMC), the first-ever framework set up to support mental wellbeing within the rail…
Colas gets Salisbury back on tracks
Colas Rail UK, the specialist rail infrastructure support and freight operators, have released pictures of their successful efforts to re-rail damaged passenger units involved in…
Scottish terminal sold to rail ballast aggregates quarry owners
Multi-sector land and property developer Hargreaves Land has announced the sale of Ravenstruther Rail Terminal, a former coal loading terminal on the West Coast Main…
Railway industry publishes new report on the economic value of rail
A new report published by independent researchers Oxford Economics pictures the UK railway industry as a booming sector before the pandemic struck last year. Freight…
Colas breathes new life into old train depot for HS2
Colas, the freight operator best known for their infrastructure support roles, is preparing a site at Old Oak Common in the west of London as…
Aberdeen origin of long distance tanker traffic
A successful trial of a significant new long-distance operation is underway, but a UK freight operator is keeping plans for shipping raw materials for glossy…
ETCS retrofit for UK freight fleet
A highly efficient UK rail freight network is a step closer with the signing of a new deal to upgrade the nation’s freight trains with…