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Whether soaring through the sky or sharing a playful moment with his human bestie Hiccup, Toothless, the dark-hued dragon with a friendly face and an injured tail, disarms you with his endearing nature.

It’s no surprise that he’s become the emblem of the “How to Train Your Dragon” animated movies, the first of which arrived in 2010. (There have since been two sequels, three separate TV series and five shorts.) A fan favorite among Gen-Z viewers, Toothless now returns to the big screen in a new hyper-realist iteration for the live-action remake, now in theaters.

And in an unprecedented move, Dean DeBlois, who directed all three “Dragon” animated films — as well as 2002’s original “Lilo & Stitch,” along with Chris Sanders — was asked to helm the live-action reimagining. It was his priority to preserve Toothless’ essence.

“He is our most recognizable dragon within the entire assortment,” DeBlois says on the phone. “And he has a lot of sentience and personality that comes through. And so much of it is expressed in this face that’s quite Stitch-like with the big eyes, the ear plates and the broad mouth.”

In fact, the entire live-action endeavor hinged on whether Toothless could be properly translated as a photorealistic dragon among human actors and physical sets, while retaining the charm of the animated movies.

An image from the original 2010 animated “How to Train Your Dragon.”

(DreamWorks Animation LLC)

According to Christian Manz, the new film’s visual effects supervisor, when Peter Cramer, president of Universal Pictures, initially considered the project back in 2022, he wasn’t convinced Toothless would work. His touchstone for a fantastical creature that successfully achieved believability was the Hippogriff, a winged four-legged creature seen in 2004’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”

To test the viability of a new Toothless, DreamWorks enlisted British visual effects and computer animation outfit Framestore to spend three months trying to create a “realistic” version of Toothless. Framestore has had some popular successes to its name: Paddington Bear in the film series, Dobby from the “Harry Potter” universe and Groot and Rocket Raccoon from the Marvel movies.

“We always knew that we weren’t aiming for a real dragon, as in a ‘Game of Thrones’ dragon,” says Manz, via video call from the U.K.

Toothless’ design, particularly his facial features, presented a challenge for Manz and the team at Framestore. If they made his eyes or his mouth too small or if they tried to drastically reshape his head with more naturalism in mind, he quickly lost his personality.

“His big, expressive face with eyes that are larger than any animal in the animal kingdom, including the blue whale, had to remain because, without them, we felt like we were going to be delivering a lesser version of Toothless,” says DeBlois.

A stage show based on the first film called “How to Train Your Dragon: Live Spectacular,” which toured Australia and New Zealand in 2012, radically changed the design — to a mixed response. “Toothless was too creature-like and it just wasn’t as appealing and as charming,” says Simon Otto, head of character animation for all three animated movies, via Zoom.

While they may be too subtle for an untrained viewer to notice, certain design changes have been made that differentiate the live-action Toothless from his animated counterpart.

“He’s now bigger, his head’s smaller, his eyes are actually smaller,” says Manz. The nuanced reshaping of his head and his body was intentional: an effort to make him blend into a photorealistic world.

“The interesting thing is that when people see the live-action movie, they say, ‘Oh, it’s Toothless, like he stepped out of the animated movie,’” says DeBlois. “But in truth, if you put them side by side, you’ll see quite a few differences.”

The texture of Toothless’ body needed to be more intricate for the live-action version, so he would feel more convincingly integrated within the environments.

“In the animation, he’s quite smooth,” says Manz. “We tried very snake-like skin, but it just made him look very unfriendly. You wouldn’t want to put your hand on his forehead.”

Mason Thames in “How to Train Your Dragon.”

(Universal Pictures)

Both on-screen versions of Toothless were crafted using essentially the same digital technique: computer animation. The difference here is that the one meant to share space with a flesh-and-blood world, with distinct aesthetic concerns. Even if seeking realism in creatures that only exist in our imagination might seem counterintuitive, the goal is to make them feel palpable within their made-up realm.

“One of the things I don’t like about live-action remakes is they seem to try to want to replace the animated source, and I find myself very protective of it,” says DeBlois with refreshing candor. “We tried to create a version that lives alongside it. It follows the beats of that original story, but brings new depths and expanded mythology and more immersive action moments and flying. But it’s never trying to replace the animated movie because I’m very proud of that film.”

Toothless as we now know him originated expressly for the screen. The Toothless in Cressida Cowell’s originating book series is tiny and green (a design that can be seen in the first animated movie in the form of a minuscule dragon known as Terrible Terror).

But when DeBlois and Sanders came aboard, 15 months before the 2010 release, replacing the previous directors, their first major change was to make Toothless a dragon that could be ridden.

It was the screensaver of a black panther that first inspired the look of Toothless in the animated films. Otto, one of the designers who knows Toothless best (he drew the original back in 2008), recalls his real-world animal references.

“He is a mix between a bird of prey, like a peregrine falcon, with extremely streamlined shapes — of course a feline but also a Mexican salamander called an axolotl,” Otto says. Sanders’ design for Disney superstar Stitch, namely his large almond-shaped eyes, ears and pronounced mouth, also influenced the design.

