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Saphos Trains

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Saphos Trains - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

WELCOME ABOARD

Step back in time on board one of our heritage carriages, as we travel along Britain’s scenic mainline to an exciting destination of your choice

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Available excursions.

See a list of all available excursions available this year, you can also book online with us.

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Confirmed timings for our tours and latest news.

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WHY CHOOSE PATHFINDER TOURS TO TRAVEL WITH?

Pathfinder Tours prides itself as one of the nation’s leading names in UK rail travel by special train. We organise up to 40 day excursions every year, as well as a number of weekend trips, travelling to many interesting destinations and events.

Some customers just love to travel in our comfortable carriages; others have a real passion for the locomotives, steam or diesel. Many travel with us time and time again – we’d love to welcome you on board too!

TRAVELLING WITH MOBILITY EQUIPMENT 

We are happy to welcome aboard customers who have mobility equipment that requires storing on the train. As storage space is limited, the equipment must be foldable or demountable. We recommend lightweight equipment be brought to facilitate this. Please note that we do not carry any equipment for loan purposes on the trains – please bring along that which will make your day out manageable.

Often, we only have very limited stopping time at the stations – usually 2 to 3 minutes. Stewards are there to welcome all passengers onto the train and may not have the time to assist every individual who has equipment to manoeuvre. Travelling with a companion who can help you on and off the train would be beneficial.

BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE

To operate our main line excursions Pathfinder Tours uses these professional train operating companies (TOC’s)…

DB Cargo (DB)

Direct Rail Services (DRS)

GB Railfreight (GBRf)

each of which is owned by a respected national or international parent company.

Bookings can be made with us in the knowledge that each excursion is run with your safety and welfare as the absolute priority.

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Some customers just love to travel in our comfortable carriages; others have a real passion for the locomotives, steam or diesel. Many travel with us time and time again – we’d love to welcome you on board too!

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Saphos Trains

• See all photos

Similar Experiences

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

SAPHOS TRAINS (Crewe) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Railway Herald

The most comprehensive freely available listing of steam and modern traction railtours available on the web., latest railtour news, thursday 25th april 2024, the golden age of travel (belmond (british pullman)).

• DBC Class 67 London Victoria (pu) - Circular - London Victoria

(Positioning Movement)

• 45407 Carnforth - Carlisle - Beattock - Motherwell - Crianlarich - Fort William

Royal Windsor Statesman (Statesman Rail)

• 47712 and 47805 Chester (pu) - Wrexham General (pu) - Rueben (pu) - Chirk (pu) - Gobowen (pu) - Shrewsbury (pu) - Wellington (pu) - Telford Central (pu) - Codsall (pu) - Wolverhampton (pu) - Birmingham International (pu) - Windsor & Eton Riverside (break/rev) & return

The Jacobite: Morning Train (West Coast Railway Company)

• FW Steam Pool Fort William (pu) - Glenfinnan - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return

Friday 26th April 2024

Champagne afternoon tea (belmond (british pullman)), saturday 27th april 2024, settle to carlisle & blackpool pullman (midland pullman).

• Midland Pullman HST Dundee (pu) - Leuchars (pu) - Markinch (pu) - Kirkcaldy (pu) - Aberdour (pu) - Inverkeithing (pu) - Edinburgh Gateway (pu) - Haymarket (pu) - Edinburgh Waverley (pu) - S&C - Blackpool North (break/rev) & return

Settle & Carlisle Steam Special (Northern Belle)

• WCRC Class 57 Coventry (pu) - Birmingham International (pu) - Walsall (pu) - Stafford (pu) - Crewe (pu) - Carnforth
• 34067 Carnforth - Shap - Carlisle
• 34067 Carlisle - Appleby - S&C - Hellifield - Blackburn - Preston
• WCRC Class 57 Preston - Crewe (sd) - Stafford (sd) - Walsall (sd) - Birmingham International (sd) - Coventry

The Bath & Gloucester Steam Express (re-dated From 10th February 2024) (Railway Touring Company)

• 44871 London Paddington (pu) - Slough (pu) - Reading (pu) - Newbury (pu) - Bath Spa (sd) - Gloucester (break/rev) & return

London To Cardiff & The Forest Of Dean Railway (Steam Dreams)

•   London Paddington (pu) - Slough (pu) - Reading (pu) - Newbury - - Bristol Parkway - Gloucester - Lydney - Cardiff Central (break/rev) & return

The Clan Line 50th Anniversary Pullman (UK Railtours)

• 35028 London Victoria (pu) - Bath Spa (break/rev) & return

Additional Tour Information

Note: uk railtours has taken a group booking on a belmont british pullman working. this is not a ukr charter., sunday 28th april 2024, monday 29th april 2024, tuesday 30th april 2024, wednesday 1st may 2024, highclere castle & bombay sapphire distillery (belmond (british pullman)).

• DBC Class 67 London Victoria (pu) - Newbury (break) & return

Settle & Carlisle Fellsman (Saphos Trains)

• LSL Steam Pool Blackpool North (pu) - Poulton-le-Fylde (pu) - Kirkham & Wesham (pu) - Preston (pu) - Blackburn (pu) - Clitheroe (pu) - S&C - Carlisle (break/rev) & return

Thursday 2nd May 2024

The garden of england (belmond (british pullman)).

• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Paignton (pu) - Torquay (pu) - Newton Abbot (pu) - Dawlish (pu) - Exeter St Davids (pu) - Tiverton Parkway (pu) - Taunton (pu) - Castle Cary (pu) - Westbury (pu) - Windsor & Eton Riverside (break/rev) & return

Friday 3rd May 2024

Return of the shedi (branch line society).

• 33012 Eastleigh (pu) - Ramsey - Basingstoke (pu) - Reading - Didcot Parkway (pu) - Hinksey Reception Lines
• DBC Class 66 Hinksey Reception Sidings - Swindon - Kemble - Stroud - Gloucester (sd) -
• FL Class 66 Gloucester (pu) - Lydney - Newport - Cardiff Central (sd) -
• 33012 Cardiff Central (pu) - Newport - Bristol Parkway UPL
• FL Class 59 Bristol Parkway UPL - Bath Spa - Westbury (sd) -
• 33012 Westbury (pu) - Newbury - Reading (sd) -
• GBRf Class 66 Reading (pu) - Basingstoke - Winchester - Eastleigh

Saturday 4th May 2024

A moving murder mystery (belmond (british pullman)), may the fourth be with you (branch line society).

• GBRf Class 73/1 and 33012 tnt and Class 438 4TC Eastleigh P2 (PU 06.58) - Fareham - Portsmouth Harbour P4 (RM / PU 07.29) - Fareham - Southampton Central P1 (PU 08.50) - Romsey - Salisbury P3 (PU 09.31) - Warminster - Westbury P1 (PU 10.07 / photo stop / attach assisting engine) - Bath Down Goods Loop - Bristol Temple Meads Down Through - Yatton DPL - Weston-super-Mare - Taunton - Tiverton DPL - Exeter St Davids P1 (SD 12.55) - Exeter Central - Exeter Sig 730 (RM) - Exeter Central P1 (SD 13.07 / break / detach assisting engine) Exeter Central P1 (PU 14.42) - Honiton P2 (photo stop) - Axminster P2 - Chard Jn Loop - Gillingham (Dorset) P2 (photo stop) - Tisbury Loop - Salisbury P2 (SD 17.41) - Basingstoke P1 (SD 18.44) - Woking P1 (SD 19.11) - London Waterloo P18 (SD 19.44) London Waterloo P18 (PU 19.57) - Richmond - Virginia Water - Woking P5 (SD 21.02) - Guildford - Havant - Fareham - Eastleigh P3 (SD 22.46)
• 33012 and GBRf Class 73/1 tnt and Class 438 4TC Portsmouth Harbour P4 (RM / PU 07.29) - Fareham - Southampton Central P1 (PU 08.50) - Romsey - Salisbury P3 (PU 09.31) - Warminster - Westbury P1 (PU 10.07 / photo stop / attach assisting engine) -
• GBRf Class 59 and 33012 and GBRf CLlass 73/1 tnt Westbury - Bath Down Goods Loop - Bristol Temple Meads Down Through - Yatton DPL - Weston-super-Mare - Taunton - Tiverton DPL - Exeter St Davids P1 (SD 12.55) - Exeter Central - Exeter Sig 730 (RM) - Exeter Central P1 (SD 13.07 / break / detach assisting engine)
• 33012 and GBRf Class 73/1 tnt and Class438 4TC Exeter Central P1 (PU 14.42) - Honiton P2 (photo stop) - Axminster P2 - Chard Jn Loop - Gillingham (Dorset) P2 (photo stop) - Tisbury Loop - Salisbury P2 (SD 17.41) - Basingstoke P1 (SD 18.44) - Woking P1 (SD 19.11) - London Waterloo P18 (SD 19.44)
• GBRf Class 73/1 and 33012 tnt and Class 438 4TC London Waterloo P18 (PU 19.57) - Richmond - Virginia Water - Woking P5 (SD 21.02) - Guildford - Havant - Fareham - Eastleigh P3 (SD 22.46)

Historic Edinburgh & Royal Yatch Britannia (Northern Belle)

• WCRC Class 57 Derby (pu) - Chesterfield (pu) - Swinton (pu) - Doncaster (pu) - Edinburgh Waverley (break/rev) & return

The Spring Cornish Explorer (Pathfinder Railtours)

• WCRC Class 37 (Pair) Dorridge (pu) - Warwick Parkway (pu) - Leamington Spa (pu) - Banbury (pu) - Oxford (pu) - Swindon (pu) - Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Par (sd) - Truro (sd) - St Erth (sd) - Penzance (break/rev) & return

English Riviera Express (Saphos Trains)

• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Shrewsbury (pu) - Church Stretton (pu) - Craven Arms (pu) - Ludlow (pu) - Leominster (pu) - Hereford (pu) - Abergavenny (pu) - Cwmbran (pu) - Severn Tunnel Junction (pu) - Filton Abbey Wood (pu) - Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Taunton
• LSL Steam Pool Taunton - Exeter St Davids - Paignton - Kingswear
• LSL Steam Pool Kingswear (pu) - Paignton - Exeter St Davids - Norton Fitzwarren
• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Norton Fitzwarren - Bristol temple Meads (sd) - Filton Abbey Wood (sd) - severn Tunnel Junction (sd) - Cwmbran (sd) - Abergavenny (sd) - Hereford (sd) - Leominster (sd) - Ludlow (sd) - Craven Arms (sd) - Church Stretton (sd) - Shrewsbury

Sunday 5th May 2024

The royal duchy (railway touring company).

