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Letter to The Times: HS2 is the wrong scheme
I detect that, like me and indeed Boris Johnson, Danny Finkelstein instinctively wants to support HS2, but once he looked at the project in detail realised it is a deeply flawed scheme. Unlike other projects he mentions such as the Channel Tunnel and the Victoria Line, HS2 has no USP. People can already travel by train between London and the cities of the Midlands and North quickly and in...
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Johnson’s HS2 bind
December’s election result was both good and bad news for HS2. Boris Johnson is facing a dilemma over the project, and his difficulties have been exacerbated by the fact that his victory was based on a surge in support for the Tories in the Labour heartlands of the Midlands and north. One of the first things Johnson did on taking office in July last year was to commission a...
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The new battle of Jericho
(pic by permission, Andy Ffrench, Oxford Mail) Here’s a prediction for my second blog of the decade: the twenties are going to see a series of battles across the country over increasing restraints put on cars. With concerns about climate change and, probably more importantly for local disputes, air pollution, the notion that cars should be allowed unrestrained access to urban centres and rat runs through residential streets will...
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January 2020 newsletter
I am starting the year as I mean to go on, with a new newsletter for January with the hope of doing these every month. You can subscribe to it through the website. The start of a new decade is a good time to assess the impact of technology on transport. What major changes will result from the introduction of new technology by the end of the decade? If...
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Rail 895: Brexit will be done, but what next? And Mumbai’s amazing metro to be
So it’s over. Brexit is going to happen and the Conservatives will dominate politics for at least another four years. The implications will take a bit of time to emerge and oddly, for the railways and the transport industry in general, not much has been resolved. We do know, however, that Jeremy Corbyn is yesterday’s man and that all the Labour party’s detailed plans about transport will come to...
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About Christian Wolmar
Christian Wolmar is an award winning writer and broadcaster specialising in transport and is the author of a series of books on railway history. He was Labour's candidate for the 2016 Richmond Park & North Kingston by-election and also ran to be Labour's candidate in the last London mayoral election. Read more >>
RT @Fitness4London @christianwolmar @chilternrailway Am argument for HS2! I just read your excellent article on HS2 published back in August 2017 in Modern Railways Magazine, in response to Ian Walmsley's article. #HS2