“There’s a little bit of a design influence from Stitch in Toothless’ face that makes them feel like they’re distant cousins,” says DeBlois.

He believes that making Toothless more closely resemble a mammal, rather than a reptile, and giving him pet-like qualities were the keys for him becoming so memorable.

“[We] spent a lot of time on YouTube looking at videos of dogs and cats doing funny things,” he says. “And we would try to incorporate a lot of that behavior into Toothless with the hopes that when people watched the movie, they would say, ‘That’s just like my cat’ or ‘My dog does that.’ We wanted him to feel like a big pet. Ferocious and dangerous at first, but then a big cuddly cat after.”

Mason Thames interacts on set with the puppet version of Toothless.

(Helen Sloan)

On the set of the live-action movie, Toothless and the other dragons existed as large puppets with simple functions, operated by a team of master puppeteers led by Tom Wilton, a performer who had worked on the “War Horse” stage play.

Using puppets was meant to provide the actors, especially Mason Thames, who plays Hiccup, a real-world scene partner. The Toothless foam puppet had an articulated jaw and articulated ear plates that allowed for a subtle, interactive performance.

“There’s a performance that Dean can direct and that Mason and the other actors could act against, so that the interaction is utterly believable,” says Manz. “[The puppets] are obviously removed from the frame in the end, but it just means you believe that connection.”

As for the impressive flight sequences, in which Hiccup rides Toothless, the production created an animatronic dragon placed on a giant gimbal that moved on six different axes to simulate the physics of flying.

“If the dragon was diving or ascending or banking and rolling, Mason would be thrown around in the saddle, like a jockey on a racehorse,” says DeBlois. “And it married him to the animal in a way that felt really authentic.”

Mason Thames rides the flying Toothless on an animatronic model.

(Helen Sloan)

For all his success in the animated realm, DeBlois has never directed a live-action film until now.

“I do commend Universal for taking a risk on me knowing that I had not made a live-action film, but also recognizing that I knew where the heart and the wonder was, and I was determined to bring it to the screen,” he says.

Otto, the designer who trained Toothless before anybody else, candidly says he would have “peed his pants” if he knew the drawings he did back in 2008 would spawn a franchise and a theme-park attraction (a re-creation of the films’ Isle of Berk opened at Universal Studios Florida earlier this year).

“The most critical choice they made for the live-action was making sure the audience falls in love with Toothless,” he adds. “And that you understand that if you have a creature like that as your friend, you wouldn’t give up on it.”

The new £400million project, in the mountains of Neath Port Talbot, will have miles of railway tracks and station platforms – but it’s not for everyday passengers

A whopping £400 million train line and station, which won’t be used by the general public, is planned for a patch of land the size of Gibraltar.

The project, nestled in the mountains of Neath Port Talbot in Wales, is not intended for everyday commuters but rather for testing new trains, including high-speed and hydrogen-powered models.

Known as the Global Centre of Rail Excellence, this unique venture is being built on a massive 700-hectare site near the village of Onllwyn, just 17 miles north of Neath. The centre, which is being constructed on the former Nant Helen opencast site and Onllwyn Washery, is expected to be fully operational by 2027.

Once completed, it will operate round-the-clock, offering rail enthusiasts ample opportunity to test the next generation of engines. The site will feature two seven-kilometre looped tracks.

READ MORE: Brits warned of summer of holiday hell as strikes threaten 12 Spanish islands

This pioneering development could mark a first for the rail industry. Reports suggest that the centre “plugs a significant gap in European rail by providing a purpose-built, single site for world class research,” and that it “allows products to be tested to the highest technology readiness levels, in a live environment, with no risk to the mainline.”

It is hoped that the test centre will let developers put new ideas and innovations to the test before they are deployed in major projects, helping develop future transport systems.

Lewis Smith, a reporter for Wales Online, recently toured the site, which developers claim will be larger than Gibraltar when finished. “If you can test trains or technology systems that work up here, they should be able to work anywhere,” a worker shared with him.

“Whilst today’s fog obscures most of the expected views, the sheer magnitude of work required becomes evident – not only in transforming the landscape for the facility, but also in securing the hundreds of millions of pounds needed from private investors, coupled with over £90 million from Welsh and UK Government funding, for the site to reach its full potential,” he penned.

“Along the journey, we witness the initial stages of works to clear the path for the loop tracks, as well as the early sections of track being laid at the former mining facility – which workers say previously saw more than two million tonnes of coal extracted. We also pass the old shower and locker facilities, still standing from the area’s mining days, complete with hi-vis jackets and helmets, almost as if a group of workers had just finished a shift earlier that day.”

Simon Jones, the Global Centre of Rail Excellence, said: “I don’t think these kinds of projects come around very often, particularly projects like this which have got Government support from both the UK and Welsh Government.

“What it means for the people here is that we’ll be creating a site where the railway industry across the UK and Europe will come here to carry out testing for their innovations in a way that they just can’t do anywhere else. We’ve got 170 companies now from across Europe who’ve pledged their support for what we’re doing and who want to be able to use this place, so that’s just going to create jobs and opportunities for people.