• 44871? Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Yatton (pu) - Taunton (pu) - Exeter St Davids (pu) - Plymouth (sd) - Par (break/rev) & return

Monday 6th May 2024

Llandudno victorian statesman (statesman rail).

• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Woking (pu) - Farnborough (pu) - Basingstoke (pu) - Andover (pu) - Salisbury (pu) - Warminster (pu) - Westbury (pu) - Bradford-on-Avon (pu) - Bath Spa (pu) - Llandudno (break/rev) & return

The Jacobite: Afternoon Train (West Coast Railway Company)

•   Fort William (pu) - Glenfinnan - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return

Tuesday 7th May 2024

Wednesday 8th may 2024, chatsworth house (belmond (british pullman)).

• DBC Class 67 London Victoria (pu) - Chesterfield (break/rev) & return

Charsworth House, Crich & Barrow Hill (Steam Dreams)

• 46100 Colchester (pu) - Ipswich (pu) - Bury St Edmunds (pu) - Ely (pu) - Alfreton (sd) - Chesterfield (sd) - Barrow Hill
• LSL Class 47 Barrow Hill (pu) - Chesterfield (pu) - Alfreton (pu) - Ely (sd) - Bury St Edmunds (sd) - Ipswich (sd) - Colchester

Thursday 9th May 2024

The jurassic crompton (branch line society).

• 33012 and GBRf Cl 59 tnt and 4-TC Eastleigh P3 (PU 08.49) - Fareham - Havant - Haslemere P3 - Guildford P8 (PU 09.59) - Woking - London Waterloo P7 (PU 11.15 / RM) - Woking P5 (PU 11.45) - Basingstoke P1 (PU 12.13) - Wallers Ash DPL - Shawford Jn - Dn Slow - Eastleigh - Southampton Central P1 (PU 12.53) - Brockenhurst P1 (photo stop) - Bournemouth P2 - Poole - Wareham (SD 14.04) - Norden - Swanage (SD 14:54)

To Swanage Railway for diesel gala. Stock will be London Underground Class 438 4-TC set.

Historic dundee, glamis castle or scone palace (northern belle).

• WCRC Class 57 Darlington (pu) - Durham (pu) - Newcastle upon Tyne (pu) - Dundee nr & return
• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Carnforth (pu) - Lancaster (pu) - Preston (pu) - Wigan North Western (pu) - Warrington Bank Quay (pu) - Crewe (pu) - Stafford (pu) - Rugeley Trent Valley (pu) - Windsor & Eton Riverside (break/rev) & return

Friday 10th May 2024

The spirit of travel lunch & champagne afternoon tea (northern belle).

• WCRC Class 57 Darlington (pu) - Durham (pu) - Newcastle upon Tyne (pu) & return

The Great Western Railway (1Z48): Day 1 (Vintage Trains)

• 7029 Birmingham Snow Hill (pu) - Widney Manor (pu) - Warwick Parkway (pu) - Banbury (pu) - Oxford (pu) - Bristol Temple Meads - Plymouth

Saturday 11th May 2024

The golden age of steam (belmond (british pullman)).

• 35028 London Victoria (pu) - Circular - London Victoria

The Golden Arrow (Pathfinder Railtours)

•   Birmingham New Street (pu) - Dorridge (pu) - Warwick Parkway (pu) - Banbury (pu) - Oxford (pu) - Didcot Parkway (pu) - West London
•   West London - Canterbury (break) - Dover Priory - Folkestone Central - Ashford International - Tonbridge - West London
•   West London - Didcot Parkway (sd) - Oxford (sd) - Banbury (sd) - Warwick Parkway (sd) - Dorridge (sd) - Birmingham New Street

Train cancelled use the availability of locomotives and rolling stock at WCRC.

The cumbrian mountain express (railway touring company).

• 86259 London Euston (pu) - Watford Junction (pu) - Milton Keynes Central (pu) - Northampton (by service train to Rugby) - Rugby (pu) - Nuneaton (pu) - Crewe (pu) - Preston (pu) - Carnforth
• Steam tba Carnforth - Shap - Carlisle
• Steam tba Carlisle - S&C - Hellifield - Preston
• 86259 Preston - Crewe (sd) - Nuneaton (sd) - Rugby (sd) - Northampton (by service train from Rugby) (sd) - Milton Keynes Central (sd) - Watford Junction (sd) - London Euston

Chester (Steam Dreams)

• 60007 London Euston (pu) - Milton Keynes Central (pu) - Northampton (pu) - Chester
• D213 Chester - Northampton (sd) - Milton Keynes Central (sd) - London Euston

The Great Western Railway (1Z48): Day 2 (Vintage Trains)

• 7029 Plymouth (pu) - Bristol Temple Meads - London Paddington
• Diesel tba London Paddington - Oxford (sd) - Banbury (sd) - Warwick Parkway (sd) - Widney Manor (sd) - Birmingham Snow Hill

Sunday 12th May 2024

The return of the jurassic crompton (branch line society).

• 33012 and GBRf Class 69 and 4-TC set Swanage (PU 14:20) - Corfe Castle (PU 14.35) - Norden - Worgret Jn - Wareham (PU 14.58) - Bournemouth P4 - Brockenhurst P1 - Southampton Central P3 (SD 16.01) - Eastleigh P1 - Wallers Ash UPL - Basingstoke P2 (SD 16.51) - Woking P1 (SD 17.15) - London Waterloo P11 (SD 17.55 / RM) - Woking P4 (SD 18.48) - Basingstoke P4 (SD 19.13) - Eastleigh P3 (SD 19.45)

Monday 13th May 2024

Tuesday 14th may 2024, the welsh marches express (saphos trains).

• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Coventry (pu) - Leamington Spa (pu) - Banbury (pu) - Oxford (pu) - Swindon (pu) - Chippenham (pu) - Bath Spa (pu) - Bristol Temple Meads (pu) -
• LSL Steam Pool Bristol Temple Meads - Abergavenny - Hereford - Shrewsbury
• LSL Steam Pool Shrewsbury (pu) - Hereford - Abergavenny - Bristol Temple Meads
• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Bristol Temple Meads - Bath Spa (sd) - Chippenham (sd) - Swindon (sd) - Oxford (sd) - Banbury (sd) - Leamington Spa (sd) - Coventry

Wednesday 15th May 2024

Historic bath (belmond (british pullman)).

• DBC Class 67 London Victoria (pu) - Bath Spa (break/rev) & return

Snowdonia Statesman (Statesman Rail)

• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Chesterfield (pu) - Alfreton (pu) - Ilkeston (pu) - East Midlands Parkway (pu) - Loughborough (pu) - Leicester (pu) - Narborough (pu) - Hinckley (pu) - Nuneaton (pu) - Betws-y-Coed (sd) - Blaenau Ffestiniog (break/rev) & return

Thursday 16th May 2024

• WCRC Class 57 Crewe (pu) - Warrington Bank Quay (pu) - Liverpool Lime Street (pu) - Edinburgh Waverley (break/rev) & return

The Cambrian Coast Express (Pathfinder Railtours)

• DBC Class 67 Cardiff Central (pu) - Newport (pu) - Cwmbran (pu) - Pontypool & New Inn (pu) - Abergavenny (pu) - Hereford (pu) - Ludlow (pu) - Craven Arms (pu) - Shrewsbury (pu)
• NR Class 97/3 (Pair) Shrewsbury - Barmouth (sd) - Minffordd (sd) - Porthmadog (sd) - Pwllheli
• NR Class 97/3 (Pair) Pwllheli (pu) - Porthmadog (pu) - Minffordd (pu) - Barmouth (pu) - Shrewsbury
• DBC Class 67 Shrewsbury - Craven Arms (sd) - Ludlow (sd) - Hereford (sd) - Abergavenny (sd) - Pontypool & New Inn (sd) - Cwmbran (sd) - Newport (sd) - Cardiff Central

Chatsworth, Crich & Barrow Hill (Steam Dreams)

• LSL Class 47 London Victoria (pu) - St Albans (pu) - Luton (pu) - Bedford (pu) - Alfreton (sd) - Chesterfield (sd) - Barrow Hill
• 46100 Barrow Hill (pu) - Chesterfield (pu) - Alfreton (pu) - Bedford (sd) - Luton (sd) - St Albans (sd) - London Victoria

Friday 17th May 2024

Brief encounter lunch & champagne afternoon tea (northern belle).

• WCRC Class 57 Crewe (pu) - Warrington Bank Quay (pu) - Liverpool Lime Street (pu) - Carnforth & return

Saturday 18th May 2024

• WCRC Class 57 Manchester Victoria (pu) - Preston (pu) - Lancaster (pu) - Edinburgh Waverley (break/rev) & return

The Lakelander (Saphos Trains)

• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Nottingham (pu) - Beeston (pu) - Derby (pu) - Belper (pu) - Chesterfield (pu) - Chinley (pu) - Romiley (pu) - Manchester Victoria (pu) - Preston (pu) -
• LSL Steam Pool Preston - Shap - Carlisle
• LSL Steam Pool Carlisle (pu) - Cumbrian Coast Line - Carnforth - Preston
• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Preston - Manchester Victoria (sd) - Romiley (sd) - Chinley (sd) - Chesterfield (sd) - Belper (sd) - Derby (sd) - Bestow (sd) - Nottingham

Sunday 19th May 2024

Monday 20th may 2024, tuesday 21st may 2024, wednesday 22nd may 2024, le manoir aux quat'saisons (belmond (british pullman)).

