Green Signals

As the country braces for more rail strikes in early December, we decided that Green Signals should focus some time this week on understanding how and why we've got to where we have with industrial relations.

What are the strikes on the railway all about? What should the Government be doing to put an end to them? We are joined by Graham Eccles, former Co-Chair of the Virgin Rail Group and one of the most experienced industrial relations specialists the railway has ever produced.

Graham tells it like it is and provides the best explanation we've ever heard of why the industry has got into this position.

In this magazine-style episode, we also discuss the growing problem of luggage on trains and the decision by some operators to start actively restricting what passengers can bring on board.

And we top it off with a chat with NSAR's Neil Robertson on the results of the Annual Rail Workforce Survey and the impending skills and experience shortage faced by the railway.

Network Rail Chairman Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill joins us for his first media interview about Railway 200... and it's a good one! Peter tells us all about the plans for celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of the modern railway in 2025 and how he wants all of you to get involved.

But beyond that, he also discusses the wider importance of the railway and why it is so vital that we take this opportunity to celebrate its origins both to inspire the next generation of railway workers and to reset the public's relationship with rail.

Outside our 'big interview' we also talk about Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper's recent appearance at the Transport Select Committee... spoiler alert - we weren't impressed.

We also discuss news of Alstom's announcement that it is going to start of the process of winding down train building in Derby.

Reflecting on our recent appearance at the Transport Select Committee, in this episode of Green Signals we are delighted to be joined by Andrew McNaughton. Not only did Andrew give evidence with us at the TSC recently, he was HS2's Technical Director and one of its first two employees back in 2009.

There is no-one better to talk to in detail about why HS2 was designed the way it was (and, perhaps more importantly, why it wasn't designed differently)!

Andrew brilliantly describes reasons for HS2's alignment, speed and capacity. But the really important discussion is that we all agree just how vital it is to fight for Phase 2A to go ahead, for a whole host of reasons that you really do need to hear. Without it, we have all kinds of problems ahead.

We also explain in this episode what a White Paper is and what a select committee does.

Aside from HS2, Richard has a bit of a Victor Meldrew moment while giving his views on the King's Speech. To say he was underwhelmed by the announcement of a Draft Bill for GBR is a bit of an understatement...

MD Mark Hopwood lifts the veil at Great Western.

In this episode of Green Signals we are delighted to welcome to the show Mark Hopwood CBE, the Managing Director of Great Western.

Mark is a career railwayman but is widely and properly recognised as one of the most visionary railway leaders of his generation. His ‘can do’ attitude backed by years of experience with a passion for delivering for his customers has enabled Great Western to deliver outstanding results, year after year.Mark himself accepts it’s not easy and the period we are living through is one of the toughest in recent times.

In a wide ranging interview we talk about the challenges of day to day operations and the very basics of running a railway company in 2023. We cover projects such as the electrification of the Great Western Main line, the opening of the Elizabeth line and the reopening of the line to Okehampton, pretty much the first and so far most successful of the “Reversing Beeching” projects.

Mark explains in detail why it is perfectly reasonable of the Government to want to keep a firm grip on costs – who could disagree – but we discuss whether the split of the P&L on today’s railway with the DfT in charge of costs and the Treasury receiving all the revenue really makes sense and whether it is holding us back in a return to growth. We finish with a discussion on whether it still makes sense to be running sleeper trains and Pullman dining cars in these cash constrained modern times.

Away from Great Western we talk about whether a Judicial Review of the Government’s decision to cancel HS2 north of Birmingham is a possibility.

This is a cracking episode with one of the railway industry’s best known and most experienced leaders and is one not to miss!

Some 700,000 respondents objected to the DfT and train companies proposals to close some 1000 ticket offices. Transport Focus rejected all the proposals. The result is a humiliating climbdown and U Turn for the Government.

Mark, Richard and Nigel discuss the issues surrounding fares and ticketing on Britain's railway, agree that it was absolutely right that the proposals were rejected as the Government and the train companies had done everything in completely the wrong order. We also discuss what could and indeed should now be done to sort out the mess.

In the light of the decision on HS2, we look at the West Coast Route Modernisation of 1997 - 2009 and discuss how close it came to being binned and how bold decisions got it done. We also consider whether the same environment exists today - and draw some depressing conclusions.

Nigel and Richard also launch a new feature on great railway journeys they have made and with surprising selections for their first choices!

We also touch briefly on a growing problem in the Heritage Railway sector and ask is there a crisis brewing?

In this episode, Nigel and Richard discuss the top 10 myths about HS2 and explain why so many people have misunderstood what HS2 delivers for the country - and why we are in trouble now that so much of it appears to have been cancelled.

There's also a bit about Richard's new role as Hon. President of the Class 40 Preservation Society and why without volunteers, the heritage rail sector in the UK wouldn't exist.

Welcome to Green Signals, the essential new railway podcast for anyone interested in railways: what they are for, how they work, and why we need them more than ever.

In this Trailer, Nigel and Richard reveal their first meeting on a Virgin Trains press trip to Italy, discuss the relative merits of Blackburn and Burnley and most importantly, consider whether the decision to scrap the northern section of HS2 to Manchester was a really, really bad idea. Or far worse than that.