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“There are some sites elsewhere in the UK and there are some sites in Europe, but none of them do what we are planning to do so we are unique. There is nowhere in the UK where people can do high speed testing of trains on a looped track, and that sounds insignificant but actually being able to just drive continuously round without having to reverse the train every time you do a test is a huge time saving.”

While the project would bring a huge amount of money into the area, its future is not secure, despite the land being “shovel-ready”.

GCRE, which is owned by but operates at arm’s length from the Welsh Government, has secured funding of £50m from the Cardiff Bay administration and £20m from the UK Government, originally signed off by the former Conservative Westminster administration. This leaves it needing to raise around £330m, Wales Online reported earlier this year.

Mr Jones said: “2025 will be the moment when all of our hard work at GCRE over the last seven years comes to a decision point. From the start, the model for GCRE has been to use the public funding set aside for us – £50m from the Welsh Government and a £20m grant from the UK Government -to prepare the development to a point where the £400m project could be taken to market. That process began in April 2023, when GCRE undertook a public procurement exercise to secure the private finance we needed.”

GCRE has been contacted for comment.

AN urgent manhunt has been launched after a lag escaped from prison.

Liam Slater is reported to have absconded from HMP Hatfield in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on Sunday – with police warning members of the public not to approach him.

The 33-year-old was last seen boarding a train to Leeds at Stainforth Station at 8.46pm.

Cops say he has links to Wetherby and Seacroft in Leeds.

They want to hear from anyone who has seen or spoken to Slater recently.

A South Yorkshire Police statement added: “If you see Slater, please do not approach him but instead call 999.

“If you have any other information about where he might be, you can contact us online or by calling 101.

“Please quote incident number 818 of 18 May 2025 when you get in touch.”

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As Europeans woke up to the joy of travel post-lockdown, it looked as though we were in store for a resurgence of continent-crossing night trains. Sleeper train fans hailed a “night train renaissance” and a “rail revolution”, combining some of the nostalgia for an old way of travelling with modern climate and sustainable transport concerns.

The long-distance European train journey might be slower than a short-haul flight, but it is surely better in terms of the environment and the traveller experience. For those on a budget, the prospect of saving on a night in a hotel appeals too.

But as anyone who has tried to plan a holiday train trip for this summer is likely to have found, night trains are still few and far between, especially in western Europe. And if there is a night train at all on a route, it will often be booked up months in advance. That’s not all: reliability and onboard service are often not up to scratch, with carriages on many routes pushing 50 years old.

The traditional behemoths of European rail – France’s SNCF, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn and Spain’s Renfe – have little or no interest in the night-train market, preferring more profitable high-speed daytime trains instead. Only Austria’s ÖBB has bucked the trend, ordering a fleet of 33 new trains for its Nightjet service. For comparison, Deutsche Bahn owns almost 300 high-speed daytime trains. Night services remain a drop in the ocean.

Now Nox, a Berlin-based private startup, has announced plans it claims will change all that and blow open the night-train market with a radical rethink of the passenger experience. No more old or secondhand carriages; Nox says it intends to build a new fleet. No more asking travellers to share with snoring strangers in couchettes either: the fleet will have only one- and two-person compartments, albeit rather small ones. Pilot services are due to start in 2027 and regular operations by the end of the decade.

This approach on the key question is right – the only way to offer more night-train routes is to build new trains. But Nox will not be the first newcomer to try to crack this market. Midnight Trains, a Paris-based startup, promised hotels on wheels in 2021, but investors were not convinced and the venture folded. Dutch operation GoVolta has been unable to turn a successful air-package travel business into the equivalent on rail. European Sleeper, which also launched in 2021, has done a little better – its motley collection of elderly carriages runs three times a week from Brussels via Amsterdam and Berlin to Prague, but without new carriages the company will remain tiny.

While Nox, like its predecessors, faces an uphill struggle, in a few ways it is different. Its plan to rethink the layout of a night-train carriage, making it more appealing to modern travellers – and safer for women – makes sense. Standardisation – all the carriages will be the same – keeps operations simple. One of the founders previously worked for FlixBus’s rail arm, FlixTrain, in Germany, so there is genuine railway experience. Either way, UK passengers should not hold their breath – night trains through the Channel Tunnel are not on the cards, being operationally too difficult to even contemplate.

Efforts by any private operator to solve the night-train puzzle are welcome, but the problem ultimately is political. And as most European countries are too small for national night trains, that means solving these issues EU wide. The European Commission, in a 2021 report , flagged a dozen routes where night trains would make economic sense but currently do not run. Yet, in the years since then, no action has been taken.

Brussels is steadily working to harmonise diverging national rules that make running international trains such a hassle. But night trains – locomotive hauled, medium speed and running at night when track capacity is easier to obtain – arguably face fewer hurdles than other train types.

It is time for the EU to provide financial guarantees for acquisitions of new night-train carriages, and make those guarantees available to both privately owned and state-owned companies. With at least half a dozen train manufacturers in the EU it could be a boon to European industry as well. And the requirement from the commission in return would be Europe-wide compatibility – that guarantees would only be for go-anywhere carriages that can be deployed anywhere from Barcelona to Bodø, Stockholm to Sofia.

