The privatisation that never was
Let’s stop pretending that the railways were ever really privatised. When they were broken up into...
Latest Posts
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Rail 910: the campaign that the rail industry must run to save the railways
It is impossible to exaggerate the extent of the crisis that the railways are facing. Glib...
Rail 909: J’Accuse – the culprits wrecking the rail industry
(With apologies to Émile Zola) A letter to Boris Johnson, Prime Minister Sir Permit me to...
July Newsletter: The self-destruction of the rail industry
There has been pretty much only one theme to my recent writings – in The Times,...
Rail 908: The future is vertical…and the slavery myth
Let’s look to the future for once, given that the present is so bleak. I will...
Letter to The Times: Cut the bureaucracy, open the lines now
Sir, The process for reopening railway lines as currently set up is cumbersome and slow. It...
The Great British Train Wreck
Let the train take the strain”, exhorted British Rail’s famous slogan in the 1970s. More than...
Rail 907: Muddled policy wrecking the railways
I am at risk of repeating myself. I would love to be writing about something other...-
Rail 906: The railways must stop telling people not to use them
Whatever happened to ALARP? That’s the safety principle by which the railway is supposed to function... -
By acquiescing to impossible rules, the railways are killing themselves
By trying to do the impossible, the railways are on a suicide mission. Trying to enforce... -
May newsletter – one thing is certain: driverless cars are not the answer
Apologies for slight lateness, but I have just delivered the manuscript of my latest book, Cathedrals... 
Rail 905: Risk assessment is key to future of the railways
Boris Johnson’s speech to the nation on Sunday May 10th was rambly, incoherent and he...
Rail 904: Abnormal, the new normal
We are now in the new normal of empty train stations, reduced timetables and injunctions to...
Pandemic risks wrecking public transport
There is, perversely, something heartening about the atmosphere on the streets today. Kids are pedalling away...
Rail 903: The new normal is totally abnormal
As a journalist for nigh on half a century, who has covered all kinds of extraordinary...
