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,…
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…
Strikes are a stalemate where both sides must make the right moves
As the hours ticked down to 1100 on November 11 1918, soldiers continued being killed on the Western Front. Germany had signed an armistice early that morning but its implementation…
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…
DfT’s decisions will keep external advice to a minimum
Back in September 2011, Network Rail published initial industry plans for England and Wales and for Scotland. The plans were one of several important milestones in ORR’s periodic review work…
Now is the time for rail bodies to get their high-speed Act together
There’s an incredible amount of detail within the High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Act 2017 – better known as the HS2 Act. It weighs in at 452 pages and provides…
RMT plans to fight more battles… but the war looks lost
There’s always been a tension between the front and rear of a train. It’s some decades since freight trains lost their guards and the vans in which they rode on…
Union scaremongering does nothing to help passengers
Britain has a safe railway. It’s the safest in Europe by many measures, including the number of passenger fatalities and injuries per billion passenger train kilometres. It’s a record that’s…
A fascinating fight ahead for the East Midlands franchise
It’s easy to overlook the Midland Main Line as it sits between the two great Anglo-Scottish routes. That’s despite its southern terminus being St Pancras. This architectural masterpiece towers over…
Great Western fallout: repercussions further down the line
It started in the 1960s within the US defence industry. It’s just reaching Network Rail now, five decades later. What is it? Earned value management, usually abbreviated to EVM. It’s…