• DBC Class 67 London Victoria (pu) - Oxford Parkway (break/rev) & return

Thursday 23rd May 2024

Rhs chelsea flower show (northern belle).

• WCRC Class 57 Manchester Victoria (pu) - Stoke-on-Trent (pu) - Birmingham International (pu) - London Victoria (break/rev) & return
• LSL Steam Pool Crewe (pu) - Chester (pu) - Frodsham (pu) - Warrington Bank Quay (pu) - Wigan North Western (pu) - S&C - Carlisle (break/rev) & return

Cornish Riviera Statesman (Statesman Rail)

• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Shrewsbury (pu) - Church Stretton (pu) - Craven Arms (pu) - Ludlow (pu) - Leominster (pu) - Hereford (pu) - Abergavenny (pu) - Cwmbran (pu) - Severn Tunnel Junction (pu) - Truro (sd) - St Erth (sd) - Penzance (break/rev) & return

Friday 24th May 2024

• WCRC Class 57 York (pu) - Leeds (pu) - Wakefield Westgate (pu) - Circular

Saturday 25th May 2024

The hanson hanse (branch line society).

• 50008 and Class 20 tba Eastleigh P3 (PU 07.03) - Wallers Ash Loop - Basingstoke P4 (PU 07.35) - Reading P13 (PU 08.03) - Slough P5 (PU 08.27) - Dawley UGL - Hanwell Goods Loop - Ealing Broadway P4 (PU 09.04) - Willesden Junction High Level - Gospel Oak - Harringay Curve - Hornsey K440 Signal (RM) - Up Flyover - London Kings Cross P10 (PU 10.27 / RM) - Gordon Hill - Hertford North - Hitchin Flyover - Royston Loop - Cambridge - Coldham Lane DGL - Ely P1 (SD 12.28) - Kings Lynn P1 (SD 13.05)
• 50008 and Class 20 tba Kings Lynn P1 (PU 15.05) - Ely West Curve - March Down Goods - March West Jn (RM) - March Up Goods - Ely P2 (PU 16.57) - Cambridge Through Line - Bishops Stortford Up Loop - Harlow Town P1 (photo stop) - Broxbourne UPL - Tottenham South Jn - Temple Mills East Jn - Stratford P11 (SD 19.30) - High Meads Curve - High Meads Loop - Temple Mills East Jn - Tottenham South Jn - South Tottenham - Junction Road Jn - Carlton Road Jn - West Hampstead Dn Hendon - Cricklewood Curve Jn - Dudding Hill Jn - Acton Wells Jn - Ealing Broadway P3 (SD 20.30) - Slough P2 (SD 20.50) - Reading P8 (SD 21.08) - Basingstoke P2 (SD 21.42) - Wallers Ash Loop - Eastleigh P3 (SD 22.21)

50008 to lead from Eastleigh

• WCRC Class 57 Darlington (pu) - Durham (pu) - Newcastle upon Tyne (pu) - tba
• 34067 tba - S&C - tba
• WCRC Class 57 tba - Newcastle upon Tyne (sd) - Durham (sd) - Darlington

Sunday 26th May 2024

The millbrook meander (branch line society).

• 50008 and GBRf Class 66 tnt Eastleigh P3 (PU 10.00) - Southampton Airport Parkway P2 (PU 10.06) - Southampton Central P1 (PU 10.16) - Southampton Maritime Freightliner Terminal - Redbridge - Romsey - Salisbury P4 (PU 12.20) - Gillingham (Dorset) P2 (photo stop) - Yeovil Junction (RM) - Yeovil Pen Mill (RM) - Dorchester West P2 (SD 14.27) - Weymouth P1 (SD 14.43)
• 50008 and GBRf Class 66 tnt Weymouth P3 (PU 17.08) - Dorchester South P1 (PU 17.24) - Poole - Bournemouth - Brockenhurst P1 - Redbridge - Millbrook Freightliner Terminal - Southampton Central P1 (SD 19.35) - Southampton Airport Parkway P1 (SD 19.46) - Eastleigh P3 (SD 19.53)

The Shakespeare Express (Vintage Trains)

• Steam tba Derby (pu) - Tyseley (pu) - Henley in Arden (pu) - Stratford-upon-Avon
• Steam tba Stratford-upon-Avon - Claverdon - Dorridge - Tyseley (sd) - Birmingham- Moor Street (sd) - Birmingham Snow Hill
• Steam tba Birmingham Snow Hill (pu) - Birmingham Moor Street (pu) - Tyseley (pu) - Henley in Arden (sd) - Stratford-upon -Avon
• Steam tba Stratford-upon-Avon (pu) - Claverdon - Dorridge - Tyseley (sd) - Derby

Monday 27th May 2024

Tuesday 28th may 2024, ben neves & lochaber pullman (midland pullman).

• Midland Pullman HST Morpeth (pu) - Alnmouth (pu) - Berwick-upon-Tweed (pu) - Dunbar (pu) - Drum (pu) - Edinburgh Waverley (pu) - Linlithgow (pu) - Fort William (break/rev) & return

Norwich & Bressingham Steam & Gardens (Steam Dreams)

• 70000 Windsor & Eton Riverside (pu) - Datchet (pu) - Staines (pu) - Kew Bridge (pu) - Clapham Junction (pu) - Ipswich (sd) - Diss (sd) - Norwich (break/rev) & return

Wednesday 29th May 2024

Great british seaside: broadstairs & historic canterbury (belmond (british pullman)).

• DBC Class 67 London Victoria (pu) - Broadstairs (sd) - Canterbury (break/rev) & return

Thursday 30th May 2024

Welsh marches express (saphos trains).

• LSL Class 47 (Pair) High Wycombe (pu) - Princes Risborough (pu) - Haddenham & Thame Parkway (pu) - Bicester Village (pu) - Oxford Parkway (pu) - Oxford (pu) - Swindon (pu) - Bristol Temple Meads (pu) -
• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Bristol temple Meads - Swindon (sd) - Oxford (sd) - Oxford Parkway (sd) - Bicester Village (sd) - Haddenham & Thame Parkway (sd) - Princes Risborough (sd) - High Wycombe

Friday 31st May 2024

The carriage club (belmond (british pullman)), torbay riviera pullman (midland pullman).

• Midland Pullman HST Carlisle (pu) - Penrith Northern Lakes (pu) - Oxenholme Lake District (pu) - Lancaster (pu) - Preston (pu) - Wigan North Western (pu) - Warrington Bank Quay (pu) - Torquay (sd) - Paignton (break/rev) & return
• WCRC Class 57 Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Newport - Cardiff Central Circular

Saturday 1st June 2024

The english riviera airshow (pathfinder railtours).

• D1015 and Class 50 tnt Tame Bridge Parkway (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Dorridge (pu) - Leamington Spa (pu) - Banbury (pu) - Oxford (pu) - Swindon (pu) - Torquay (sd) - Paignton (break/rev) & return

The Mersey Express To Liverpool (Vintage Trains)

• 5043 Tyseley (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Wolverhampton (pu) - Stafford (pu) - Crewe (pu) - Liverpool Lime Street (break/rev) & return

Sunday 2nd June 2024

Monday 3rd june 2024, tuesday 4th june 2024, wednesday 5th june 2024, the great british seaside: whitstable (belmond (british pullman)).

• DBC Class 67 London Victoria (pu) - Whitstable (break) & return

The Bucket & Spade Charter (Branch Line Society)

• D213 Crewe (pu) - Warrington Bank Quay (pu) - Manchester Victoria (pu) - York (sd) - Scarborough (break/rev) & return

Thursday 6th June 2024

The holt hoover (branch line society).

• 50008 and 33012 Eastleigh P2 (PU 08.34) - Wallers Ash Loop - Basingstoke P3 (PU 09.13) - Reading P15 (PU 10.03) - Slough P5 (PU 10.28) - Greenford West Jn - South Ruislip (PU 11.21) - High Wycombe P2 (PU 11.46) - Haddenham & Thame Parkway P1 (PU 12.06) - Bicester North - Banbury P1 (PU 12.43) - Warwick Parkway P2 (PU 13.14) - Dorridge - Tyseley - Landor Street Jn - Coleshill Parkway P2 (PU 14.16) - Nuneaton - Leicester P2 (PU 15.00) - Humberstone Road Goods - Melton Mowbray - Peterborough P6 (PU 16.38) - March Up Goods - Ely West Curve - Brandon Down Goods Loop - Norwich P6 (PU 18.35 / RM) - Cromer P1 (RM) - Sheringham (NNR) (SD 20.20)

It is planned for 50008 to run round at Humberstone Road, with 33012 then leading to Norwich.

Chatsworth house (northern belle).

• WCRC Class 57 Norwich (pu) - Ipswich (pu) - Chesterfield (break/rev) & return

Friday 7th June 2024

Saturday 8th june 2024.

• WCRC Class 57 Coventry (pu) - Birmingham International (pu) - Wolverhampton (pu) - Stafford (pu) - Crewe (pu) - Carnforth
• WCRC Class 57 Preston - Crew (sd) - Stafford (sd) - Wolverhampton (sd) - Birmingham International (sd) - Coventry

The Lakes Express (Pathfinder Railtours)

•   Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Severn Tunnel Junction (pu) - Pontypool & New Inn (pu) - Abergavenny (pu) - Hereford (pu) - Ludlow (pu) - Craven Arms (pu) - Shrewsbury (pu) - Carlisle
•   Carlisle - Cumbrian Coast Line - Carnforth
•   Carnforth - Shrewsbury (sd) - Craven Arms (sd) - Ludlow (sd) - Hereford (sd) - Abergavenny (sd) - Pontypool & New Inn (sd) - Severn Tunnel Junction (sd) - Bristol Temple Meads

Presumed cancelled as withdrawn from website.

