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…
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…
Restoring operations to rail’s frontline
Halfway between Littleborough and the western portal of Summit Tunnel lies a little-used trailing crossover. Littleborough marks the traditional boundary for Greater Manchester. Venture further east and you’ll be through…
Using energy to make rail greener
Talk in late January 2019 of greener, solar-powered trains conjured images of trains covered in panels. The reality, if it happens, is more likely to be lineside solar panels feeding…
Department for Transport
Network Rail
Rolling stock
Trade unions
Train operators
Transport Scotland
Uncategorized
Railway must avoid broken promises
At least the man with the ‘kick me’ sign on his backside didn’t pin it there himself. The railway pinned its own sign, judging by the kicking people gave it…
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.
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…