So, this summer, as you stand in interminable queues at an airport, or stare at the bumper of the car ahead of you in a traffic jam, remember that all of this could be better. A night-train renaissance could get you to your holiday destination more comfortably and more sustainably.

The EU’s actions on international rail lag behind its rhetoric. Building more night-train carriages to run more services on tracks already there should be a no brainer.

The Snälltåget train takes passengers on a scenic adventure, beginning in Malmö, Sweden and arriving at Innsbruck, Austria, a mere 22 hours and 1,720 km later

You can embark on a picturesque voyage through the European mountains on a train adventure that takes close to a whole day and whisks passengers more than 1,000 miles.

The Snälltåget service offers an unforgettable 22-hour journey from Malmö in Sweden to the delightful Innsbruck in Austria, spanning a staggering distance as Europe’s longest train trip by mile. Travellers are swept from the Swedish landscapes straight to the Alpine splendour, treated to phenomenal views throughout the 1,720-kilometre escapade.

Back on Track EU hails the expedition as “probably the most relaxing, fun and eco-friendly way to get to your destination” with awe-inspiring mountainous scenes en route, including stops at Austrian hamlets that serve as gateways to sought-after ski retreats.

Although devoid of complete sleeper cabins, the journey provides ‘couchettes’, snug berths for overnight comfort, with many describing the setup as ‘super cozy’ – ideal for such an extended trek.

READ MORE: ‘I’m the King of Sunbeds – one habit will get you thrown into the pool’

Malmö, down on the southern coast of Sweden, invites travellers to meander through Lilla Torg, marvel at the historic Malmohus Castle, and experience the Oresund Bridge, an engineering wonder connecting Sweden to Denmark. Alternatively, take a turn for the eccentric at the Disgusting Food Museum, reports the Express.

In contrast, Innsbruck captivates with unrivalled Alpine vistas from the Nordkette cable cars, the city’s Alpine zoo, and the stunning panoramas offered by the beloved St James Cathedral.

Despite the stunning views, travellers have cautioned about limited luggage space on board, and Snälltåget has also been criticised for delays and cancellations. While UK rail passengers might be accustomed to this, it’s something to bear in mind when on a tight holiday schedule.

The train also features an on-board restaurant, ‘Krogen’. Menus offer breakfast, lunch and alcoholic drinks, with prices around the 200 SEK/£15 mark. Snälltåget also provides a convenient ‘Bring to your seat’ self-service checkout option for hot drinks and snacks.

Snälltåget runs a summer and winter service between Malmö and Innsbruck. The summer season operates only through July, so visitors will need to plan carefully to catch it.

The train departs Malmö at 3.40pm every Friday, returning from Innsbruck each Saturday at 6pm.

During the winter season, the service will operate from December 19, 2025 through to March 15, 2026. Across two of Europe’s top destinations in prime ski season, this is the perfect excuse to hit the slopes for the festive period.

The journey will cost you 1999 SEK per person, each way. This equates to £154.06; perhaps more expensive than a tank of petrol, but arguably worth it for the breathtaking views.

American history has the receipts. As we approach the 250th anniversary of this nation’s birth, it ought to be common knowledge that putting the National Guard into the center of turmoil is not to be taken at all lightly. Federalizing the California Guard to quell a supposed insurrection on the streets of greater Los Angeles is a bold move of presidential showmanship and look-tough opportunism. It is also risky on many fronts.

We have been here before, and we would be wise to heed history’s caution. In the spring of 1894, a nationwide railroad strike, spreading out from the outskirts of Chicago, paralyzed freight and passenger rail traffic up and down California. Strikers took to the streets, occupied railroad depots, often with their families, waved signs, and erected tents and hastily constructed shanties. In Oakland, strikers who had “killed” a locomotive covered it in black crepe.

Political leaders and railroad officials insisted that the strikers were insurrectionists ripping at the fabric of the republic. But the public did not necessarily see things the same way. Strikers who were hunkered down in Northern California depots took in provisions from farmers loyal to their cause. A U.S. marshal sent to Sacramento to clear them out and get the trains moving was beaten up and insisted later that the local police force was sympathetic to the strikers.

Judging the Sacramento situation as an insurrection, Gov. H.H. Markham of Pasadena called up the National Guard, which mustered first in San Francisco on July 3. Some elderly Civil War veterans volunteered for duty but were politely turned away. Instead, young California guardsmen, each given 20 rounds of ammunition, marched to the Bay amid a jeering crowd, took a ferry to Oakland and tried to get to Sacramento by train.

But all train service had been interrupted by the strike, and skilled rail operators did not want to cross the picket lines. After nine hours, the exhausted guardsmen arrived in Sacramento early on the morning of July 4 — having taken a train through a circuitous route to avoid trouble. They marched to the city armory, then on to the occupied depot, where they were met by Sacramento members of the National Guard who were already deployed. Guardsmen — about 1,000 weekend warriors — stood in the hot sun, rifles at the ready alongside the Gatling gun they brought, facing the railroad strikers camped out in the depot with their wives and children. One Guardsman’s gun went off accidentally, killing a bystander. Officers ordered their men to fix their bayonets and, if ordered to shoot, to “aim to kill.”

