Christian Says
Christian Says

Rail 993: Edinburgh tram success came at a price – and au revoir Nigel Harris
So how did the tram line in Edinburgh end up costing nearly twice its original estimate of £500m? That is ...

A newsletter with more links than a seaside golf course
Well busy does not describe the last month or so. Of course I chose May to go on holiday after ...

Driverless car vision abandoned
So what happens when a dream turns into, well, a pipedream? I spent today to find out by attending a ...

Rail 965: All hail the ‘Nobody gives a Damn’ railway
Christian Wolmar Let me introduce you to the NGAD Railway. Or you may have encountered it already if you know ...

July 2022 newsletter
It is difficult not to be depressed as I write this during the heatwave. I would in fact enjoy the ...

The value of economics to writing about transport
I fell into book writing by accident. In all my career, I have done everything a bit late, which is ...

Be careful what you wish for
The reaction by many rail journalists to the publication of the Integrated Rail Plan was uncontrolled fury. They railed against ...

March 2022 Newsletter: Railways still relevant in modern warfare
In researching my forthcoming book on the role of the railways in the reoccupation of northern Europe following D Day, ...

The original Northern Powerhouse – lecture for Sunderland University
It was no accident that the North of England was the cradle for the railways, nor that a self-educated but ...

The last newsletter of the year
The biggest risk of the long term effect of the pandemic is that we see a permanent change from the ...

Rail 946: Beware the cuts are ‘a coming
Amid all the hoo-ha of HS2, integrated rail plans and Great British Railways, there’s a rather more serious situation brewing ...

November 2021 newsletter
This is my newletter sent out free to subscribers - to sign up, go to my website christianwolmar.co.uk and scroll ...

September 2021 newsletter: a (sort of) return to normal
Life is returning to around 50 per cent normal, so this newsletter is focussing on various events I am speaking ...

August newsletter: The driverless car conundrum solved
I have finally resolved a conundrum that has been bugging me for several years. Despite writing numerous articles and two ...

Rail 927: Cutting costs on the railways is not easy
Let’s assume that ‘back to normal’ is, say, an 80 per cent railway. In other words, that the timetable will ...

March 2021 Newsletter
Christian Wolmar's March newsletter: Anonymity is killing fair debate Dear subscriber, The ferocity of the arguments over low traffic neighbourhoods ...

February 2021 newsletter
Oddly, in this short newsletter, I am going to promote someone else’s book. This is because I think Peter Walker’s ...

January 2021 Newsletter: it’s not all gloom but….
I have not worn a suit for a year. I hate wearing suits but I am so looking forward now ...

December newsletter: deja vu all over again
This is the newsletter that goes out to subscribers every month. If you want to subscribe click here There’s rather ...