The blyth & tyne or beamish open air museum (uk railtours).

• Rail Adventure Class 43 x 2 Finsbury Park (pu) - Potters Bar (pu) - Stevenage (pu) - Peterborough (pu) - Doncaster (pu) - Durham (sd) - Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Rail Adventure Class 43 x 2 Newcastle Upon Tyne (pu) - Heaton Down Goods Loop (service stock) - Newsham - Bedlington - Morpeth - Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Rail Adventure Class 43 x 2 Newcastle upon Tyne (pu) - Sundewrland - Hartlepool - Northallerton - Doncaster (sd) - Peterborough (sd) - Stevenage (sd) - Potters Bar (sd) - Finsbury Park

The Ffestiniog Express (Vintage Trains)

• 5043 or 7029 Dorridge (pu) - Widney Manor (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Wolverhampton (pu) - Stafford (pu) - Crewe (pu) - Llandudno Junction
• Diesel tba Llandudno Junction - Blaenau Ffestiniog (rev) - Llandudno Junction
• 5043 or 7029 Llandudno Junction - Crewe (sd) - Stafford (sd) - Wolverhampton (sd) - Birmingham New Street (sd) - Widney Manor (sd) - Dorridge

Sunday 9th June 2024

The cromer crompton (branch line society).

• 33012 and 50008 tnt Sheringham (NNR) (PU 17.05) - Cromer P2 (RM) - Norwich P4 (SD 18.09 / RM) - Trowse Up & Dn Loop - Ely P3 (SD 19.25 / RM) - March Down Goods - Peterborough P7 (SD 20.13) - Melton Mowbray - Leicester P3 (SD 21.13) - Nuneaton P6 (SD 21.39) - Coleshill Parkway (SD 22.01) - Water Orton P1 (SD 22.08)

Monday 10th June 2024

Tuesday 11th june 2024, wednesday 12th june 2024, thursday 13th june 2024, friday 14th june 2024, saturday 15th june 2024.

• WCRC Class 57 Leeds (pu) - Wakefield Westgate (pu) - Barnsley (pu) - Huddersfield (pu) - Sheffield (pu) - Manchester Victoria (pu) - Carnforth
• To be confirmed Preston - Manchester Victoria (sd) - Sheffield (sd) - Huddersfield (sd) - Barnsley (sd) - Wakefield Westgate (sd) - Leeds

Dorset Coast Statesman (Statesman Rail)

• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Norwich (pu) - Diss (pu) - Stowmarket (pu) - Ipswich (pu) - Manningtree (pu) - Colchester (pu) - Chelmsford (pu) - Shenfield (pu) - Bournemouth (sd) - Poole (sd) - Weymouth (break/rev) & return -

Paignton & Kingswear (Steam Dreams)

• LSL Diesel tba London Paddington (pu) - Slough (pu) - Reading (pu) - Newbury (pu) - Taunton
• 61306 Taunton - Paignton (sd) - Kingswear
• 61306 Kingswear (pu) - Paignton (pu) - Taunton
• LS:L Diesel tba Taunton - Newbury (sd) - Reading (sd) - Slough (sd) - London Paddington

The Ancient Kingdom (UK Railtours)

• TBA London King's Cross (pu) - Potters Bar (pu) - Stevenage (pu) - Peterborough (pu) - Alnmouth (sd) - Berwick-upon Tweed
• TBA Berwick upon Tweed - Grantshouse - Drem - Prestonpans - Joppa straight Siding Leith South Goods - Berwick upon Tweed
• TBA Berwick upon Tweed (pu) - Alnmouth (pu) - Peterborough (sd) - Stevenage (sd) - Potters Bar (sd) - London King's Cross

Sunday 16th June 2024

• Steam tba Birmingham Snow Hill (pu) - Birmingham Moor Street (pu) - Tyseley (pu) - Henley in Arden (pu) - Stratford-upon-Avon
• Steam tba Stratford-upon-Avon (pu) - Claverdon - Dorridge - Tyseley (sd) - Birmingham Moor Street (sd) - Birmingham Snow Hill

Scheduled that each return working will be hauled by a different Castle

Monday 17th june 2024, tuesday 18th june 2024, wednesday 19th june 2024, gusbourne english garden party (belmond (british pullman)).

• DBC Class 67 London Victoria (pu) - Ashford (break) & return
• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Cardiff Central (pu) - Newport (pu) - Severn tunnel Junction (pu) - Chepstow (pu) - Lydney (pu) - Gloucester (pu) - Cheltenham Spa (pu) - Worcestershire Parkway (pu) - Barnt Green (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Betws-y-Coed (sd) - Blaenau Ffestiniog (break/rev) & return

Thursday 20th June 2024

• DBC Class 67 London victoria (pu) - Circular - London Victoria

Ladies Day At Ascot (Northern Belle)

• WCRC Class 57 Manchester Victoria (pu) - Crewe (pu) - Birmingham International (pu) - Ascot (break/rev) & return

Friday 21st June 2024

• WCRC Class 57 Crewe (pu) - Chester (pu) - Wrexham General (pu) - Circular

Saturday 22nd June 2024

The return of the jolly fisherman 125 special (uk railtours).

• Rail Adventure Class 43 x 2 London St Pancras International (pu) - Luton Airport Parkway (pu) - Kettering (pu) - Leicester (pu) - Nottingham - Skegness (break/rev) & return

The Cathedrals Express To Hereford & Cardiff (Vintage Trains)

• 5043 or 7029 Dorridge (pu) - Widney Manor (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Wolverhampton (pu) - Telford Central (pu) - Ludlow (pu) - Hereford (sd) - Cardiff Central Central
• 5043 or 7029 Cardiff Central (pu) - Hereford (pu) - Ludlow (pu) - Telford Central (sd) - Wolverhampton (sd) - Birmingham New Street (sd) - Widney Manor (sd) - Dorridge

Itinerary now revised to include a set down/pick-up at Hereford for passengers originally booked on cancelled 20 April working. Train will now also operate via Wolverhampton and Welsh Marches Line, and not via Cheltenham Spa, Gloucester and Lydney.

Sunday 23rd june 2024, monday 24th june 2024, tuesday 25th june 2024, wednesday 26th june 2024, historic windsor & royal kew gardens (northern belle).

• WCRC Class 57 Manchester Victoria (pu) - Crewe (pu) - Stafford (pu) - Hounslow (break/rev) & return

Thursday 27th June 2024

Friday 28th june 2024, gatsby gala dinner (northern belle).

• WCRC Class 57 London Victoria (pu) - Circular - London Victoria

Saturday 29th June 2024

The ribblehead rambler (21st century steam ltd).

• 60163 Leicester (pu) - East Midlands Parkway (pu) - Chesterfield (pu) - Doncaster (pu) - Leeds (pu) - S&C - Carlisle (break/rev) & return

The Mazey Day Cornishman (Pathfinder Railtours)

• Class 50 x 2 Dorridge (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Worcestershire Parkway (pu) - Cheltenham Spa (pu) - Cam & Dursley (pu) - Bristol Parkway (pu) - Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Par (sd) - Truro (sd) - St Erth (sd) - Penzance (break/rev) & return

Cornish Riviera Mazey Day Statesman (Statesman Rail)

• LSL Class 47 (Pair) Wolverhampton (pu) - Tame Bridge Parkway (pu) - Stourbridge Junction (pu) - Kidderminster (pu) - Droitwich Spa (pu) - Worcester Shrub Hill (pu) - Cheltenham Spa (pu) - Cam & Dursley (pu) - Truro (sd) - St Erth (sd) - Penzance (break/rev) & return

Sunday 30th June 2024

• Steam tba Worcester Shrub Hill (pu) - Birmingham Snow Hill (pu) - Birmingham Moor Street (pu) - Tyseley (pu) - Henley in Arden (pu) - Stratford-upon-Avon
• Steam tba Stratford-upon-Avon (pu) - Claverdon - Dorridge - Tyseley (sd) - Birmingham Moor Street (sd) - Birmingham Snow Hill - Worcester Shrub Hill

Monday 1st July 2024

Tuesday 2nd july 2024, wednesday 3rd july 2024, thursday 4th july 2024, friday 5th july 2024, rhs hampton court & historic windsor (northern belle).

• WCRC Class 57 Cardiff Central (pu) - Bath Spa (pu) - Hounslow (break/rev) & return

Saturday 6th July 2024

• WCRC Class 57 Cardiff Central (pu) - Newport (pu) - Bath Spa (pu) - Circular

The White Rose To York & Scarborough (Vintage Trains)

• 5043 or 7029 Birmingham New Street (pu) - Coileshill Parkway (pu) - Tamworth (pu) - Burton upon Trent (pu) - Derby (pu) - York (sd) - Scarborough (break/rev) & return

Sunday 7th July 2024

Monday 8th july 2024, tuesday 9th july 2024, wednesday 10th july 2024, thursday 11th july 2024, friday 12th july 2024, the caledonian express (21st century steam ltd).

• 60163 Birmingham New Street (pu) - Tame Bridge Parkway (pu) - Wolverhampton (pu) - Stafford (pu) - Crewe (pu) = Shap - Carlisle - Beattock - Edinburgh Waverley
• Diesel tba Edinburgh Waverley (pu) - Beattock - Carlisle - Shap - Crewe (sd) - Stafford (sd) - Wolverhampton (sd) - Tame Bridge Parkway (sd) - Birmingham New Street
• WCRC Class 57 Glasgow Central (pu) - Edinburgh Waverley (pu) - Circular

Saturday 13th July 2024

The cumbrian cromptons (pathfinder railtours).