One Sacramento unit reported that its men would not fire on their friends and relatives. Other Guardsmen wore their sympathies on their sleeves and lapels: pro-striker buttons. The strikers and their families began to mingle with the phalanx of guardsmen. “Frank, if you kill me you make your sister a widow,” one striker informed her brother-in-law in the Guard. Some guardsmen removed the ammunition from their weapons; others lowered them and just wandered away — toward the lemonade and ice that the protesters themselves provided. The strikers stayed in the depot for weeks. The whole thing was a chaotic farce.

Matters were hardly any less tense in Southern California. People lined the streets of downtown Los Angeles, chanting and cheering for the strikers, many of whom wore American flag lapels. Photographs of goings on in Sacramento and the Bay Area got passed from one Angeleno to another in the crowd. Guardsmen in L.A. expressed the same kind of trepidation about bringing militarized force to bear on the strikers. “If we had to fight Indians or some common enemy,” one guardsman offered in a revelatory admission, “we might have some fun and excitement. But this idea of shooting down American citizens simply because they are on strike for what they consider their rights is a horse of another color. All of the boys are against it from first to last, and many are in sympathy with the strikers.”

In hindsight, the federal and state response to the rail strike of 1894 appears to have lacked some consideration of unintended consequences. Calling in the Guard only created chaos, emboldened the strikers and, for a time at least, sustained much of the public’s support. The federal government, with some seeing 1894 as “the greatest crisis in our history,” allied with the rail corporations in a set of legal maneuverings that led to the deployment of federal troops across the country. As the strike dissipated, each side tried to take the high ground of intention and behavior: The crisis was lawlessness or it was unwarranted government overreach.

Though it is too soon to know how things will play out here in L.A. this time, nothing looks good from the rough scenes in downtown and the adjacent freeway exits and entrances.

Mark Twain said that “history never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.” Here we have that rhyme written in the latest Los Angeles verse of our tense world. The administration’s move to federalize the Guard in the name of quelling a domestic insurrection has poured more gasoline onto the tinder of our times here in the Southland.

Deverell is a professor of history at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences.

Trains between Glasgow and London have been disrupted by damage to overhead electric lines caused by a fallen tree in southern Scotland.

Avanti West Coast said all lines were blocked between Lockerbie and Carstairs and services would be affected until 14:00. Some services scheduled to start in Glasgow now starting in Preston, Lancashire, and experiencing delays of several hours.

Passengers waiting overnight on the Caledonian Sleeper service from Glasgow Central were told a tree had come down on the line.

Ticket holders have been advised that they can travel on alternative services on the east coast rail line for no extra cost or get a refund.

A statement from Avanti West Coast said: “Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between Lockerbie and Carstairs, all lines are blocked.

“Train services running through these stations may be cancelled or delayed. Please check your journey.”

England are using heated tents as part of training to replicate the conditions they could experience at the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico next year.

Thomas Tuchel and his squad are in Girona in Spain for a training camp.

England play Andorra in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday before playing Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on 10 June.

As part of the training camp the England head coach and the Football Association performance staff will look at how players cope in the extremely hot and humid conditions they could face at the World Cup.

Players will carry out fitness tests inside the tents on exercise bikes, in temperatures they could be expected to face during the tournament, and their recovery will be analysed.

Speaking last week, Tuchel said he expects his players to “suffer” in the tournament’s conditions and he will travel to the Club World Cup this summer in the United States to assess the conditions.

“It is important to see matches now in America, and in Miami at three in the afternoon,” Tuchel said.

“I will see that. How it looks, and we need to understand how to cool the players down, to drink. What our options are.

“Let’s see because it is after the season, so it will be very similar. The actual experience is for the players, but I have done pre-season there in Orlando and I will be very surprised if we do not suffer. Suffering is one of the headlines for this World Cup.”

There have been warnings that the temperatures at 14 of the 16 stadiums being used for the 2026 World Cup could exceed ‘potentially dangerous levels’ during the tournament. In host city Dallas, in an average year more than 80% of June and July days exceed 28C.

England have won their first two World Cup qualifiers under Tuchel and sit top of the Group K table.

Train veers off the tracks in Russia’s Bryansk region after ‘illegal interference’ caused a bridge to collapse, officials say.

A passenger train has derailed in Russia, killing at least seven people and injuring 30 others, after colliding with a bridge that collapsed because of what local officials described as “illegal interference”.

The incident took place late on Saturday in Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine.

“Unfortunately, there are seven fatalities,” Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said in a post on Telegram.

“Thirty victims, including two children, were taken to medical facilities in the Bryansk Region,” Bogomaz said, adding that two were in serious condition.

The driver of the train was among those killed, according to Russian news agencies.

Rosavtodor, Russia’s federal road transportation agency, said the destroyed bridge passed above the railway tracks where the train was travelling.

The railway vehicle – which was going from the town of Klimov to the Russian capital, Moscow – veered off the tracks when it collided with the collapsed bridge near the village of Vygonichi, according to the RIA news agency.

