Christian Wolmar

On the scale of damning, the NAO report into HS2 is around 9 out of 10. Remember this is an organisation that pulls its punches, showing draft reports to ministers and generally avoids rocking the boat too hard, though it has improved since the disgraceful reign of Sir John Bourn who was keener on eating fat dinners with subjects of the report rather than investigating them. The report published today, ...

The confirmation that HS2 will need a paving bill in order to be able to obtain funds for continued preparatory work shows just how early in the whole process we still are. First the needs to go through, but then there is the much more complex process of the hybrid bill which will take 18 months or so to get through Parliament. It is rather odd that the government and HS2 ...

The 150th anniversary of the Tube, celebrated with steam engines being operated on the system for the first time in decades, demonstrated yet again the power of innovation, a theme about which I have become somewhat obsessed. The Underground system was testimony to the remarkable innovative spirit of the Victorians as the idea of digging up streets, installing a railway system and then covering them over again was truly mould ...

Now it gets serious. The publication of the northern sections of HS2 provide, at last, a real insight into the extent of the scheme and the difficulties it faces. It is interesting how the emphasis of the scheme has changed. When HS2 was initially put forward, the focus was on its green credentials, the strong business case and the faster journey times. Now the watchword is regeneration and bridging the North ...

Let battle commence. The controversy so far over the building of the new north-south high-speed railway line, HS2, has been led by well-heeled residents of the Chilterns who are seen as self-serving nimbys. Now that the northern sections of the route have been announced, the arguments will undoubtedly intensify and broaden out to examine the viability of a project that will cost at least £33bn and take ...

These are both the best of times and the worst of times for the railways. They are enjoying an unprecedented boom with record passenger numbers and an investment programme that even the most diehard trainspotter could not have expected from a Tory dominated government mired in the language of austerity.  Hundreds of millions are being spent on creating amazing new stations like Reading and Birmingham New Street, new trains for ...