• WCRC Class 47/57 Reading (pu) - Didcot Parkway (pu) - Oxford (pu) - Banbury (pu) - Warwick Parkway (pu) - Dorridge (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Crewe (pu) -
• WCRC Class 33 (Pair) Crewe - S&C - Carlisle
• WCRC Class 33 (Pair) Carlisle (pu) - Penrith (pu) - Shap - Preston - Crewe (sd) - Birmingham New Street (sd) - Dorridge (sd) - Warwick Parkway (sd) - Banbury (sd) - Oxford (sd) - Didcot Parkway (sd) - Reading

Oxford (Steam Dreams)

• LSL Class 47 Haywards Heath (pu) - Three Bridges (pu) - Redhill (pu) - Purley (pu) - West London (tba)
• 46100 West London (tba) - Oxford
• 46100 Oxford (pu) - West London (tba)
• TBA West London (tba) - Purley (sd) - Redhill (sd) - Three Bridges (sd) - Haywards Heath

Sunday 14th July 2024

The north west freighter (uk railtours).

• GBRf Class 57/3 Watford Junction (pu) - Milton Keynes Central (pu) - Northampton (pu) - Rugby (pu) - Trent Valley Line - Crewe
• GBRf Class 57/3 and GBRf Class 60 tnt Crewe - Folly Lane
• GBRf Class 60 and GBRf Class 57/3 Folly Lane - Frodsham - Helsby
• GBRf Class 57/3 and GBRf Class 60 Helsby - Warrington Bank Quay - Preston Docks - Ribble Steam Railway
• GBRf Class 60 and GBRf Class 57/3 Ribble Steam Railway - Preston Docks - Chester Down & Up Goods
• GBRf Class 57/3 Chester Down & Up Goods - Wrexham General - Shrewsbury - West Midlands - Rugby (sd) - Northampton (sd) - Milton Keynes Central (sd) - Watford Junction
• Steam tba Leicester (pu) - Tyseley (pu) - Henley in Arden (pu) - Stratford-upon-Avon
• Steam tba Stratford-upon-Avon (pu) - Claverdon - Dorridge - Tyseley (sd) - Leicester

Monday 15th July 2024

Tuesday 16th july 2024, wednesday 17th july 2024, thursday 18th july 2024, the aberdonian (21st century steam ltd).

• 60163 Edinburgh Waverley (pu) - Haymarket (pu) - Forth Bridge - Perth - Dundee - Montrose - Aberdeen (break/rev) & return

Friday 19th July 2024

Saturday 20th july 2024, sunday 21st july 2024, monday 22nd july 2024, tuesday 23rd july 2024, wednesday 24th july 2024, thursday 25th july 2024, exeter (steam dreams).

• LSL Diesel tba London Paddington (pu) - Maidenhead (pu) - Reading (pu) - Swindon (pu) - Taunton
• 60532 Taunton - Exeter St Davids
• 60532 Exeter St Davids - Exeter Central (pu) - Bristol Temple Meads
• LSL Diesel tba Bristol Temple Meads - Swindon (sd) - Reading (sd) - Maidenhead (sd) - London Paddington

Friday 26th July 2024

Saturday 27th july 2024, the diamond jubilee express (inter-city).

• 45118 Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Bristol Parkway (pu) - Cheltenham Spa (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Derby - Duffield (sd) - Chesterfield (break/rev) & return

The Jolly Whistler (Pathfinder Railtours)

• WCRC Class 47/57 Burton-upon-Trent (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Sandwell & Dudley (pu) - Wolverhampton (pu) - Stafford (pu) - Crewe (pu) -
• 40145 Crewe - Stockport - Guide Bridge - Hope Valley - Sheffield - Worksop - Retford - Gainsborough Lea Road -Lincoln - Sleaford - Skegness
• 40145 Skegness - Boston - Sleaford - Nottingham - Beeston - Castle Donington - Burton-upon-Trent (sd) - Birmingham New Street (sd) - Sandwell & Dudley (sd) - Wolverhampton (sd) - Stafford (sd) - Crewe

The Dean Forest Railway (UK Railtours)

• 33012 and 4TC Basingstoke (pu) - Woking (pu) - Clapham Junction (pu) - Didcot Parkway (pu) - Swindon - Kemble - Stroud - Gloucester - Lydney - Dean Forest Railway - Parkend
• 33012 and 4TC Parkend - Dean Forest Railway - Lydney - Gloucester - Stroud - Kemble - Swindon - Didcot Parkway (sd) - Reading West Curve - Basingstoke
• GBRf Class 66 and 4TC and 33012 TNT ? Basingstoke - Woking (sd) - Clapham Junction

Sunday 28th July 2024

• Steam tba Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Yatton (pu) - Taunton (pu) - Exeter St Davids (pu) - Plymouth (sd) - Par (break/rev) & return

The Waterside Wanderer (UK Railtours)

• Class 33 and GBRf Class 66 London Fenchurch Street (pu) - Stratford - Chelmsford (pu) - Colchester (pu) - Manningtree - Harwich Town (rev) - Griffin Wharf - Clacton on Sea - Walton on the Naze - Colchester Town - Stratford (sd) - London Fenchurch Street

Monday 29th July 2024

Tuesday 30th july 2024, wednesday 31st july 2024, thursday 1st august 2024, friday 2nd august 2024, saturday 3rd august 2024, chester (to be confirmed).

• HST Newcastle upon Tyne (pu) - Chester-le-Street (pu) - Durham (pu) - Darlington (pu) - Northallerton (pu) - York (pu) - Chester (break/rev) & return

Sunday 4th August 2024

Monday 5th august 2024, tuesday 6th august 2024, wednesday 7th august 2024, thursday 8th august 2024.

• LSL Diesel tba Southend Central (pu) - Leigh-in-Sea (pu) - Barking (pu) - London area (tba)
• 46100 London area (tba) - Chester
• LSL Diesel tba Chester (pu) - Barking (sd) - Leigh-on-Sea (sd) - Southend Central

Friday 9th August 2024

Saturday 10th august 2024, sunday 11th august 2024, monday 12th august 2024, tuesday 13th august 2024, wednesday 14th august 2024, thursday 15th august 2024, friday 16th august 2024, saturday 17th august 2024, the exmoor coast cromptons (pathfinder railtours).

• WCRC Class 33 (Pair) Reading (pu) - Eastleigh (pu) - Southampton Central (pu) - Ramsey (pu) - Salisbury (pu) - Westbury (pu) - Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Bishops Lydeard - Minehead (break/rev) & return

Note that the section from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead and return will be operated by a pair of West Somerset Railway Class 33s.

By routemaster to the lost village of imber (uk railtours).

• Hastings DEMU Tonbridge (pu) - East Croydon (pu) - London Waterloo (pu) - Woking (pu) - Basingstoke (pu) - Andover - Salisbury - Warminster
• Hastings DEMU Warminster (pu) - Salisbury - Ramsey - Southampton Central - Winchester - Basingstoke (sd) - Woking (sd) - London Waterloo (sd) - East Croydon (sd) - Tonbridge

Sunday 18th August 2024

Monday 19th august 2024, tuesday 20th august 2024, wednesday 21st august 2024, thursday 22nd august 2024, bath spa (steam dreams).

• TBA London Paddington (pu) - Beaconsfield (pu) - Princes Riusborough (pu) - Bicester Village (pu) - Oxford - Bath Spa
• 46100 Bath Spa (pu) - Oxford - Bicester Village (sd) - Princes Risborough (sd) - Beaconsfield (sd) - London Paddington

Friday 23rd August 2024

Saturday 24th august 2024, sunday 25th august 2024, monday 26th august 2024, tuesday 27th august 2024, wednesday 28th august 2024, thursday 29th august 2024, friday 30th august 2024, saturday 31st august 2024, sunday 1st september 2024, monday 2nd september 2024, tuesday 3rd september 2024, wednesday 4th september 2024, thursday 5th september 2024.

• DBC Class 67 Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Bristol Parkway (pu) - Cam & Dursley (pu) - Cheltenham Spa (pu) - Worcestershire Parkway (pu) - Bromsgrove (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Wolverhampton (pu) - Shrewsbury (pu) -
• NR Class 97/3 (Pair) Pwllheli (pu) - Porthmadog (pu) - Minnffordd (pu) - Barmouth (pu) - Shrewsbury (sd) -
• DBC Class 67 Shrewsbury - Wolverhampton (sd) - Birmingham New Street (sd) - Bromsgrove (sd) - Worcestershire Parkway (sd) - Cheltenham Spa (sd) - Cam & Dursley (sd) - Bristol Parkway (sd) - Bristol Temple Meads

Friday 6th September 2024

Saturday 7th september 2024, the clyde aberdonian (21st century steam ltd).

• 60163 Glasgow Central (pu) - Stirling - Perth - Dundee - Montrose - Aberdeen (break/rev) & return

Sunday 8th September 2024

Sussex coastal tour (steam dreams).

• 70000 Chichester (pu) - Littlehampton
• LSL Diesel Littlehampton - Preston Park
• 70000 Preston Park - Chichester

Goodwood Revival & Chichester (Steam Dreams)

• 70000 London Paddington (pu) - Slough (pu) - Bosham (sd) - Chichester (break) & return

Monday 9th September 2024

Tuesday 10th september 2024, wednesday 11th september 2024, settler & carlisle fellsman (saphos trains), thursday 12th september 2024.

