First TransPennine Express

 The first railway station in Plymouth was opened by the South Devon Railway on 2nd April 1849 at Millbay, on the site now occupied by the Plymouth Pavilions. This company amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1876, just as the London and South Western Railway was completing its rival route from London to Plymouth. North Road station was opened on 28th March 1877 to provide a joint facility for trains of both companies. It was just west of the earlier Mutley railway station, while at its west end a new junction allowed direct access to the Cornwall Railway and the L S W R's Devonport Kings Road railway station. The station was built of wood and the platforms were fully covered by  train sheds. It originally had just two through  platforms  but additional platforms were added in a scheme executed in 1908. Further major rebuilding work started in 1938; one  signal box  was replaced and the second moved to make way for the new works, and Houndiscombe Road bridge at the east end of the station was rebuilt. Work was stopped due to the  Second World War  but Millbay station had to be closed to passengers in 1941 following an air raid. The old L S W R  Friary station  was closed on 15th September 1958, which resulted in North Road being renamed to Plymouth. The rebuilding work was resumed in 1956 and the new station with its large office block, 'Intercity House', was formally opened by Dr Richard Beeching, the British Railways Chairman, on 26th March 1962. The office block was intended to be the northern point of Armada Way, counterbalancing the tower of the Civic Centre at the southern end, in the  Abercrombie / Paton-Watson   Plan for Plymouth. The station now had seven through platforms, although two of these were converted to terminal  bay platforms  in 1974. One of these at the west end is usually used for the  Tamar Valley Line  service but the longer east end bays were used for parcels and for  Royal Mail  trains until the withdrawal of this traffic from the area in 2003. The station was originally controlled from two  signal boxes but they closed  on 26th November 1960 when a new 'Plymouth Panel Signal Box' was opened on the west end of the new Platform 1; the West box was subsequently demolished. Multiple-aspect signals  have controlled movements of trains throughout the Plymouth area since the opening of this new signal box in 1960. The adjacent boxes were initially at  Laira Junction  in the east and  Keyham  in the west. The area of control was extended westwards on 2nd July 1973 to meet the signal box at  St Germans, which closed in 1998  so that the signal box westwards is now at  Liskeard railway station. Totnes Signal Box closed on 9 November 1987. Reagan Farmer  revealed a new trend for his other videos by uploading Heathrow Junction  in January 2016 as part of the  dedicated shuttle between  Heathrow Central  and Heathrow  Terminal 4  that would be timed to connect with Heathrow Express services. The  Heathrow Express  shuttle service was built to connect London  Paddington  to Heathrow Airport. A new spur was built from the existing  Great Western Main Line  to the airport, running mostly in tunnel. The tunnel was built using the  New Austrian Tunnelling Method. Unfortunately, the construction was not a success, and in 1994 parts of the not yet opened tunnels near the airport collapsed, which not only  delayed the finishing of the railway but also caused the suspension of  Piccadilly line  services to the airport. Heathrow Junction was situated in Stockley Park, slightly to the north of the airport. B randed as "Heathrow Fast Train," Heathrow Express's Class 332-4 car electric multiple units carried passengers from Paddington to Heathrow Junction, with high speed  shuttle buses  carrying the passengers the remaining distance to the airport. But on  23rd June 1998,  Heathrow Express  service commenced to  Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 and 3 railway station  and  Heathrow Terminal 4. Trains no longer called at Heathrow Junction and the track leading to Heathrow Junction had been dismantled. Since then,  Heathrow Express  has used dedicated platforms 6 and 7. There are two stops at Heathrow Airport:  Heathrow Central, serving Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 and 3, and  Heathrow Terminal 5. U ntil the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 on 27th March 2008, Heathrow Express terminated at  Heathrow Terminal 4, now served by the Heathrow Express shuttle from Heathrow Central. The service uses  Class 332  electric multiple units built by  Siemens. These incorporate video monitors and the ability to use mobile phones throughout the  journey, even in tunnels. The monitors are mostly used for advertising and for news and weather updates produced by Sky News. Prior to April 2010, news content was provided by  BBC World News. As of Summer 2013, all Class 332 units have undergone a complete refurbishment inside and out including new seating configurations, luggage storage and at-seat power. Tickets can be purchased at the two  Heathrow Airport  stations,  Paddington, from ticket sellers in the arrivals halls at all terminals and on board the train. Airport workers can get a discount through the Airport Commuter scheme operated by  Heathrow Airport Holdings, which  have an agreement with  Network Rail  until 2023 for  access  paths on the Great Western Main Line. Heathrow Express runs