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 406: The core question of the rail crisis - what is Railtrack for?

Rail 406: The core question of the rail crisis – what is Railtrack for?

Railtrack is a paradox: a capitalist company without a definable product. Based on such a false premise, its structure is ...
Rail 405: SRA has failed to deliver the goods - a real vision for rail

Rail 405: SRA has failed to deliver the goods – a real vision for rail

The concept of the Strategic Rail Authority was a good one, which had the potential to be a useful cushion ...
Rail 404: A creaking structure badly in need of major rebuilding...

Rail 404: A creaking structure badly in need of major rebuilding…

Privatisation, we were promised, would lever in record levels of private investment to the railway industry, - but the suspension ...
Rail 403: Competition is weaving a tangled web on ticket sales

Rail 403: Competition is weaving a tangled web on ticket sales

With 2.3 million registered users, thetrainline. com has been one of the quiet success stories of privatisation and it was ...
Rail 402: Dithering SRA could delegate franchise decisions to judges

Rail 402: Dithering SRA could delegate franchise decisions to judges

By failing to lay down proper ground rules for the refranchising process, CHRISTIAN WOLMAR believes that the overhasty Strategic Rail ...
Rail 401: HSE ignores the interlocking causes of Ladbroke Grove

Rail 401: HSE ignores the interlocking causes of Ladbroke Grove

The Health & Safety Executive’s report on the Ladbroke Grove inquiry was supposed to be a factual document setting out ...
Rail 400: Recovery not on the cards without a national railcard

Rail 400: Recovery not on the cards without a national railcard

When the railway launches its great marketing effort to win back lost passengers after the crisis, CHRISTIAN WOLMAR suggests train ...
Rail 399: This crisis won't be calmed simply by soothing words

Rail 399: This crisis won’t be calmed simply by soothing words

Railway pundits are split into two antagonistic camps - optimists who believe the crisis will all blow over and things ...
Rail 398: No one - and everyone - to blame for rail's 'Troubles'

Rail 398: No one – and everyone – to blame for rail’s ‘Troubles’

All the major players in the railway - the Government, operators, Railtrack, SRA and HSE - have emerged with little ...
Rail 397: Gerald jumped before he was pushed back into the abyss

Rail 397: Gerald jumped before he was pushed back into the abyss

The reasons given by Gerald Corbett for his departure from Railtrack were accurate - but they weren’t the only ones ...
Rail 395: It would be madness to set this flawed system in stone

Rail 395: It would be madness to set this flawed system in stone

There was a depressing sense of deja-vu about the scenes at Hatfield in the wake of the latest rail tragedy ...
Rail 394: Cool heads should outweigh emotions in the ATP debate

Rail 394: Cool heads should outweigh emotions in the ATP debate

Never in the history of the railway has its future depended so critically on the views of two outsiders, Lord ...
Rail 393: Will the fuel furore backfire on rail investment plans?

Rail 393: Will the fuel furore backfire on rail investment plans?

The Great Millennium Fuel Crisis was hailed by the media as a bonanza for rail. There certainly was an increase ...
Rail 392: Industry, Whitehall and courts must act to vanquish vandals

Rail 392: Industry, Whitehall and courts must act to vanquish vandals

With three incidents involving vandal damage to trains every day, a catastrophe is in the making on the railway. CHRISTIAN ...
Rail 391: Two-nil to the incumbents, but the game has just started

Rail 391: Two-nil to the incumbents, but the game has just started

The new Midland Mainline and Chiltern franchise deals are replete with welcome promises of badlyneeded investment that will have sent ...
Rail 390: Rail must offer all-inclusive package for a new century

Rail 390: Rail must offer all-inclusive package for a new century

The early railways were vehicles for helping cement the different strata of society into a cohesive whole. But today it’s ...
Rail 389: A fabulous pot of gold at the end of the railway's rainbow

Rail 389: A fabulous pot of gold at the end of the railway’s rainbow

The cash bonanza announced for the railway last month provides a unique opportunity to create a network fit for the ...
Rail 388: SRA must have a destination before starting the journey

Rail 388: SRA must have a destination before starting the journey

Despite the pitfalls of making predictions about the railway industry, the Strategic Rail Authority should not be renewing franchises without ...
Rail 387: SRA finally exerts muscle for the good of Britain's railfreight

Rail 387: SRA finally exerts muscle for the good of Britain’s railfreight

The railfreight industry has, for too long, been overshadowed by the cash cow express passenger business, which calls the agenda ...
Rail 386: Heads, the private operators win; tails, the taxpayer loses

Rail 386: Heads, the private operators win; tails, the taxpayer loses

Privatisation was supposed to switch the risks of rail operation to the private sector. While the profits have been transferred, ...
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