Christian Wolmar

Here we go again. Suddenly the issue of a little bit of extra tax on fuel inefficient cars is being ‘got up’ by the motoring lobby into a big issue, helped by a few myopic MPs. It is particularly dispiriting that any vaguely ‘green’ policies are immediately in the frame to be ditched as soon as the economic situation gets the slightest bit rocky. Yes, sure, it is a bit unlucky ...

If anything encapsulates the ridiculous way that the railway industry is structured and regulated, it is the decision by the Office of Rail Regulation to confirm the £14m fine on Network Rail as a result of the post Xmas fiasco at Rugby and elsewhere. Of course, there is no doubt that Network Rail made a terrible mess of the project and ignored warnings about the fact that the scope of the ...

I see that Jon Snow berated Boris Johnson for not wearing a helmet when he overtakes the mayor, when both are cycling on the streets of Islington. It was a bit of one upmanship by Snow, who was quick to point out that he cycled faster than the blond mopped politician and I also think it a mistake to criticise Johnson over this issue. I have very mixed feelings about helmets ...

The simplification of the names for different types of tickets is a tiny step forward in bringing rationality into the fares system, but immediately begs the question of whether a serious attempt is to be made to address the major shortcomings in the structure. Let’s deal with the good news first. Certainly, getting rid of the ridiculous plethora of names such as ‘first leisure advance’ and ‘apex’ and the like, is ...

It took an unlikely series of events to make Boris Johnson become mayor since a year ago he was not even among the runners and riders. And I suspect that his election will have a series of an even unlikelier outcomes. His politics until his election as mayor were as shambolic as his delivery, an unintelligeble blend of populism, kneejerk conservative values and London liberalism. He has got away with ...

I had my first proper view of the Settle - Carlisle railway a couple of days ago,when I travelled there for a DVD that is being made of my book, Fire & Steam. It is a bit embarrassing to confess that I have never travelled on the line and, indeed, even though we did a lot of filming, that still remains the case. Nevertheless, I saw much of the line including ...