along the  Great Western Main Line  from London Paddington to Airport Junction. The line from Airport Junction to the airport terminals is owned by  Heathrow Airport Holdings and  maintained by Network Rail. The line is  electrified  at  25 kV AC  overhead and uses  Automatic Train Protection. The controlling signalbox for the entire route is the Thames Valley Signalling Centre in Didcot. Didcot Parkway is located just to the north of the town centre but  it can only be accessed by car from Station Road on the south side of the railway. There  used to be a  Haddenham railway station  at Haddenham and a  Thame railway station  on the  Princes Risborough to Oxford line   but  British Railways  closed both stations in 1963. Haddenham & Thame Parkway  was opened on 5th October 1987. In 1998, Chiltern Railways re-doubled the  Princes Risborough to Bicester line  and re-modelled the platforms so that from 24th May 1998, there are now two, one on either line. The platforms have also been lengthened and the station building has been expanded to include a coffee shop following the removal of the newsagents based in a temporary building. Under Phase 2 of the Evergreen 3 project, a quarter-of-a-mile double track will be constructed joining the  Oxford to Bicester Line  at  Bicester Town  to the Chiltern Main Line, allowing a new  Oxford  to London Marylebone service to operate. As part of this plan, the Oxford to Bicester Town service transferred from  First Great Western  to Chiltern in May 2011, and   will include additional platforms at Oxford,  Islip  and Bicester Town. The £200m project had originally proposed doubling the entire route from Oxford to Bicester but structural problems  found in September 2009 may mean that the section between Islip and Bicester will remain single-track. There  was a further setback to the plan when a planning inspector withheld approval because it was found that bats were roosting in Wolvercote Tunnel. The "bat problem" seems to have been resolved. The service to Oxford Parkway started on 26th October using Class 172-1 Turbostar diesel multiple units for services between London Marylebone and Oxford, with  services to Oxford  beginning in Spring 2016. Oxford Parkway  is on the site of the  Buckingham shire Railway 's temporary Oxford Banbury Road terminus, and north-east of the site of the former  Oxford Roa d Hal t. In 1942, a Government grain  s ilo  was built next to the site as part of a Second World War network to concentrate scarce food and distribute it by rail. It was in use until the late 1980s. In October 2013, Chiltern Railways had it demolished as part of site preparation for the new Oxford Parkway which also includes a car park. Oxford Parkway has covered two-level parking for 152 pedal cycles adjacent to the entrance, additional to the existing cycle parking at the nearby Park & Ride. It has CCTV surveillance. Oxford Parkway's  car park has 815 standard spaces, plus 41 spaces for passengers with reduced mobility. There is real time information about remaining available spaces. There is a fee to park a car but the first hour is free. Purchase of rail travel tickets is by machine because there is no ticket office at the station. The possible Stansted Airport link would use the  East Coast Main Line  via the  Hertford Loop Line  and the  Hertford East Branch Line  to the  West Anglia Main Line  heading north and would involve the creation of a route from  Hertford East  to  Hertford North  in  Hertford  with significant difficulties within  Hertford  and a new chord near  Rye House railway station. In the 2011  Autumn Statement, the East West railway between  Oxford ,  Aylesbury Vale Parkway  and  Bedford  was given the go ahead with £270 million committed to the scheme. One station will reopen at  Winslow  and a high-level station built at  Bletchley. I t is due for completion in 2019. There will be 2 trains per hour between Oxford and London Marylebone using the section between Oxford and Bicester provided by Chiltern Railways as part of its  Evergreen 3 project. The necessary chord between the Oxford to Bletchley line and the  Chiltern Main Line  was completed and the service commenced on 26th October. On 10th January 2013,  Network Rail  announced its intention to construct the western section between Bedford and Oxford, Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, as part of their five-year strategic business plan. The target date for train services to be operational on this section is December 2017. Electrification of the line between Oxford and Bedford is also included in the budget with a target completion date of March 2019. But on 31st October 2015, Kogalymavia Flight 9268 crashed  in northern  Sinai  at 4:13  Coordinated Universal Time  following departure from  Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport  in  Egypt, en route to  Pulkovo Airport, St Petersburg in Russia. The captain of the flight had reportedly told air traffic control  that there was a technical fault  and had requested a route change, although there was no indication whether a change had occurred. Interfax  reported that the aircraft had requested an emergency landing at  El Arish International Airport  before disappearing. Flight 9268's  captain  had over 12,000 hours of flight time, including 3,800 hours of this aircraft  type. Flight 9268 left Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport at 3:50  Coordinated Universal Time   for  Pulkovo