• DBC Class 67 Swindon (pu) - Kemble (pu) - Stroud (pu) - Cheltenham Sap (pu) - Worcester Shrub Hill (pu) - Kidderminster (pu) - Stourbridge Junction (pu) - Tame Bridge Parkway (pu) - Shrewsbury (pu) -
• DBC Class 67 Shrewsbury - Tame Bridge Parkway (sd) - Stourbridge Junction (sd) -Kidderminster (sd) - Worcester Shrub Hill (sd) - Cheltenham Spa (sd) - Stroud (sd) - Kemble (sd) - Swindon

Friday 13th September 2024

Saturday 14th september 2024, sunday 15th september 2024, monday 16th september 2024, tuesday 17th september 2024, wednesday 18th september 2024, thursday 19th september 2024, friday 20th september 2024, saturday 21st september 2024, sunday 22nd september 2024, monday 23rd september 2024, tuesday 24th september 2024, wednesday 25th september 2024, thursday 26th september 2024, friday 27th september 2024, saturday 28th september 2024, sunday 29th september 2024, monday 30th september 2024, tuesday 1st october 2024, wednesday 2nd october 2024, thursday 3rd october 2024, friday 4th october 2024, saturday 5th october 2024, sunday 6th october 2024, monday 7th october 2024, tuesday 8th october 2024, wednesday 9th october 2024, thursday 10th october 2024, friday 11th october 2024, saturday 12th october 2024, sunday 13th october 2024, monday 14th october 2024, tuesday 15th october 2024, wednesday 16th october 2024, thursday 17th october 2024, friday 18th october 2024, saturday 19th october 2024, sunday 20th october 2024, monday 21st october 2024, tuesday 22nd october 2024, wednesday 23rd october 2024, thursday 24th october 2024, friday 25th october 2024, sunday 10th november 2024.

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Train strikes in May 2024: Full list of dates and lines affected

Rail lines are set for disruption in the week following the first May bank holiday as train drivers at 16 rail companies strike on different days.

Thursday 25 April 2024 10:29, UK

Train drivers will stage a fresh wave of strikes and overtime bans in May, causing disruption to the rail network.

The strikes are part of a long-running dispute over pay.

Members of Aslef union at 16 rail companies will walk out on different days from 7 to 9 May.

Additionally, all members will refuse to work any overtime from 6 May to 11 May.

Here is a full list of the services affected by strikes and when.

Rail strike dates

Tuesday 7 May

Strikes will affect c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express and South Western Railway.

Wednesday 8 May

Strikes will affect Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains.

Thursday 9 May

Strikes will affect LNER, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express.

Overtime ban dates

From Monday 6 May to Saturday 11 May union members will not work overtime.

Overtime bans, an action short of a strike, means some services may not be running or may be reduced as drivers refuse to work their rest days.

People are advised to check before they travel, as some areas may have no service.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

How do strikes and overtime bans affect services?

Strikes tend to mean services on lines where members are participating are extremely affected or cancelled entirely, whereas overtime bans often lead to reduced services.

Are there strikes on the Tube too?

There have been regular strikes on London Underground too recently, and while there aren't any planned walkouts for drivers, customer service managers are set to walk out on Friday 26 April in a dispute over terms and conditions.

There will also be an overtime ban for the customer service managers on the following days:

Monday 29 April

Tuesday 30 April

Wednesday 1 May

Tuesday 2 May

Wednesday 3 May

Thursday 4 May

Friday 5 May

The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) says the action by its members is likely to cause Tube stations to close at the last minute, including on the Saturday following the strike (27 April), while TfL has said on its website "some stations may need to close at short notice".

Despite the warning, a TfL spokesperson has said they aren't expecting significant disruption.

This action follows strike action taken by the same workers on 10 April, which the TSSA said had a "real impact" with "many stations shut at short notice".

They say they are "extremely concerned" about TfL's 'Stations Changes' proposals.

"We have made it clear that our union will not accept the continued threats to our members' roles, locations, terms, and conditions to stand unchallenged," a TSSA spokesperson said.

"We will continue to take sustained action until London Underground is prepared to negotiate with us in good faith."

Commenting on the impending strikes, a TfL spokesperson said: "We are disappointed that TSSA is continuing with this strike action following a consultation process.

"While we don't expect this action will cause significant disruption, we urge TSSA to continue to work with us to help find a resolution.

"There are no planned job losses as part of these vital changes which will improve the service we provide to customers at our stations."

How can I stay in the loop?

You can use the National Rail's journey planner to see when trains are running.

Be sure to check it close to when you plan to travel, as it will be updated regularly.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Why are the strikes still happening?

Aslef rejected a two-year offer of 4% in 2022 and another 4% this year, saying it is way below inflation, and is linked to changes in terms and conditions.

Aslef said train drivers have not had an increase in salary for five years, since their last pay deals expired in 2019.

The union said after its members voted overwhelmingly in February to continue taking industrial action, it asked the train operating companies to hold talks.

General secretary Mick Whelan said the year-old pay offer of 4% and another 4% was "dead in the water".

Related Topics

• London Underground
• Rail strikes

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

What is Labour’s plan for rail travel and will it make tickets cheaper?

Party wants to fully nationalise train network within five years of coming to power, in ‘biggest rail reform for a generation’

Labour has made one of its most radical proposals yet in the run-up to an election campaign: to fully nationalise the train network within five years of coming to power.

The party has pledged to guarantee the cheapest fares as part of “the biggest reform of our railways for a generation”, bringing all passenger rail into national ownership under the Great British Railways (GBR) body.

So, how difficult would the plan be to enact and what does it mean for passengers?

How would Labour’s plan for Great British Railways change the way the trains are run?

The headline change is nationalisation: the ambition that all passenger train operations, at least, should return to public ownership. But the wider aim is that control of trains and tracks – “wheels and steel”, as some put it – is brought back under one unified structure, at arm’s length from the government.

The actual railway infrastructure is already managed by the state-owned Network Rail, since the disastrous tenure of Railtrack in the early days of privatisation, and train operations in Scotland, Wales and a large chunk of England are in public ownership. So a fully renationalised railway (bar the rolling stock and freight) is not as big a step as it may once have sounded – and arguably the pragmatic extension of the plans drawn up by the Conservatives in 2021, to end the fragmentation and waste in the system.

How long will the changes take?

Labour said it would get the ball rolling on day one. Given the years it has taken for the Conservatives’ GBR plans to crystallise into a draft bill that has scant chance of passing before an election, supporters of the changes would be forgiven for not holding their breath for legislation. But some of the spadework has been done by the GBR transition team, and Labour will be hoping for a more stable tenancy in Downing Street to see the policy through. It is, it stresses, a long-term plan.

As far as nationalisation of the train operators goes, most of the contracts of remaining operators will expire naturally within the next term, while the government can exercise break clauses in others, such as Avanti West Coast and Cross Country.

What would the trains look like?

Eventually, they would all be GBR-branded trains rather than the individual liveries and logos of different operators. Labour hopes that this will make things simpler for passengers, avoiding confusion over ticketing, as well as cutting costs.

Would it make train travel cheaper?

Possibly, but not for a while yet. Labour says it wants to make the railway more affordable but has definitively avoided any pledges to cut or even freeze the overall level of fares.

However, it believes that its plans will eventually save £2.2bn a year by avoiding the duplication and bureaucracy brought on by the current system, where the Department for Transport tightly controls and specifies contracts for the private firms, and reams of staff are employed in back-end roles. That could give ministers some scope to use more of the billions in annual taxpayer subsidy to bring fares down long-term.

What about this best-price guarantee?

Make that an “ambition”, according to the policy document . It’s testament to the complexity, or occasional absurdity, of UK rail fares that even after years of industry focus on improving the system, renationalising looks an easier promise than telling a passenger they’ve paid the right amount.

Things can be improved, Labour says, as contactless tap-in and tap-out payments extend through more and more of the country, opening up the possibility of a Transport for London-style system, where fares are streamlined and automatically capped or refunded.

The shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, pointedly chose the headquarters of Trainline in central London to launch her plans on Thursday, paying tribute to the travel app firm’s “relentless focus on passengers [and] improving their experience”. Trainline shares fell 10%, even though Labour says it has no plans to replace the private firm with a single state retailer.

But given that the app’s business depends on people paying extra to cut through the railway’s confusing fares, fragmentation and lack of a decent central ticketing site, Trainline shareholder nerves might be taken as a vote of confidence that GBR will improve the industry’s own offering.

How else might passengers benefit?

Labour says it would leave the running of the railway to the experts – but the transport secretary would set strategy and take on the role of passenger-in-chief, and the industry would not be “marking its own homework”.

The plan aims to strengthen the voice of passengers by rolling together the various bodies currently meant to be standing up for them – the watchdog Transport Focus and the little-known Rail Ombudsman, as well as a few divisions of the Office of Rail and Road.

What will happen to the private operators?

Their representatives at Rail Partners warn that it will be “messy” and the railway will lose their expertise. But the people actually running train operators, right up to the managing directors, have typically stayed in post with a different coloured badge when the owning groups moved on, and passengers at say, Southeastern or LNER may not feel life is very different. Firms once regarded as pillars of privatised rail such as Stagecoach, National Express (now Mobico) and Virgin have long exited UK rail already, pursuing business elsewhere.

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April 22, 2024

Amtrak completes upgrades at durham station.

Customers will experience more accessible path to travel

WASHINGTON – Amtrak is excited to announce renovations at the Durham Station are now complete. The $1.5 million project to improve the station is part of the ongoing and companywide commitment at Amtrak to ensure a safe, efficient, and comfortable travel experience for customers.

The Amtrak Carolinian and Piedmont provide daily service to the station at 601 W. Main Street. The services are sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and operated by Amtrak and paid for through state funding and passenger fares. The trains operate between Raleigh and Charlotte, with the Carolinian continuing service to New York.

“Providing an accessible travel experience is a priority and we’re actively advancing construction, renovation, repair, and upgrade projects at stations across our national network,” Amtrak Vice President of Accessibility Dr. David Handera said. “We are pleased we delivered these improvements to the Durham station and for our customers and community.”

The renovation project included the installation of new doors and an automatic system for customers to enter and exit the station, and upgrades to the men’s and women’s restrooms. A new fire alarm system and signs were installed. A cane detection rail, a horizontal bar, was installed at the bottom of the ticket counter. The bar is detectable by a person who uses a cane, and it will alert them the counter is within their path.

Customers will access new accessible pathways extending from the parking lot to the station and platform, and accessible parking spaces. The station features new signs along the platform, parking lot and customer drop off area.