The area lies some 100km (62 miles) from Russia’s border with Ukraine.

Rescuers were searching for passengers trapped inside the damaged train, while emergency accommodation was set up at a school in Vygonichi, RIA reported.

Moscow Railway, in a post on Telegram, said the bridge had collapsed “as a result of an illegal interference in the operation of transport”.

It did not elaborate further.

Russia’s Baza Telegram channel, which often publishes information from sources in the security services and law enforcement, reported, without providing evidence, that according to preliminary information, the bridge was blown up.

Explosions have derailed multiple trains, most of them freight trains, in Russian regions near Ukraine as fighting between Russia and Ukraine continues.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Two hours after the bridge collapse was reported, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that Ukraine’s air defence units were trying to repel a Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital.

Earlier on Saturday, Russian drone and missile attacks killed at least two people in Ukraine, officials said.

Since the start of Russia’s invasion three years ago, there have been continued cross-border shelling, drone strikes and covert raids from Ukraine into Russia’s Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions, which border Ukraine.

United States President Donald Trump has urged Moscow and Kyiv to work together on a deal to end the war, and Russia has proposed a second round of face-to-face talks with Ukrainian officials next week in Istanbul.

Ukraine is yet to commit to attending the talks on Monday, saying it first needs to see Russian proposals, while a leading US senator warned Moscow it would be “hit hard” by new US sanctions.

Football supporters travelling to and from Wembley for the Championship play-off final have been warned of delays or cancellations due to a series of train faults.

LNER said it was experiencing “major disruption” to services due to several trains requiring repairs on the East Coast Main Line.

Sheffield United and Sunderland compete for a place in the Premier League this afternoon, with the game kicking off at Wembley at 15:01 BST.

The travel problems could impact supporters of both sides, with disruption expected until the end of the day.

Rail passengers have been warned trains will be “extremely busy”, with the faults causing delays or cancellations.

Routes affected include LNER services between Inverness, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Harrogate, Leeds, Bradford Forster Square, Skipton, Hull, Lincoln and London King’s Cross.

Lumo services between Edinburgh and King’s Cross are also impacted.

Passengers on cancelled journeys can travel on any LNER service, the firm said, or use their tickets on routes operated by other rail firms.

Earlier this week, Sheffield United supporters were warned about planned bank holiday rail engineering works also impacting journeys.

Police say four victims face life-threatening injuries, suggest suspect may have have suffered a ‘psychological emergency’.

Authorities in Germany have arrested a woman after at least 17 people were injured in a knife attack at the main train station in the northern city of Hamburg.

At least four of the victims sustained life-threatening injuries in Friday evening’s mass stabbing incident, which took place in the middle of the city’s evening rush hour, emergency services said.

The suspect, a 39-year-old German woman, was arrested at the scene by law enforcement, a Hamburg police spokesperson said.

Officers “approached her, and the woman allowed herself to be arrested without resistance”, spokesman Florian Abbenseth told journalists in comments carried by public broadcaster ARD.

“We have no evidence so far that the woman may have had a political motive,” Abbenseth said.

“Rather, we have information, based on which we now want to investigate, whether she may have been experiencing a psychological emergency.”

The suspect was thought to have “acted alone”, Hamburg police said in a post on X.

Four of the victims have suffered life-threatening injuries, Hamburg’s fire department spokesman said, revising down an earlier figure.

The suspect was thought to have turned “against passengers” at the station, a spokeswoman for the Hanover federal police directorate, which also covers Hamburg, told the AFP news agency.

Images of the scene showed access to the platforms at one end of the station blocked off by police and people being loaded into waiting ambulances.

Four platforms at the station were closed while investigations were ongoing, and railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by the attack. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also expressed his shock in a call with the mayor of Hamburg following the attack.

Germany has been rocked in recent months by a series of violent attacks that have put security at the top of the agenda.

The most recent, on Sunday, saw four people injured in a stabbing at a bar in the city of Bielefeld. The investigation into that attack had been handed over to federal prosecutors following the arrest of the suspect, who is from Syria.

A UK train station undergoing a multi-million renovation has revealed plans to open a new pub.

Carlisle’s train station upgrade is part of a wider £27million redevelopment called the Gateway Project.

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This includes a new public square, car park and entrance.

But recent plans suggest the train station’s current Grade-II listed waiting room could be turned into a pub.

Once used by first class passengers, it even welcomed Queen Victoria.

Currently used for storage, it will instead be converted with a new mezzanine floor.

Images revealed by Seed Architects show the restoration of some of the original 1880s interiors as well as a bar area and seating.

Network Rail said: “The platform 4 first class waiting room has remained largely in use since it opened in 1880, albeit with a number of changes in how it is operated.

“The most recent operation was as a public house, which unfortunately closed due to its poor commercial offering.

“A mezzanine level is to be added within the west end of the space, this will provide a new perspective to view the heritage features not seen before, enhancing the architectural space.

“This will bring a new aspect of the space allowing users to enjoy the room from a different perspective and introducing a modern element into this unique space.

“[But] without harming it and adding potential value to be translated economically, what will guarantee its continuity to be looked after properly.”

