This week's #RailNatter is finally tackling the big question: should we abolish the Treasury? Luckily, Stian Westlake is joining us to attempt to give an answer!

Why should we do it? What would take its place? Is this a daft suggestion, or is there a meaningful, constitutional benefit to obliterating the department that arguably has caused the UK the most damage throughout its history?

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Well, he only went and did it. The USA's "most labor friendly president" has just used executive legislation to break a strike and ensure rail workers continue to be horrendously exploited until they just leave the industry.

There's also a lot of other stuff going on, some good, some bad. We'll see what the new Secretary of State for Transport (Mark Harper) is all about. We'll also see how easily buses could be made free in the UK.

Watch the @BadFaithPodcast episode I refer to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyaCB...

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This week, #RailNatter is joined by returning champion Simon Kendler to talk all things electrification... Where should wires go? When should they go up?

Having put a lot of work behind the scenes into RIA North's new Greener Faster Better report, Simon will talk us through what the process was, and we'll talk wider rail policy given everything else that's going on. We'll try and keep this one optimistic!

Find Simon's thread here: https://twitter.com/SimonZev/status/1...

Download the report here: https://www.riagb.org.uk/RIA/Newsroom...

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The UK has had another budget - it may, on the face of it, have seemed like a return to the boring nothingness of pre-Boris times, but it actually means increased cuts, reductions in investment, and more overall malaise with zero vision for the future.

What does it mean for transport specifically? This week's #RailNatter will pick through the Autumn Statement to see if there's anything to be optimistic about.

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This week's #RailNatter sees returning champion Dr Kevin Tennent help us tackle one of the big questions in the transport world... Why do people prefer trams (real ones) to buses? Why does fixed infrastructure drive greater modal shift than vehicles on roads only?

We'll look at why a "permanent way" is important (and also what it is), but also why it isn't the only variable that gets people out of cars and onto public transport.

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This week's #RailNatter sees the return of GUESTS (now the technology is mostly fixed)...

We've the pleasure of Tom Haines-Doran's company, talking about his new book "Derailed: How to Fix Britain's Broken Railways" - given the state of the railways, somewhat relevant I'd say! We'll be touching on worker rights, the state of management, fares, money and what on earth the railways are actually for... Not to be missed!

Buy Tom's book here: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Tom-Ha...

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RAIB recently published their report into the derailment of an High Speed Train at Dalwhinnie on the Highland Main Line... Thankfully this happened at low speed, but only by luck.

This week's #RailNatter digs into the report and sees what we can learn, and whether industry is likely to repeat this calamity again.

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I'm off on US shenanigans right now, so here's a very strange #RailNatter where I meander from York to Mansfield on the train, then drive back again.

Why on earth did I do this? You'll have to watch (if you care)... But we'll be covering HS2's eastern leg (again), suburban services, electric cars, Rail Alphabet 2, the Jacobean Style and Robin Hood. A feast, or chaos. Probably both.

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This week's #RailNatter is talking swing bridges, bascule bridges, sliding bridges... Because we're attempting to provide an exhaustive list of Britain's moveable railway bridges that are (a) still in use and (b) largely in the same form as it was when it functioned, even if it has been welded shut.

How many are there? Will I miss any? It's anyone's guess... Join LIVE to find out!

Watch  @Network Rail 's terrific little video on the Goole (Skelton) Swing Bridge here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzeTidU0INA

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This week, #RailNatter is dipping into what already feels like ancient history... The Hitachi UK train fleet was grounded by cracking over a year ago, resulting in widespread disruption and the withdrawal of large numbers of trains across the country.

The @Office of Rail and Road undertook an investigation into the causes and the required actions - and the report they subsequently published is what we are going to dig into together...

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