Christian Wolmar

‘The Times they are a’changin’, but no one quite knows how. The ‘Command Paper’ which was supposed to set out ministerial thinking on the structure of Network Rail and was due out before Xmas is still, at the time of writing in mid-February, weeks away according to the latest pronouncement from Justine Greening, the now not so new Transport Secretary. The delay is clearly the result of fundamental divisions within the ...

In the various railway history books I have written, there is a recurring theme of the fraught relationship between government and the railways. Whether it is in America or Australia, India or Italy, there is always tension in that relationship and a lack of clarity over responsibilities. Somehow, though, in Britain, that relationship has always been even more difficult and controversial than elsewhere and that is very much in evidence ...

The difference in reaction over the Network Rail bonus row between last year and this year. Last year, Philip Hammond railed from the sidelines and was basically ignored by Network Rail [thanks to MatthewDurbin for the correction]. This time, Justine Greening, threatening to turn up to a meeting of the members, seems to have sent Network Rail into a panic. I thought initially it was a bit of a naive ...

Justine Greening's idea of going along to the Network Rail members meeting to cast her vote against the bosses' bonuses exposes the ridiculous nature of the structure of the industry. Here is the person representing the interests of the government, which puts £4bn subsidy into the industry, casting her vote which has the same weight as Les from Dorking and Doris from Droitwich who happen to be members because they ...

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 ...

It has long been apparent that most of the difficulties of the railway since privatisation stem from the crass and uninformed decision to separate the infrastructure from operations. A recent column in Transport Times by the veteran transport writer (even more veteran than myself) Adam Raphael highlights the culprit: step forward Steve Robson, a Treasury mandarin at the time of privatisation who as Raphael puts it, ‘persuaded ministers in the ...