Airport  in St Petersburg, Russia. Suddenly, the aircraft crashed. Xi Jinping  sent a message of condolences on 1 November to President Vladimir Putin. Interfax said that Rostransnadzor had told Kogalymavia to stop flying A321 aircraft until the causes of the crash were known. e asyJet  stated that they would not halt their flights over the Sinai Peninsula but will actively review them. Natalya Trukhacheva said in an interview with Russian state-controlled N T V that her husband had complained about the plane's condition. She said a daughter called him up before he flew out. He complained before the flight that the technical condition of the aircraft left much to be desired. Ayman al-Muqadem said that before Kogalymavia Flight 9268 lost contact with air traffic controllers, the captain had radioed and said the aircraft was experiencing technical problems and  that he intended to try and land at the nearest airport. 2 days before Kogalymavia Flight 9268 crashed,  Dynamic Airways  Flight 405 caught fire while taxiing for departure at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport 's two runways were closed. The aircraft involved in the incident was a Boeing 767-269ER  with registration N251 M Y, with  Kuwait Airways selling the airframe to Birgenair  in 1995, which subsequently leased the airframe to Alas Nacionales  and LAN Airlines. Following the collapse of Birgenair shortly after the crash of Birgenair Flight 301 , Air Gabon  acquired the airframe for 2 years until its acquisition by First Security Corporation  in 1999. The plane was then stored for the next five years out of service until United Arab Emirates -based   Phoenix Aviation  purchased the frame from Wells Fargo in 2004, leasing it to  Kam Air  in early 2004. Current owner K M W Leasing of  Las Veg as  in   N evada  acquired the plane from  AV E.com  in June 2006, subsequently leasing the airframe on a power by the hour basis to  Sunny Airw ays  and  Dynamic Airw ays. The airframe had only flown for 29,970 hours over 9,937 flight cycles. On 13th March 2012,  Direct Air temporarily suspended its operations and cancelled all charter flights. It ceased operations completely shortly after. The MD-88 was returned to Dynamic Airways as a result. The third Boeing 767 was delivered to Dynamic Airways on 6th March 2013. Dynamic Airways also operated a successful wet lease A C M I for an airline operation called EZjet. The wet lease utilised a Boeing 767 aircraft, tail number N767DA but EZjet  ceased operations. Dynamic Airways currently operates between Seoul's Incheon Airport and Saipan as well as from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Guyana. The airline started scheduled flights between New York and Guyana in June 2014 and  started its service to Simón Bolívar International Airport  in Venezuela from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport   on 17th July 2015. It started flights between  John F. Kennedy International Airport  and Simón Bolívar International Airport  on 14 November. 8 years before Dyanmic Airways Flight 405 caught fire, a ll 102 people on board Adam Air Flight 574  died when  the Boeing 737-4Q8 disappeared, with TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overrunning Runway 35 Left at Congonhas-São Paulo Airport and crashing into a TAM Express  warehouse adjacent to a Shell  filling station on 17th July. What appeared to have happened was that the Airbus A320  was cleared to land at Congonhas-São Paulo Airport 's Runway 35 Left. The Airbus A320-233  continued off the end of Congonhas-São Paulo Airport's  Runway 35 Left, with its momentum carrying it over the traffic on the Avenida  Washington Luís. The aircraft crashed into a four-story  TAM Express  facility (Ouch! That is very nasty!). 8 years after TAM Airlines Flight 3054 crashed, Reagan  revealed a new trend for his other videos by uploading  First TransPennine Express in January 2016 as part of a "Drag Me Down" by One Direction treatment. The service provides rail links for major cities such as  York. Previously, all services used to call or terminate at Manchester Piccadilly. In May 2014 a new service running between Newcastle and  Liverpool Lime Street  calling at Manchester Victoria  was announced and launched. First TransPennine Express is one of the few UK train operating companies running 24 hours a day, including through New Year's Eve night. For example, trains run between   Manchester Airport  and York at least every three hours every night. The TransPennine Express brand was launched in May 1998 by Northern Spirit. The Strategic Rail Authority  announced that it planned to reorganise the North West Regional Railways and Regional Railways North East franchises operated by First North Western  and Arriva Trains Northern. A TransPennine Express franchise would be created for the long-distance regional services, the remaining services being operated by a new Northern franchise. In July 2003, the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the TransPennine franchise to FirstGroup /Keolis, and the services operated by Arriva Trains Northern and First North Western transferred to First TransPennine Express in February 2004. The franchise was due to end on 31st January 2012, but in August 2011, the Department for Transport  awarded First TransPennine Express an extension until March 2015. In 2013,   the Secretary of State for Transport  announced that the franchise would be extended until April 