Hurdles remain in the path to freight decarbonisation
Shifting freight from road to rail provides the best short-term route to reducing freight’s carbon emissions. That’s because an HGV produces four times more carbon emissions than even a diesel…
Britain needs electric freight
Noel Dolphin is an enthusiast for electric trains. That shouldn’t surprise anyone because he works for Furrer+Frey, which is the Swiss company that developed the electrification system that Network Rail…
When will passengers return?
I woke early the other morning. Too early. All was black outside and time dragged. It seemed to be hours before the eastern sky slowly lightened and the sun hauled…
West Yorkshire plans ambitious network
It’s 20 years since Railtrack rebuilt Leeds station and its approach tracks to increase capacity into West Yorkshire. Dubbed Leeds 1st, it swept away the old dingy station roof and…
Queensbury Rules: The fight for old structures
Glance at a map of the West Riding’s rail network at its height and you cannot fail to be impressed by the sheer complexity of lines. Rather than share, rival…
Electrification sits at heart of Scotland’s transport agenda
Delve into the Scottish Government’s updated climate change plan and there’s a picture of an electrified railway on the title page of the chapter about transport. Look past the profusion…
Campaigners fight Highways England’s plans for old bridges
When Transport Ministers Ernie Marples and Barbara Castle swung Beeching’s axe across swathes of Britain’s railway in the 1960s, they left behind them isolated communities and gently decaying stations. Track…
Franchising: New rules… same old game?
Franchising is dead; long live, er, franchising. That’s because the law says the passenger operations taken over from British Rail must be franchises unless ministers produce secondary legislation exempting operators…
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Decarbonisation shows rail’s route forward
Britain needs more electric railways. They are cleaner and greener. They provide lower operating costs but need heavy investment in masts and wires. Electric railways bring decarbonisation. It’s this heavy…
Could fibre optic sensors prevent a future Carmont accident?
To say the terrible derailment at Carmont shocked those running Scotland’s Railway is an understatement. Staff across ScotRail and Network Rail Scotland were busy – to borrow Scotland’s Railway’s tagline…