“The Federal Railroad Administration is excited about the upgrades completed at Durham Station, and we are proud of our work with Amtrak to ensure more Americans have access to the passenger rail service they need and deserve, which very much includes Americans with disabilities, our aging population, and others who rely on and benefit from accessible and convenient passenger rail,” FRA Administrator Amit Bose said. “As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the federal government is investing well over a billion dollars in rail projects and planning activities across North Carolina, and we will continue to invest even more across the country.”

Amtrak has invested more than $850 million since 2011 in accessibility upgrades and improvement projects at 120 stations across the national network to ensure a safe, efficient, and comfortable travel experience for customers with disabilities. The improvements include repairs and upgrades to platforms, ramps and sidewalks, and renovations to entranceways and restrooms, with 20 stations brought into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act last year. Another 35 stations are targeted for completion this fiscal year at a forecasted investment of $165 million.

Our program is advancing 140 station designs and 43 station construction projects as part of Amtrak’s ongoing commitment to providing accessibility by working toward 100% completion by 2029.

“Accessibility to everyone is an important part of the total passenger experience,” Jason Orthner, NCDOT Rail Division director said. “Working with Amtrak and local partners to ensure safe, accessible and convenient travel guarantee future growth and success of passenger rail in North Carolina and beyond.”

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC)

“The upgrades at Durham Station will make North Carolinians experience traveling on Amtrak easier, safer, and more accessible,” Senator Thom Tillis said. “Amtrak’s investment in Durham is another example of their commitment to improving customer experience and rail service across our state.”

Leonardo Williams, Durham Mayor

“The Durham Station provides many of our residents an alternative mode of transportation across the state and beyond. I am excited about these renovations, as these upgrades will increase accessibility and enhance rail travel for those in need here in Durham,” Mayor Leonardo Williams said.

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Kimberly Woods [email protected] Amtrak Contact 202 906.3860

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NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Labour wants to renationalise UK’s entire rail network

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A Labour government would aim to bring the UK’s entire rail network into public ownership in its first term, the shadow transport secretary has announced.

Louise Haigh said a new national operator named Great British Railways (GBR) would be created if the party is victorious at the next general election expected later this year.

The arm’s-length public body would gradually take control of the tracks as existing private contracts expire.

That means the end of individual franchises such as Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Trains and c2c – as well as those currently run by the British Government, including LNER and the TransPennine Express.

All would eventually be swallowed up by the GBR brand, bringing an end to passenger panic over whether a ticket bought through one operator would work for another.

Labour’s plans would also mean the abolition of Network Rail in an effort to bring tracks and trains together under one banner.

But industry figures and the Conservatives have warned that the move could end up costing taxpayers more in the long run.

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In an exclusive chat with Metro.co.uk, Ms Haigh said: ‘We can create a new body that is single-handedly focused on delivering for passengers and for the taxpayer, because the current model doesn’t work for anyone.

‘It doesn’t work for the taxpayer who is underwriting every single penny that’s spent on the rail.

‘It certainly doesn’t work for passengers who are having to contend with delayed and overcrowded trains on a daily basis.

‘And it doesn’t work for our economy – we’ve lost dozens of days to industrial action over the last couple of years, and record delays and cancellations are really holding back economic growth.’

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ScotRail, which is controlled by the Scottish Government, and the Wales & Borders franchise, operated by the Welsh Government, would continue in their existing forms.

But the devolved administrations would be handed more power on infrastructure under the plans, once Network Rail is dissolved.

What happened the last time rail was nationalised?

The UK railway network was originally taken into public ownership in 1947, as part of Prime Minister Clement Attlee’s flurry of nationalisation which also resulted in the birth of the NHS.

British Rail operated for almost 50 years, which included the massive slashing of routes under the notorious Beeching cuts of the 1960s.

Through the 1970s and 1980s, it became something of a national punchline, with comedians poking fun at its unpleasant food and unreliability.

When was British rail privatised?

A programme of privatisation took place under John Major between 1994 and 1997, and Tony Blair decided not to reverse that process when Labour regained power.

However, the old company lives on through the iconic British Rail double arrow logo, which is still used to symbolise the railway on signs across the country.

The big operational decisions for GBR would be made by rail experts picked from the existing industry, rather than by civil servants or government officials, Ms Haigh said.

She added: ‘There’s brilliant people making brilliant innovations all the time and trying to do the right thing for passengers. But because the system is so complex, it hampers those efforts and prevents them being delivered.

‘So a unified publicly controlled system that is run by the people who actually understand the railways means that they can deliver those changes much across the network.’

Conductors, drivers and other staff who currently work for private operators would simply be transferred over to a GBR contract.

The name Great British Railways is taken directly from a white paper released by the Conservative government in May 2021, which outlined a radical shake-up of the railways that has not yet come to fruition.

Those proposals, written up by then-transport secretary Grant Shapps and businessman Keith Williams, still involved a ‘major role’ for private business in the rail sector.

In the vision described in the report, GBR would ‘own the infrastructure, receive the fare revenue, run and plan the network and set most fares and timetables’ – but contract with separate companies to operate the trains themselves.

Rail Partners, an industry body which supports the Williams-Shapps plan, said Labour’s idea would result in a ‘prolonged and messy transition’.

Andy Bagnall, the group’s chief executive, said: ‘Train companies agree that change is needed for the railways, but nationalisation is a political rather than a practical solution which will increase costs over time.

‘Creating a thriving railway for customers and taxpayers does not have to be an ideological choice between a monopoly railway in public hands and one that delivers private investment and innovation through franchising.’

Minister for Rail Huw Merriman said the opposition’s plan ‘will do nothing to improve train reliability or affordability for passengers’.

He added: ‘Just like their unfunded £28 billion a year decarbonisation promise, they don’t have a plan to pay for the bill attached to their rail nationalisation.

‘Without a plan to pay for this, it means one thing: taxes will rise on hard working people.

‘Only Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives have a plan to continue investing record amounts in our rail network – building on our over £100bn investment since 2010 and protecting passengers from the 8.7% fare rises seen in Scotland.

‘We are sticking to the plan to deliver better journeys for people across the country.’

The RMT union, meanwhile, has welcomed the announcement.

General secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘Labour’s commitment to bring the train operating companies into a new unified and publicly owned rail network is in the best interests of railway workers, passengers and the taxpayer.

‘We strongly welcome these bold steps to fix 14 years of Tory mismanagement of our privatised railways and Labour’s promise to complete a transition to public ownership within its first term in office.

‘For too long private companies have made millions in profit from taxpayer subsidies and in return provided appalling levels of service.

‘This announcement, however, should be a first step to completely integrating all of our railway into public ownership.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .

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Construction begins on high-speed rail between Vegas and California

Brightline west will make the trip between las vegas and rancho cucamonga in a little over two hours.

Privately owned train company Brightline held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for a $12 billion high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas and Southern California.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg joined company leaders and other officials for the start of construction in Las Vegas.

Brightline West benefits from $3 billion in federal funds from President Biden ’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Trains could be running as soon as early 2028, in time for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Travelers have a lot to look forward to. Electric trains will depart every 45 minutes from a Las Vegas station south of the city’s storied Strip and a Southern California station in Rancho Cucamonga, a Los Angeles suburb about 40 miles east of downtown.

Traveling at up to 186 mph — faster than any other train in the United States — Brightline West trains will make the 218-mile trip in about 2 hours and 10 minutes.

“At long last, we’re building the first high-speed rail project in our nation’s history,” President Biden said of Brightline West in December. “We’ve been talking about this project for decades. Now we’re really getting it done.”

Other high-speed railroads that would carry passengers at 200 mph and faster are in the works in California, Texas and the Pacific Northwest.

“The bottom line here is we changed the trajectory,” Buttigieg said in an interview Monday. More than $30 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has been awarded to date and more is on the way, he added.

The success of the Brightline West project could influence how future rail projects receive funding.

“It won’t be easy but I think they have all of the right things in place to get this done,” Buttigieg said.

Speed is Brightline West’s main selling point. Driving between Rancho Cucamonga and Las Vegas takes at least three hours without traffic, according to Google Maps.

“You’ll be sitting there flying by on Brightline looking at all these brake lights on the highway and thinking, ‘It sucks to be you,’” said Jim Mathews, CEO of the Rail Passengers Association , said on Friday. “That’s what it’s going to be like for all those people trying to get from greater Los Angeles to Las Vegas.”

Brightline West trains will run along Interstate 15 for nearly their entire journey. They will make two intermediate stops in California: one in Hesperia and one in Apple Valley.

Travelers coming from Los Angeles will have the option of riding Metrolink , Southern California’s regional rail system, to the Rancho Cucamonga station located near the junction of Interstates 10 and 15. The trip between downtown Los Angeles and Rancho Cucamonga takes at least 50 minutes by car without traffic, or 1 hour and 15 minutes on the train.

“Getting it to a juncture where pretty much everybody who passes into the I-15 corridor goes through is a massive benefit from a climate perspective, a congestion perspective, and an economic perspective,” Buttigieg said.

Future plans include a direct connection for Brightline West to Los Angeles Union Station as part of the separate California High-Speed Rail project.

Speed won’t be the only reason to ride Brightline West.

Brightline’s Florida operation connecting Miami to Orlando opened in September , giving future customers out West an idea of what to expect. Before Brightline’s debut, Amtrak held a monopoly on intercity passenger rail travel for decades.

Stations are spacious with comfortable areas to sit, bars selling craft cocktails and a lounge for premium passengers. Onboard, travelers enjoy assigned seats and fast WiFi. Attendants come down the aisle serving snacks and drinks throughout the trip.

Brightline told investors that it carried a record 258,307 passengers in March, and that one in three of its trains were nearly full.

Brightline’s strong ridership, though slower than initially promised to investors, makes a strong case for building fast and frequent trains between major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Brightline West estimates that 6 million people will ride its trains during the first full year of operation, according to a federal environmental assessment . That number is projected to grow to as many as 9.2 million people within a decade.

