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…
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…
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…
Department for Transport
Environment
Freight
Infrastructure
Network Rail
Operations
Planning
Politics
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…
Banish diesel to make the railway greener
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…
Glasgow needs better
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 staggers into another crisis
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…
Department for Transport
Infrastructure
Network Rail
Operations
Planning
Politics
Rolling stock
Train operators
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.
Crossrail
Department for Transport
Infrastructure
Network Rail
Politics
Rolling stock
Train operators
Transport Scotland
Problems that politicians cause on the railway
Ministers and civil servants cannot control aspects of the railway and then deny responsibility when things go wrong.