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…
Franchise flashpoint puts DfT under pressure
How many times have you heard the warning ‘buyer beware’ or been cautioned ‘if a deal looks to good to be true, then it is too good to be true’.I’m…
The hunt for DfT’s rail strategy
Strategy and policy are inextricably linked. The first is a reaction to the second. Decide your policy, then the strategy that delivers it and, finally, plans to implement.According to the…
Will the dream of reopening Woodhead become reality?
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 is…
2018’s improvements must not be damaged by poor delivery and poor headlines
January proved to be a rocky start to 2018. Every year the month brings complaints about rising fares but this year there was real venom behind them. Ministers and managing…
The changing face of Britain’s railway
1923. 1948. 1996. Three years in which Britain’s railway changed greatly. 1923 saw the creation of four companies covering mainland Great Britain. The quartet owned tracks and ran trains. They…
Plenty of risks for Network Rail from 2019
Four pages of RAIL 847 contain a summary of Network Rail’s strategic plan, which it published on February 13. That will save you wading through all 1,857 pages of it.Those…
How long before new train bubble bursts?
Derby. Doncaster. Darlington. All classic locomotive works, their names recognisable to generations of railwaymen and generations of enthusiasts.Lest this all become about alliteration, I’ll add Ashford, Eastleigh, Crewe, Swindon and…
Turbulence ahead for West Coast bidders
To say the Department for Transport has set a major challenge with the next West Coast franchise is a gross understatement.The winning bidder will need to take over today’s long-distance…
Network Rail needs an exceptional leader
It’s a gross understatement to say that Network Rail’s next chief executive faces a challenge.She or he will need to take on a government company that faces demands from all…