Raising the roof at Waverley
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…
Electrification is still the answer
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…
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People make decisions, not systems or structures
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…
Crossrail’s challenges with an arbitrary deadline
Crossrail's opening deadline was always arbitrary. Let it finish the job.
Soft skills prevent accidents like Waterloo
Any student of railway accidents knows how risks slip through the smallest gap. Gary Hart’s vehicle careered from the M62 onto the East Coast Main Line near Heck in October…
McNulty’s ‘Damp squib’ still offers valuable lessons
Jumping on a train the other day, I found a Transport Focus questionnaire abandoned on my seat. I can guess what passengers will say in this latest survey. They will…
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…
Potential but no plans for Scottish rail reopenings
There’s a stark contrast on show at Alloa station. The line heading west towards Stirling features shiny rails. That heading east is heavy with rust. Yet the line only reopened…
Transport Scotland should build Dalmeny Chord to boost rail access to Edinburgh Airport
Recent news that Edinburgh Airport is to increase road capacity to its terminal is a sure sign that public transport to Scotland’s busiest airport needs to improve.The Scottish government dropped…
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…