May 2020 - Philip Haigh

Department for Transport Freight High Speed 2 Infrastructure Network Rail Planning Train operators Transport Scotland

Rail needs strategic direction yet local delivery

May 27, 2020 Philip Haigh

London’s Institute for Government sits in a classy part of town, just a stone’s throw from St James’ Palace and the clubs of Pall Mall. I was among a small…

Environment Planning Politics Rolling stock Transport Scotland

Banish diesel to make the railway greener

May 27, 2020 Philip Haigh

Great Western Railway’s withdrawal of diesel High Speed Trains from Paddington leaves Brunel’s terminus almost wholly in the hands of electric trains. King’s Cross is about to see a similar…

Rolling stock Sleeper

Sleeper starts with a few problems

May 27, 2020 Philip Haigh

It wasn’t the most auspicious start to my first run on new stock from Edinburgh to London with Caledonian Sleeper. The company rang me that morning to say the coach…

Infrastructure Planning Politics Transport Scotland

Glasgow needs better

May 27, 2020 Philip Haigh

Glasgow has the best suburban rail network outside London but a report now calls for more. The report comes from the city’s connectivity committee, headed by David Begg, who has…

Crossrail Infrastructure Politics

Crossrail staggers into another crisis

May 18, 2020 Philip Haigh

Crossrail is in a mess. Maundy Thursday 2019 came with headlines claiming that Crossrail might not open until 2021. Stories citing senior but anonymous sources within the company. On the…

Infrastructure Network Rail Planning Train operators Transport Scotland

Raising the roof at Waverley

May 18, 2020 Philip Haigh

Around the dawn of privatisation, Railtrack planned to build over Edinburgh Waverley station, to plunge its platforms into a stygian gloom so familiar to generations of passengers at Birmingham New…

Environment Infrastructure Network Rail Planning Transport Scotland

Electrification is still the answer

May 18, 2020 Philip Haigh

We need to talk about piles. They’re at the bottom of the railway’s current problems with electrification. The mistakes that Network Rail and its contractors made with piles on the…

Department for Transport Infrastructure Network Rail Operations Planning Politics Rolling stock Train operators

People make decisions, not systems or structures

May 18, 2020 Philip Haigh

Whether or not you believe that Keith Williams’ railway review will achieve lasting improvements, it gives chance to look at why steel wheels on steel rails help this small and…

Freight Infrastructure Network Rail Operations Safety

Restoring operations to rail’s frontline

May 18, 2020 Philip Haigh

Halfway between Littleborough and the western portal of Summit Tunnel lies a little-used trailing crossover. Littleborough marks the traditional boundary for Greater Manchester. Venture further east and you’ll be through…

Department for Transport Environment Freight Rolling stock Train operators Uncategorized

Using energy to make rail greener

May 18, 2020 Philip Haigh

Talk in late January 2019 of greener, solar-powered trains conjured images of trains covered in panels. The reality, if it happens, is more likely to be lineside solar panels feeding…

Rail needs strategic direction yet local delivery

Banish diesel to make the railway greener

Sleeper starts with a few problems

Glasgow needs better

Crossrail staggers into another crisis

Raising the roof at Waverley

Electrification is still the answer

People make decisions, not systems or structures

Restoring operations to rail’s frontline

Using energy to make rail greener

You missed

The long wait for a train…

Use road crisis to boost rail freight

Pollution harms air quality on trains

Lumo launches at King’s Cross

Month: May 2020

You missed