Rail Magazine

RAIL magazine is Britain’s biggest-selling modern railways magazine, giving comprehensive news coverage for the industry. Over 25,000 copies are sold every fortnight.

Rail 879: The Crossrail mystery - what went wrong?

Rail 879: The Crossrail mystery – what went wrong?

Wherever you look in the rail industry, there seems to be trouble ahead . I do not want to be ...
Rail 878: Obsession with competition is a waste of effort

Rail 878: Obsession with competition is a waste of effort

It’s fantasy time in the rail industry. Keith Williams made the mistake of asking for submissions from all and sundry ...
Rail 877: Pensions confusion spells death of franchising

Rail 877: Pensions confusion spells death of franchising

With the franchising system already reeling from a series of setbacks, somehow the Department for Transport and a couple of ...
Rail 876: The long slow death of franchises

Rail 876: The long slow death of franchises

The death throes of franchising are not a pretty sight. That the present model is dead was effectively confirmed by ...
Rail 875: Electric is the buzz word

Rail 875: Electric is the buzz word

Of all the stupid decisions that successive governments have made about the railways over the past quarter of a century, ...
Rail 874: Goblin gobbled up

Rail 874: Goblin gobbled up

It seemed such a simple job. The Barking – Gospel Oak line was becoming so heavily used both by passengers ...
Rail 873: A small step towards sorting out the fares

Rail 873: A small step towards sorting out the fares

It is one of the great ironies of rail privatisation that it was supposed to free up the private sector ...
Rail 872: The North needs rail investment

Rail 872: The North needs rail investment

One of the few (only?) good ideas from George Osborne when he was Chancellor was the concept of a Northern ...
Rail 871: The Crossrail mystery - and how the USA does not understand rail

Rail 871: The Crossrail mystery – and how the USA does not understand rail

The awful year in 2018 endured by the railways might have been leavened somewhat had Crossrail opened on time. In ...
Rail 870: My letter to Keith Williams on what Rail Review should examine

Rail 870: My letter to Keith Williams on what Rail Review should examine

Dear Keith, I wish you lots of luck in your endeavour to sort out Britain’s railways. There will be many ...
Rail 869: The railway's annus horribilis

Rail 869: The railway’s annus horribilis

This has been the railway’s annus horribilis. Nothing may have burnt down but almost everything else that could have gone ...
Rail 868: Wrong trees off the line

Rail 868: Wrong trees off the line

Sometimes good results come out of bad decisions. When the now departed Jo ‘Hydrogen’ Johnson announced a review of Network ...
Rail 867: The truth behind rail's growth

Rail 867: The truth behind rail’s growth

The doubling of rail passengers since the mid 1990s has been unprecedented and, in many respects, inexplicable. No coherent theory ...
Rail 866: Heathrow railway is best hope for private sector investment but can it be done?

Rail 866: Heathrow railway is best hope for private sector investment but can it be done?

One of the big promises of rail privatisation was that there would be significant private investment to take the load ...
Rail 865: Jo Johnson goes to Rotherham

Rail 865: Jo Johnson goes to Rotherham

It’s only taken a couple of decades or so but UK’s first tram train has become a reality. Well, there ...
Rail 864: How about a transport strategy?

Rail 864: How about a transport strategy?

A couple of years ago I wrote a short book entitled ‘Are Trams Socialist?’. Spoiler alert, but the answer was ...
Rail 863: Will review really be root and branch?

Rail 863: Will review really be root and branch?

So the review is going to be a ‘root and branch’ examination of the state of the railways and what ...
Rail 862: Review must be radical

Rail 862: Review must be radical

Here we go again. A review is in the offing. They may not have the frequency of buses but they ...
Rail 861: Crossrail delay will be forgotten when it opens

Rail 861: Crossrail delay will be forgotten when it opens

I had been expecting an announcement delaying Crossrail for some time. As I am writing a book about the project, ...
Rail 860: An open letter to Andrew Haines, now in the Network Rail hot seat

Rail 860: An open letter to Andrew Haines, now in the Network Rail hot seat

Dear Andrew, Congratulations on taking on a very difficult job. I am genuinely delighted that at last someone who knows ...
Scroll to Top