Tamping time! Sorting out the track on the Great Central Railway in Nottinghamshire.

How do you get your track flat, straight and in the best condition for passenger trains? You can use a lot of manpower or one of these machines. A tamper can cover several hundred metres in an hour making sure the rails are the right distance apart, are level with each other and the track doesn't rise up and down.
We hosted Volker Rail at the Great Central Railway in Nottinghamshire on a training exercise and in return they've helped get some of our nine miles of former main line railway between Ruddington and Loughborough into great condition, preparing it for passenger trains.
With the main line connection also restored we're getting closer to the day trains can come in from the Midland Main Line and run all the way to Ruddington.
Find out more at gcrn.co.uk and to find out about plans to link the Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire halves of the Great Central Railway together head to www.gcrailway.co.uk/unify