The company estimates that, without the train, three-quarters of its riders would drive between Southern California and Las Vegas. Another 15 percent would fly, and the balance would not make the trip at all.

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The Maya Train Will Get You to All of Yucatán’s Best Spots. But Not Yet.

In December, the train began running on its first route through Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. On a five-day journey a few months later, the author encountered enthusiasm, and scheduling hiccups.

By Elisabeth Malkin

Elisabeth Malkin has been visiting the Yucatán Peninsula for three decades.

I stepped off the platform at the gleaming new Maxcanú train station, eager to see the magnificent Maya archaeological site of Uxmal. All I needed was a taxi to take me there, a trip of about 30 miles away.

There are no taxis, said the stationmaster, as we stood on the polished limestone floors of the high-ceilinged station, which was cool and breezy despite the brilliant late-morning sun outside. And I was the third person in two weeks to get off at Maxcanú expecting to reach Uxmal, he said.

I was midway through a five-day trip to explore the brand-new Maya Train and several of its destinations in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico . Designed to run 965 miles (1,554 kilometers) around a loop of 34 stations when completed, the train will whisk passengers in cool comfort through colonial cities, archaeological sites, splashy resorts and tropical forests.

Now I was stunned. Wrangling a taxi has never been a problem in Mexico. But the drivers gathered in the main square of Maxcanú offered only beat-up vans that hopscotch through small towns, where I might or might not find a taxi to Uxmal. The next van was leaving in 45 minutes.

Yucatán’s layers of history have long held me spellbound. During earlier car trips, I have clambered up deserted Maya temples and palaces, stepped into the cool naves of massive 16th-century churches and visited restored haciendas, testaments of the ostentation — and hardship — of the peninsula’s 19th-century plantation economy. Traveling by train, I thought, would allow me to steep myself in more of that history.

But as I found in Maxcanú, a train won’t necessarily get you to where you want to go.

During my February trip, I traveled on the only route then available, an east-west leg that opened in December and runs from Cancún to Mérida, and then south through the port city of Campeche to the Maya site of Palenque (a short route between Cancún and Playa del Carmen opened last month, with three trains a day). I encountered scheduling confusion, unfinished stations and a dearth of trains — just two operating daily each way between Cancún and Campeche, and only one to Palenque. Overnight sleepers and special dining trains seem years away.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador considers the Maya Train his showcase development project, and wants to inaugurate the rest of the train before he leaves office on October 1. Based on my experience, that goal seems elusive.

A $29-billion route through the jungle

I started my journey in Cancún, where in the pre-dawn gloom the station hovered like a glowing spaceship. An attendant scanned the ticket I had bought online and a half-dozen more pointed me toward my tourist-class car, which was about a quarter full. I planned to go to Campeche, about 300 miles away, stopping once each day. At 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) an hour, the train covers the route in about six hours, the same as a car. (When construction is complete, the train’s speed should increase to 160 kilometers an hour.)

The car’s wide windows looked out at a wall of low jungle. The blue-green seats were comfortable and there was ample space between the rows. I bought a very good cappuccino at the snack bar, but declined the plastic-wrapped sandwiches. The rest of the merchandise was fruit cups, milk boxes and junk food.

The train will ultimately cost much more than the $29 billion budgeted so far, and it’s not the first time ambitious planners have alighted on the region. Cancún was once a tiny fishing village, selected half a century ago as a tourist hub. Last year 10 million international tourists flew into its airport, more than the airports of Mexico City, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta combined.

But uncontrolled growth has stressed the Caribbean coast’s fragile environment. The Maya Train, scientists warn , will push those problems south, threatening the area’s water supply, its unique system of underground limestone caves and its vast nature reserves.

Mr. López Obrador has charged ahead, handing the train over to the military , and arguing that it will spread Cancún’s wealth and attract new visitors. Mexico received more than 42 million overseas tourists last year and they spent almost $31 billion .

Local governments see an opportunity. “The train will allow people to disperse throughout the peninsula,” said Michelle Fridman, the tourism secretary for Yucatán state, which promotes dozens of attractions far beyond highlights like Mérida and Chichén Itzá .

Now that the train is operating, transport companies will begin to connect stations with lesser-known sites nearby, she said.

It’s fair to ask whether the train is the most effective way to develop the peninsula’s tourism. Tour companies already run trips to many sites from major cities, which are well served by buses. Driving a rental car through most of the area is considered safe , according to U.S. State Department travel guidance .

Route of Mexico’s Maya Train

Canceled trip.

It took two hours (and one time-zone change) to reach Valladolid, a colonial city of handsome streets and ancient churches, where I bought the rest of my tickets at the station. A tourist-class ticket from Cancún to Valladolid costs 472 pesos (around $28) for foreigners and 355 pesos (around $21) for Mexicans. First class, with wider seats, costs 755.50 pesos and 566.50 pesos, and discounts are available for older travelers and residents of the five states along the train’s route. (A first-class bus from downtown Cancún to Valladolid costs between 222 and 344 pesos, depending on the time of day, and takes half an hour longer.)

It was impossible to run the new Maya Train tracks into dense city centers and the Valladolid station, like the rest, was outside the urban core. A waiting bus took disembarking passengers downtown, a 15-minute ride for 35 pesos.

That day I toured Ek Balam , the site of a ninth-century Maya kingdom that is dominated by a 100-foot palace distinguished by a facade of carvings depicting winged warriors, stylized animal features and geometric patterns bordered by giant fangs. Admission to the site includes entry to the X-Canché cenote, one of thousands of limestone sinkholes that were sacred to the Maya.

Later that afternoon, I was wandering through the Museum of Ethnic Clothing, a private collection of traditional dress, embroidery and hats, when a WhatsApp message from the ticket office blinked on my phone. My train scheduled for the following day was canceled.

I decided to deal with the problem in the morning and enjoy the city. As I wandered past the antique shops and boutique hotels of the elegant Calzada de los Frailes, it was clear that Valladolid’s tourism, and the infrastructure to handle it, was well established. The Maya Train is simply an alternative way to reach a city that tourists discovered years ago.

‘We’re on the Tren Maya!’

In the morning, I found that my train had not been canceled, but the station for which I had a ticket, Tixkokob, was closed. I got off instead one stop earlier at Izamal, known for its ocher streets and the giant Franciscan convent of San Antonio de Padua, built atop the ruins of a pyramid.

During the 90-minute ride, I heard widespread enthusiasm among fellow travelers who expressed a willingness to give the train time to work out the kinks. “We’re an experiment,” said Oliva Escobedo Ochoa, 64, who was vacationing from her home in central Mexico.

Leticia Iliassich, 57, who is Mexican, was traveling with her Croatian husband along with relatives from Mexico and Croatia. They had initially been scheduled on an earlier train to Mérida that had been canceled. “We knew that it was a new project,” she said. “We don’t mind.”

The group had already sent a video to friends declaring, “We’re on the Tren Maya!”

At the Izamal station I hitched a 15-minute ride into the town center with a man who had asked me to take his photo alongside the train and his father. From there I negotiated a taxi to Hacienda San Lorenzo Aké, a working hacienda that still turns the fiber from an agave plant called henequén into coarse rope. Global demand for henequén, known as Yucatán’s “green gold,” brought fantastic wealth to the region in the mid-19th century, speckling the peninsula with more than 1,000 haciendas. ( Many are now sumptuous hotels.)

Where geometry, nature and the divine merge

It was during my third day that I found myself stuck in Maxcanú, after a 90-minute train ride from Izamal. The stationmaster, an army captain, offered me a ride to Uxmal, just as he had to the stranded tourists before me.

Eying Uxmal’s 4 p.m. final ticket sale, I accepted.

My situation made it clear just how distant the Maya Train’s promises are for tourists seeking to explore more of Yucatán. In time, that will change, said Ms. Fridman, the tourism secretary. “The idea is to have more hotels along the train line,” she said. “That will happen little by little.”

But Uxmal , among the most stunning of the Maya sites, made up for the inconvenience. Uxmal’s grand buildings are faced with intricate decorative masks as well as friezes in which geometry, nature and the divine merge. New plaques at each structure offer detailed information in English and Spanish, part of the government’s investment in improving displays at Maya sites for the train project.

Most tourists either take day trips by car or bus to Uxmal from Mérida or stay at one of three nearby hotels. As I finished dinner at my hotel, the dining room began to fill up: 47 Polish tourists had arrived.

Panama hats and a cramped van

My plan for the day was to go by taxi to Bécal, a town where Panama hats are woven in limestone caves to keep the fibers soft, and then pick up the afternoon train in nearby Calkiní for the port city of Campeche.

But I spent so much time watching the hat-making demonstration and then fitting my new hat and buying gifts that we set off with little time to reach the station. To my chagrin, I missed the train, the last one of the day.

On Calkiní’s central square, I found a van that was leaving for Campeche. Cost: 65 pesos. Time: about 1 hour and 20 minutes, similar to what I would have spent on the train. Of course, I was trapped in a cramped seat and had to listen to the driver’s choice of sentimental ballads, but I was dropped off in downtown Campeche, close to my hotel.

The next day, I toured the Museum of Maya Archaeology , an expertly curated collection that included haunting jade funeral masks, glyphs and delicate ceramic figures.

José Madrigal, 45, an engineer from Fremont, Calif., was trying to make Maya pottery interesting for his twin sons. The boys had just turned 5 and their birthday present had been a ride on the Maya Train. “They love trains,” Mr. Madrigal said. Then the family moved on, keeping up a brisk clip through the museum. They had another train to catch.

Should you take the train?

Yes, if you are traveling between larger stations. The train also offers a way to get to Palenque, which is harder to reach and has roads with security concerns. Travelers can stow bicycles on board.

To see train times, check the destinations on the website . You cannot buy tickets online more than a week in advance. But when you finally board, the ride is smooth — and the coffee is excellent.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .