Christian Wolmar

A few weeks ago I wrote in my Rail column (http://www.christianwolmar.co.uk/2011/08/rail-676-dishonest-arguments-by-both-pro-and-anti-hs2/)  about the dishonest arguments being pushed by both sides in the debate over HSR. While the antis had certainly been a bit dishonest with the evidence from surveys, by far the most outlandish claim was from the Campaign for High Speed Rail which claimed that the line would create 1m new jobs. As I wrote at the time, this was ...

The Department for Transport has been leaking suggestions that a high speed rail link between Heathrow and Gatwick would improve services at both airports. This smacks of desperation. The government has been hoist by its own petard, having scrapped plans for the third runway, supported by many of  its members, as a short term vote gaining measure. The idea may seem superfically attractive, but the problems seem insuperable. First, who would ...

Chiltern is the franchise that got away. For a brief period, when the late Sir Alistair Morton was head of the Strategic Rail Authority, franchising was going to be a very different proposition from the current model. Bidders would be encouraged to put forward investment plans, which would be developed by new joint ventures called special purpose vehicles and in return would receive 20 year deals. All sorts of ambitious schemes ...