A diesel locomotive is set to haul this Sunday’s Shakespeare Express through south Warwickshire, after Network Rail imposed a network-wide ban on steam services. Both will now be replaced for this weekend’s trip by historic diesel locomotive 37240, following Network Rail’s steam ban, which the operator says remains in place because of the current heat. Vintage Trains confirmed the service would run as planned despite the change, saying the trip would go ahead “exactly as planned” with the diesel locomotive taking over. The Shakespeare Express is Vintage Trains’ flagship service, normally hauled by a restored steam locomotive at mainline speed, and is billed by the operator as a distinctive way of connecting Birmingham with Stratford-upon-Avon. Vintage Trains also runs two further Shakespeare Express services later in the year: the Derby Shakespeare Express, travelling south to Stratford-upon-Avon from Derby, Burton-on-Trent, Tamworth and Coleshill Parkway on 25 October, and the Worcester Shakespeare Express, travelling east to Stratford-upon-Avon from Worcester Shrub Hill, Droitwich Spa and Stourbridge Junction on 8 November.