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Operations and Services

Passenger Services

• Alloa joins the ScotRail network on Monday 19th May, with trains to Glasgow Queen Street, 7 days a week.
• The new timetable starting on Sunday 14th December sees significant changes on the Edinburgh - Fife - Aberdeen route.
• Peak time loco-hauled trains start on Fife Circle route on Monday 15th December, with 67030 hauling 6 Mk2 coaches.
• Virgin West Coast services from Glasgow Central to London Euston are speeded up, but Edinburgh looses it's direct daytime train.

Freight Services

Rolling Stock Maintenance

• Glasgow Works:Report for 2008

Brush Barclay, Kilmarnock

• Repaints of 57005 and 57006 into Advenza Freight livery
• Repaints of 57602 and 57605 into First Great Western livery

Rolling Stock and Unusual Workings

Passenger

• New ScotRail Saltire livery is launched on 170434 at Glasgow Queen Street on 22nd September. No other trains receive the livery during 2008.
• The obsolete ScotRail swoosh livery (white, violet, aquamarine and terracotta) disappears when 158719 goes into Glasgow Works 4th July.
• South West Trains livery disappears in August, when 158786 and 158789 are repainted in plain blue at Newton Heath. 158782 (formerly Alphaline silver is also repainted blue in December)

Freight

• GBRf make use of 86101, 87002, class 47s and class 57s on mail trains.
• 47848 hauls a class 325 unit from Shieldmuir to Ayr, then back to Glasgow, for Driver training on 16th March.
• 57602, freshly repainted in First Great Western blue, worked 1Z44 18:43 Sheildmuir to Willesden, hauling three Royal Mail class 325 units on 8th May.

Advenza

• 57005 and 57006 (both recently acquired from Freightliner) arrived at Craigetinny on 16/01/08. The following day 57005 took NXEC's 43290 south to Brush Traction, Loughborough for rectification work. 57006 ran to Kilmarnock for repainting on 18/01/08.

• 05/08/2008 20905 + Grand Central 43068, Heaton - Craigentinny (for a power unit swap).
• 14/08/2008 20905 + 43068, Craigentinny - Heaton
• 15/08/2008 20905 (bonnet first) Heaton - Craigentinny with barrier vehicles and 2 Grand Central HST trailers for wheel turning.
• 19/08/2008 47828 + two EMU Translator Vans and three Mk2s, Gloucester - Glasgow Works
• 20/08/2008 47828 + three Mk2s, Glasgow Works - Inverness TRSMD, then light to Craigentinny
• 21/08/2008 47828 + 20905 returning the HST trailers from Craigentinny to Heaton.

Network Rail Test Trains

• Use of DBSO and Class 31.

Refurbishments

• The last of 25 Inverness based class 158s to be internally refubished, 158719, is completed in September, at Glasgow Works
• First refurbished and reliveried HST for Arriva Cross Country enters service.

Glasgow Subway

Railtours

• Charter Trains 2008

SRPS

• May 15th - Stirling - Alloa re-opening specials, using 61994 The Great Marquess and 55022.
• August 24th - Routes and Branches tour of the Strathclyde rail network, using 55022 and 40145.

The Royal Scotsman

• 47804 dominates the The Royal Scotsman programme, featuring on 33 of the 50 tours run. 37248 features on a Private Tour from Inverness 12th August, and the whole of a Classic tour starting 25th August. 33025 is used on 4 Western Tours.
• Diagrams:The Royal Scotsman 2008

Other Charters

• D1015 Western Champion visits Scotland for the first time on May 3rd.
• The North Briton tour run by the Railway Touring company brings 71000 Duke of Gloucester to Edinburgh on April 12th, and south from Glasgow Central on 16th. The tour also took 60009 Union of South Africa and Black 5 45407 to Inverness, with the Black 5 also working to Kyle.
• Glasgow built 30777 Sir Lamiel, double heading with diesel 47760, brings The Christmas Heart of Midlothian tour to Edinburgh on December 20th.

Infrastructure

Major Projects

• The re-opening of the Stirling - Alloa - Kincardine line is completed in Spring.
• The Airdrie - Bathgate scheme sees a major milestone passed with double track reinstated from Bathgate to Cawburn Junction, and remodelling of Newbridge Junction, commission on 20th October.
• Overhead electrification of the west end bays at Edinburgh Waverley and through the centre Mound Tunnel are brought into use in May.
• Overbridges between Haymarket and Newbridge Junction are being raised in the autumn, and the first OHLE masts appear at Ratho.
• Re-doubling of Annan - Gretna Junction, commissioned 4th August. messages.

Track Renewals

• Shields Junction remodelling in January over-runs due to signalling problems.

Signalling

• Resignalling on the Larbert - Stirling corridor sees Plean Signal box close on 30th June.
• West of Scotland Signalling Centre (at Cowlairs) brought into use when Glasgow Central signal box closes at the end of December.

Stations

• Mount Florida, Crosshill, and Queens Park are the first to be painted in the new ScotRail colours in August, whilst half of the Cathcart Circle is closed for emergency engineering following subsidence.
• Gretna Green, Livingston North and Uphall gain second platforms as a consequence of track re-doubling.
• Glasgow Central platforms 11A upwards are renumbered at the end of December, when a new signalling system controlling the station is commssioned.

Depots

Other events and news

• Signallers staged a 24-hour strike from noon on Tuesday 7th.

Weather related problems

• 7th August - Flooding in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh.
• 22nd August - Flooding between Aberdeen and Dundee.

Accidents

• 4th January - Whitemoss Level crossing: 37515 hits a potato lorry.
• 16th April - Kinbrace Level Crossing: 158722 struck by Land Rover.
• 17th May - Bunchrew Level crossing: 158739 hits a car.
• 19th November - Stromeferry: 158723 derailed by Landslide. The line between Strathcarron and Kyle reopened on 24 November.

Rail Policy

• A 3 year extension of the First ScotRail franchise is announced on 3rd April.

Preservation

SRPS / Bo'ness

• Resoration of the 3-car class 126 DMU is completed in July
• 37403 and 37413 arrived at Bo'ness on 14th November

See Also

Internal Links

• Review of 2009
• Review of 2007
• Review of 2006