2016. The Manchester Airport  to Scotland service could be transferred to the InterCity West Coast  franchise after the electrification of lines around Manchester by 2018. The Manchester Airport to Blackpool route will also be electrified, allowing further diesel trains to be cascaded on to other TransPennine Express services. Hull Trains's access rights were extended until December 2014,  which was further extended until December 2016 and  has been extended until December 2019. In February 2010,  the Office of Rail Regulation announced that Grand Central's access rights have been extended until December 2016. Grand Central had never been profitable and by December 2011, it had accrued losses of £40 million. In December 2013, a fourth daily Bradford Interchange to London King's Cross service commenced, operating Monday through to Sunday. 1 year later,  Grand Central was granted an extension of its operating rights until December 2026. Current expectations place 2025 as the earliest forecast date for Eurostar's existing fleet replacement. It  is highly likely that the new trains would be equipped to use the new European Rail Traffic Management System  in cab signalling system, which is due to be fitted to High Speed 1 in 2040. On 13 November 2014 Eurostar announced the purchase of an additional 7 e320's for delivery in the second half of 2016. At the same time, Eurostar announced that the first 5 e320's from the original order of 10 would be available by December 2015 with the remaining 5 entering service in May 2016. Of the 5 sets ready in December 2015, 3 of them were planned to be used on London to Paris and London to Brussels routes. In September 2013, Eurostar announced that its new service between London and Amsterdam would begin operation in  December 2016. It  will run two services between the UK and Holland, with journey times expected to be in the region of 4 hours. Passengers to Amsterdam will go via Brussels, with stops at Antwerp, Rotterdam, Schiphol Airport and Amsterdam Centraal. Miguel Camino,  Spain’s most renowned, admired and captivating car,   said, " We have long been ambitious for expansion to new destinations so today’s announcement marks a major advance in our growth plans. With over three million passengers travelling by air between London and Amsterdam this is one of Europe’s most popular routes. Our fast, comfortable, point-to-point service will greatly enhance the links between the UK and the near continent." Virgin Trains East Coast  is  proposing for  extra weekday trains to Edinburgh from  May 2016 and extend services that terminate at  Newark  and  York  to  Lincoln  and  Harrogate  respectively. In May 2019, it is proposed that a half-hourly service to Edinburgh be introduced with a fleet of six to eight 7-car  InterCity 225  sets operating limited stops services. On 31st October, Reagan uploaded Focus and revealed that he  expects to finish his YouTube career in 2022. He had been linked with a move to retire but he signed a new three-year deal with YouTube, taking him up to 2018. That could mean Reagan retiring from YouTube in 2022, aged 22 - with a maximum of 2,000 videos to his name. Reagan will introduce a stunning camera angle from the Season 3 episode " All at Sea" in Bexhill, in which the narrator says that the  horizon of Bexhill is packed with sails flapping against the blue skies. Hitler tells Thomas that he wishes he could sail to far away lands  but Thomas says to Hitler, "Oh no James! You saved the hot air balloon!" Hitler hangs up the phone. Harold tells the two characters that the boats are there for the Regatta and that it's his job to hover around in case he's needed. Hitler asks Harold if he's ever been to the horizon, and Harold says that he can land on ships, anywhere, anytime. But there is worse to come. That night, a huge storm sweeps across Bexhill and causes havoc: trees are blown onto the line. Percy says that he doesn't feel safe in the Smelters but KDA ignores him and plays Turn the Music Louder to stop the storm from hitting Brighton. <span style="color:rgb(58,58,58);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">Thomas feels sorry for KDA and wishes there was something he could do to make things better again by saying, "Yes, indeed. But what? We can't mend broken trees." Galantis put things right at the last minute by playing 10.87 seconds of the Kaskade remix of Runaway (U & I), which is accompanied by a thumping sound that is repeated for the entire scene where the children run for cover due to a spring rain shower. Hitler  <span style="color:rgb(58,58,58);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">speculates that the Soviets might have captured the railway bridge over the Oder but  <span style="color:rgb(58,58,58);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:26px;text-align:center;">Thomas says to Hitler, "Oh no James! You saved the hot air balloon!" Hitler hangs up the phone. He tells Ariana Grande what she wants but Grande sings  from the word "Hey" right through to the letter "Y." Hitler looks at Grande and a 1.79 second picture of Bexhill is used causing Hitler to hang up the  phone. That night, Thomas the Tank Engine gets Bexhill into trouble for  <span style="color:rgb(58,58,58);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">causing KDA to play Turn the Music Louder. The flight attendant on board Southern Airways Flight 242 tells the 81 passengers to brace for impact but it's too late