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…
Make fares simpler by ditching ‘advance purchase’
Easier said than done. Which probably explains why we hear so many calls for simpler fares but see so little action.In general terms, railway companies offer single and return tickets,…
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…
Does train beat the plane?
To London. By plane. Yes, I’m sorry, I flew. It wasn’t my preferred choice but it did give me the opportunity to compare aeroplanes and airports with trains and stations.I…
Rail companies have eyes bigger than their bellies
It’s a massive public trust issue. That was Peter Wilkinson talking about the railway’s decision to ditch its long-standing commitment to publish timetables and allow passengers to book trains 12…
May 2018’s timetable wrecks services
Rail has closed the north-south divide. Northern’s services since May 20’s timetable change have been decimated with cancellations and delays. Similar problems wrack Southern’s network.More accurately, the problems in Southern…