Is reopening Woodhead viable?
There’s an irony in Woodhead’s tunnels carrying electricity under the Pennines. Where once they thrived on carrying its raw material, coal, now they carry the finished product. Woodhead the line…
Decisive action today for a joined-up North tomorrow
False starts have bedevilled attempts to upgrade the trans-Pennine route through Huddersfield. It has long been the primary route between Leeds and Manchester carrying a mix of express, local and…
Railways must remain relevant to survive
To the Mechanicals to hear this year’s railway division chairman give his address. Grand Central MD Richard McClean took the lectern and made the case for keeping rail relevant to…
Waterloo delay has echoes of 1988’s Clapham accident
Monday December 12 1988 dawned cold and clear in South West London. It would end with commuters reading a banner headline in the Evening Standard – RUSH HOUR DISASTER –…
Give the East Midlands easier journeys to Manchester
We all have closed lines we wish we’d travelled on. I’d have loved to traverse the Waverley Route through lonely Riccarton Junction but it closed before I was born. I…
There’s plenty of ambition and potential for Tyne and Wear Metro
There’s a gulf between deciding to do something and working out how to pay for it. Tyne and Wear’s Metrocars first appeared from Met-Camm’s Birmingham works in the late-1970s. They…
As the general election’s dust settles, the only certainty is uncertainty
A strong railway relies on a strong economy. And a strong economy needs a strong railway to move goods and ferry people to and from work, particularly into city centres,…
Horrific attacks remain rare on our railways
Just as I went to bed on Monday May 22 I noticed a tweet from the British Transport Police. It was dealing with an incident at Manchester Victoria. I thought…
Rail freight faces challenges as coal disappears
A day in April marked Britain’s first without using coal to generate electricity. Wind and solar power played their part but burning gas shouldered the bulk of electricity generation that…
NR hindered by DfT’s intervention on investment plans
A splash in The Independent newspaper on March 31 thrust into wider public perception a problem for Network Rail that’s been quietly worrying the railway for some time. The problem…