It's been ages since we've properly caught up with the news, so here's a massive run through of everything that has caught my eye since before I disappeared off on parental leave...

We'll be talking HS2 (again), Headbolt Lane, the Plan For Drivers, digging up the M8 in Glasgow, electric Class 08 shunters, Superloop, HS2, Station Hall, Harper's Tin Foil Hat and the imminent doom currently hanging over all of us.

Join the fun, LIVE on Weds at the new (possibly temporary) slot of 8pm - that's EIGHT O'CLOCK UK TIME!

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In what will certainly not be the only episode we do on the title subject, I wanted to chew through the research done by Sam Dumitriu and Ben Hopkinson not too long ago... They looked at project costs, trying (and failing, in my view) to get to the bottom of why things cost so much more to deliver in the UK.

I'll pick through their report and explain why their suggestion that cost is why nothing gets done in the UK is pretty far off the mark, and is at minimum a case of the tail wagging the dog, hypothesis-wise.

Sam and Ben's blog on the subject: https://www.samdumitriu.com/p/britains-infrastructure-is-too-expensive

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Well, as predicted by me in 2018, and then essentially confirmed as inevitable two years ago on release of the Integrated Rail Plan, this Conservative government of Hunt, Sunak and Harper have cancelled HS2, leaving the most expensive section between London and Birmingham as a rump to be picked at by Treasury vampires until it is impossible to deliver the full scheme.

There's so much to talk about, so rather than going though anything in a structured way, let's make this an open Q&A like our first episode many moons ago... It's the first PROPER LIVE one in a long while, so tune in and let's go!

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We are joined by the founder and CEO of Tended, Leo Scott Smith, to talk about how you turn an idea into a solution that can save lives... And we'll talk a bit about how the railway forms the perfect filter to sort pointless from purposeful tech.

Geofencing is used pretty widely these days, but protecting staff on track is a particularly tricky and critical application - and this is where Tended come in. Join LIVE at 7pm on Wednesday!

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In what might prove to be another cornerstone episode of #RailNatter, Dr Alex Chapman from  @theneweconomics  discusses his research into the economic benefits of the aviation industry to the UK... Or rather the fact that there aren't any.

Seriously - this is fascinating stuff and lays bare the ideology behind the disproportionate subsidy of the airline industry in the UK and further afield... All while rail continues to have funding cut in real terms. Not to be missed!

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Join @MrTimDunn and me as we dash around the @NatRailwayMuseum's new gallery - Wonderlab - in the only way we both know how... Chaotically! We have the most tremendous fun whizzing around what I think is likely to be my second favourite space in the NRM after the warehouse/North Shed, BECAUSE THIS SPACE IS SO GOOD (particularly for me as an infrastructure person)!

Want to know what it is all about? Well, we show you almost everything we can in the space of an hour, with an interview with Wonerlab's brilliant lead interactive curator Rose Mockford and genius Leeds-based artist Pippa Hale thrown in for some nice context. If ever there was a way to physically explore the inside of my head, this is it.

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It's the finale of our three-part odyssey through the former Yugoslavia, following one of the world's most scenic railways from Belgrade in present-day Serbia to Bar in present-day Montenegro.

We've reached the highest point of the line, and only have a limited length of line to get back down to sea level... And there are a few feats of spectacular engineering required to get us there!

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Leo Murray has finally joined us to talk about the latest invasion of car infrastructure onto our pavements - that's right, electric vehicle charging points are the latest menace we are having to negotiate.

But given we do actually need these things to be installed, how do we go about it? What's the scale of the problem? And what does "good" look like?

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It's the second of a three-part odyssey through the former Yugoslavia, following one of the world's most scenic railways from Belgrade in present-day Serbia to Bar in present-day Montenegro.

We're truly nestled in the heart of the mountains in western Serbia at this point, and indeed we take a wee trip into Bosnia before eventually ending up in Montenegro... This time we journey from Užice to Kolašin.

Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis. Merch at https://garethdennis.co.uk/merch. Join in the discussion at https://garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

I'm very pleased this week to have been joined by Hannah Lawrence from Stay Grounded, talking about the legitimacy of flying, the inequality of flying, and campaigning against the worst excesses of aviation.

There will be infographics galore! It's a great episode!

Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis. Merch at https://garethdennis.co.uk/merch. Join in the discussion at https://garethdennis.co.uk/discord.