Time for RMT to embrace the role of on-board supervisor
ASLEF’s deal with Southern has no implications for other train operators. That’s the claim from Mick Whelan, the drivers’ union general secretary in the wake of his members on Southern…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Chaos comes from changing plans
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…
Railways cannot afford failure
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…