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Outdoor seating also hopes to be added as part of the restoration.

The £27million redevelopment hopes to start this year, and be completed by 2027.

Around £20million of the funding is backed by both the UK and Scottish Governments as part of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal

The ambitious project hopes to encourage “more visitors to the city”.

Cumberland Council Leader Mark Fryer added: “This is excellent news for Carlisle.”

Carlisle Station fist opened in 1847, costing £53,000 at the time – £4.6million in today’s money.

It no welcomes around two million passengers a year with trains to London and Manchester as well as Edinburgh, Liverpool and Newcastle.

A £160million new train station is set to open in the UK that will be the first of its kind in the country.

And here is another train station with its own pub.

Sun Travel’s favourite train journeys in the world

Sun Travel’s journalists have taken their fare share of train journeys on their travels and here they share their most memorable rail experiences.

Davos to Geneva, Switzerland

“After a ski holiday in Davos, I took the scenic train back to Geneva Airport. The snow-covered mountains and tiny alpine villages that we passed were so beautiful that it felt like a moving picture was playing beyond the glass.” – Caroline McGuire

Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen

“Nothing quite beats the Shinkansen bullet train, one of the fastest in the world. It hardly feels like you’re whizzing along at speed until you look outside and see the trees a green blur. Make sure to book seat D or E too – as you’ll have the best view of Mount Fuji along the way.” Kara Godfrey

London to Paris by Eurostar

“Those who have never travelled on the Eurostar may wonder what’s so special about a seemingly ordinary train that takes you across the channel. You won’t have to waste a moment and can tick off all the top attractions from the Louvre to the Champs-Élysées which are both less than five kilometres from the Gare du Nord.” – Sophie Swietochowski

Glasgow to Fort William by Scotrail

“From mountain landscapes and serene lochs to the wistful moors, I spent my three-hour journey from Glasgow to Fort William gazing out the window. Sit on the left-hand side of the train for the best views overlooking Loch Lomond.” – Hope Brotherton

Beijing to Ulaanbatar

“The Trans-Mongolian Express is truly a train journey like no other. It starts amid the chaos of central Beijing before the city’s high-rises give way to crumbling ancient villages and eventually the vast vacant plains of Mongolia, via the Gobi desert. The deep orange sunset seen in the middle of the desert is among the best I’ve witnessed anywhere.” – Ryan Gray

May 19 (UPI) — Two adults are dead, a baby is injured and a 5-year-old is missing after multiple people were struck by a train in northern Ohio, authorities and officials said.

Fremont Mayor Danny Sanchez told reporters at a brief press conference Sunday night that the victims appear to be a family from Indiana on a fishing trip. The two deceased have been identified as a 58-year-old woman and her 38-year-old daughter.

A 1-year-old was transported to the a local hospital, and responders are searching the Sandusky River for the missing 5-year-old, he said. The condition of the baby was not known.

“This is a very, very unfortunate tragedy that has hit our community today,” Sanchez said.

The Fremont Police Department said in a statement online that emergency crews were working near the Miles Newton Bridge, where the incident occurred. The bridge is currently closed, it added.

Crews responded to the scene at about 7:30 p.m. EDT, WTVG reported. The involved train began moving again at about 11 p.m.

This is a developing story.

New train lines running between European cities including Copenhagen and Hamburg, Tallinn and Vilnius, and Budapest and Belgrade will transform how passengers get around the Continent

A series of massive rail projects is currently underway, with train travel in Europe likely to look very different in less than ten years from how it does today.

In the UK we are a little too used to rail projects dragging on and on, facing as many delays as a standard Sunday afternoon service. Phase one of the HS2 high-speed railway project, connecting London to Birmingham, is currently expected to open between 2029 and 2033. That will be up to 13 years after building work began.

While continental European rail projects are also liable to be hit by delays, there are a few big projects that are currently well underway that should be completed within the next few years.

Hamburg to Copenhagen

The vast undersea tunnel is being built and will carry two rail lines and a pair of two-lane highways under the Baltic Sea. Construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel has started on the shores of the Baltic Sea, in the south of Denmark. Once finished it will link the country and Germany. The project will be the world’s longest road and rail tunnel, and the world’s longest immersed tunnel, stretching 11.2 miles.

‌The tunnel will enable both freight and commuter traffic, reducing carbon emissions, freeing up capacity on the roads and railways, and moving freight from lorries to more environmentally friendly electric trains.

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Currently, travellers heading between Hamburg in Germany, and Copenhagen in Denmark, have to take a five-hour train journey. However, when the tunnel opens, the journey time will be cut in half, with the tunnel stretching from the Danish island of Lolland to the German island of Fehmarn. In total, the project will cost €7.4 billion (£6.2 billion) and is set to be completed in 2029.

Budapest to Belgrade

It is currently possible to travel between these two great cities on the Danube, but it takes a while and three changes. Next year that will change when a high-speed line built with Chinese backing gets going. The difference in effort required as well as the length of journey will be significant. Passengers will be whisked between the two cities in just two hours and 40 minutes instead of seven.

