News and views from Britain's railways
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Order. Counter-order. Disorder. They might be the makings of military disasters but they apply firmly to railways in Northern England.Most of the disorder flows from governments changing their minds. Privatisation…
We believed we could do it. Those words sum up the glorious failure of May’s timetable.They evoke a welcome spirit of trying but ultimately failing. But running a railway is…
What to do? How to fix a broken railway?The answer rather depends on how broken you think the railway is. It’s caught many headlines and, yes, it has made many…