Christian Wolmar

Chiltern is launching its new 'Mainline' service between London and the West Midlands, with loco hauled stock, a simplified fare structure and a first class - well, sort of, as its a business premium obtainable for a £20 supplement. Chiltern in fact scrapped first class on its first trains years ago, arguing that it took up more space and did not bring in much revenue. Its return to having a premium ...

There’s been so much to write about on the railways recently that the Railway School report has been somewhat delayed, but I am now delighted to present it.. As ever, a mixed bag with as many brickbats as pats on the back. With so many changes and events in the past year, it is difficult to know where to start but let’s begin with a group that’s been rather stable of ...

Gloom descended as commuters found that their fares would be rising by 8 per cent in January. This followed hot on the heels of news from the Office of Rail Regulation that overcrowding was getting worse – hardly a surprise for most passengers given that rail use has increased by almost half in the past decade and there are barely any extra services. To cap it all, there was now talk of ...

The collective wail of commuters was almost audible at stations across the country when they discovered that their season tickets would be going up by 8 per cent in January. It is a predictable and understandable complaint, but it will do nothing to move the government away from its policy of raising fares by 3 per cent above RPI over each of the next three years in order to reduce ...

The end of the period for responses to the High Speed  Two consultation process offers a time for reflection. Unfortunately, misleading arguments are coming so thick and fast from both sides of the debate over HS2, that far from making the issues clearer, a miasma of posturing rhetoric and dishonest analysis threatens to cloud the air. Let’s start with the antis, who have been getting more and more vociferous ...