Tallinn to Vilnius

By 2030, the two Baltic capitals will be connected by a high-speed line that will cover a huge distance. Right now it takes close to ten hours to get between Estonia’s Tallinn in the far north to Lithuania’s Vilnius in the south. It will also go through Latvia’s Riga on the way.

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The travel time from Tallinn to Vilnius will be cut down to three hours and 38 minutes and cost €38. Trains will run every two hours, with two night trains each night.

Not only will the train line provide a fast and affordable way to get across the Baltic states, it will introduce a completely different gauge into the country. The three former Soviet republics will swap their 1,520mm tracks for 1,435mm, meaning integration with other European railways will be possible, the Telegraph reports.

Turin to Lyon

This one will take a little longer to complete, with the launch date slated for 2033. While the destinations at either end may sound a little less hefty than other projects, this scheme is a big one.

It will see the construction of the longest rail tunnel in the world at 57.5km. The Mont d’Ambin Base Tunnel will cut through the Alps from the Susa Valley in Piedmont and Maurienne in Savoie, reducing the journey time between Paris and Milan to four and a half hours, a reduction of more than two hours.

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Spain to Morocco

A vast £6bn tunnel connecting Spain to Africa has been on the cards for years, but in the last few months it has seemed that it will become a reality. Studies are being conducted into the feasiblity of an underwater railway crossing linking Europe and Africa. And deadline for the completion of the project will be 2030 according to reports.

The £6billion tunnel will allow a high-speed railway service to run under one of the most famous cargo routes in the world, the Strait of Gibraltar, Moroccan National Company for Strait Studies is reportedly trying to source funding for the project.

It is estimated to span 28km with its lowest point 475m below sea level. The underwater crossing is tipped to connect Punta Paloma in southern Spain and Malabata, near Tangier, Morocco. Both nations want the tunnel built in time for the 2030 football World Cup which is expected to be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The football competition would be the first to be held in three countries and would cover two continents with Africa holding its first competition since 2010.

Just this week the Spanish government committed €1.63 million to a feasibility study on the scheme.

Bold plans to transform the railway system as part of a £1 billion upgrade has garnered heavy criticism as bosses confirm new electrified trains will be missing one specific amenity

Railway plans to transform connectivity in south Wales have sparked heavy backlash amongst locals. Touted as the ‘Welsh Tube‘, the £1 billion mega project – which was first proposed back in 2013 – offers a ground-breaking solution to long waits and traditional timetables stagnating travel in the region.

But upon completion, a 105-mile long network will see 36 brand new tram-trains carry tourists and commuters across the core Valley Lines, linking areas such as Cardiff with Coryton, Rhymney, Aberdare, and Treherbet – with certain journeys running every five minutes in the day. As previously reported, the South Wales Metro project will operate on a colour-coded map and allow passengers to ‘tap in and out’ with contactless payment barriers.

Those living in or around Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil, and Treherbert will have access to four trains per hour (every 15 minutes) while those around Caerphilly will get six trains per hour and Pontypridd will see 12 trains per hour (every five minutes) running to the Welsh capital. With new electric tram-trains already starting test runs in the Valleys – the project is nearing its first phase.

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However, locals weren’t too happy when they discovered the state-of-the-art vehicles did not feature any onboard toilets. According to Wales Online, one person described the lack of loos as ‘absolute madness’, adding: “We certainly are going backward in Wales.”

Another commented: “This is shocking, I have a funny feeling there’s going to be lots of urine on the floor on a Friday and Saturday night,” while a third penned: “People need toilets, what’s with the Welsh government?”

Others were quick to defend the decision, arguing that Tube trains, buses, and cars do not have toilets either. “Some people would whinge about winning the lottery!” one reader fumed. “How many buses have toilets on board?”

Another argued: “If you put toilets in they have to be accessible to all and as a result the area lost to seating and standing is huge. You also have to take the trains out of service to empty the tanks because you can’t just dump it on the tracks anymore. It’s much better to do away with them and have them in fixed locations so they have the space to do it properly and they have proper access to electricity, water and sewerage.”

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When asked about the backlash, a Transport for Wales (TfW) spokesperson told the Mirror that it is currently ‘testing’ a brand-new modern Class 398 tram-trains that will run on electric and battery as part of the South Wales Metro. These will have the ability to run on-street as well as on the rail network, but ‘global rolling stock market’ for this type of train-train with onboard toilets is ‘limited’.

“They are built to quickly move as many people as possible and adding toilets on board would significantly reduce the capacity of the trains,” the spokesperson added. “This type of train is used successfully in other cities within the UK and no other Metro system in the UK runs this type of tram with toilets onboard.

“We want to ensure our passengers still have access to toilet facilities when using our network. To do this, we’re installing 10 new*, fully accessible toilets at key locations across these lines and upgrading our existing station facilities, so that passengers can be confident a toilet will always be available within a 20-minute journey on our network.”

*In addition to the existing toilet facilities across the South Wales Metro area, 10 stations getting new toilets are Abercynon, Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil, Tonypandy, Treherbert, Cwmbach, Llwynypia, Merthyr Vale, Penrhiwceiber and Treorchy.

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