Philip Haigh, Author at Philip Haigh

Department for Transport Environment Freight Infrastructure Network Rail Operations Planning Politics

Decarbonisation shows rail’s route forward

December 21, 2020 Philip Haigh

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…

Environment Infrastructure Network Rail Operations Safety

Could fibre optic sensors prevent a future Carmont accident?

December 21, 2020 Philip Haigh

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…

Department for Transport Freight Infrastructure Network Rail Operations Planning

Clearing congestion from Castlefield Corridor

June 4, 2020 Philip Haigh

Whichever way you look at Manchester there are no easy answers to the congestion caused by pushing more trains along the twin-track Castlefield Corridor between Piccadilly and Deansgate stations. The…

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…

Decarbonisation shows rail’s route forward

Could fibre optic sensors prevent a future Carmont accident?

Clearing congestion from Castlefield Corridor

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

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Transpennine Route Upgrade reaches Batley and Dewsbury

All change for East Coast services

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Author: Philip Haigh

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