Can the adoption of a Swiss taktfahrplan provide a blueprint for rural and regional transport in Britain?This is the question we'll be asking tonight, as we dig into the plans for the Hope Valley transport integration demonstrator, what £6M is paying for, and whether it can work. We'll also ask: what is a taktfahrplan? Why do these sorts of timetables matter and how would they fix things in the UK?Read the Hope Valley takt report: https://hopevalleyclimateaction.org.uk/plans-published-for-mini-switzerland-a-national-demonstrator-to-transform-rural-public-transport/Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

Last week, the Campaign for Level Boarding published its letter to the Old Oak Common project endorsing a non-standard platform height. But what's that about? And how does it link to Crossrail's most expensive and damaging design flaw?

Read the full Campaign for Level Boarding letter here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vs7rqv8utn1s9ne3kah36/CampaignForLevelBoarding_LetterRegardingOOC.pdf?rlkey=onqv8b9bk0qcslvn1unthfdwu&dl=1

Watch Philip explain the level boarding solution at OOC in more detail here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KryXjiUycZU

Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

I've been teasing this one for ages, but we are finally looking at how HS2 gives Birmingham and the West Midlands a metro system, and what its wider suburban railway network COULD look like... Plus there's a bit of news.

Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

It's @Youngrailpro Rail Week! In the fourth (we missed one last year) of our YRP Rail Week specials, we are joined by the most guests we've ever squeezed into the format. Five mid-career panelists (most of whom are also former apprentices) are quizzed about building a career in the railway by an audience of current apprentices - because YES, it is also National Apprenticeship Week. And the questions are BRILLIANT.

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.

Why is the railway network in the North so abysmal? Well, a lot of it comes down to a rather dismal series of bad policy decisions made through the 1990s and 2000s inflicted by - you guessed it - the over-centralised UK government. Constant cancellations of previous projects has led us to the point where the current "TRU" is only going to finish delivering its outputs in the 2030s, over 50 years after the project was originally mooted.

This week, we'll look at that history and working out where things could have been done differently...

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.

There's plenty of news to catch up on, but the big question we'll be answering this episode is "are track defects a particular problem on the Great Western?" - and we'll answer this by looking at data freely available on the @office-of-rail-and-road's online data portal, accessible here: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/

Join LIVE to find out the answer and to pitch in!

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This has been much requested given the number of viewers from Ireland - to warm us up in advance of the release of the All Ireland Strategic Rail Review at some point in Spring, I thought we'd flick through the consultation paper (which is really good!) as well as getting our heads around the geography of the island of Ireland.

We'll use our patented* population network method to work out what the ideal railway system should look like, as well as considering the suburban needs of the big cities. There will be maps!

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.

It's our official 200th episode! How have we got here?!

To celebrate, I'm running back through the previous episodes since the Episode 100 round-up - but this time not in running order. We'll group episodes with common themes to see if we can remember what we learnt - and if we've learnt anything new since...

Watch the Episode 100 round-up:    • #RailNatter | Episode 100: Every epis...  

Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #Railnatter at   / 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.

Now I've been going at Hyperloop's jugular for years now, and suffice to say it remains total and utter nonsense unworthy of any technological debate and only marginally worth one at all. We all know it is guff intended to both delay real railway solutions and to allow car and plane people a seat at governmental and regulatory "mass transit" tables.

Yet Hyperloop refuses to die. Even when probably its most well-known company has now bitten the dust, entirely as predicted. Well, we'll dig into why this might be, and will take a look at the current status of all of the Hyperloop players.

Join LIVE at 8pm UK time to get stuck in, ask questions, and hope collectively that 2024 is the year Hyperloop finally snuffs it. Also to toast what is technically our 200th episode!

See all of the stuff Gareth has written about Hyperloop: https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3Agarethdennis%20%23loopyhype&src=recent_search_click&f=live

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Now this one really is festive - and it will be live, so you are very much encouraged to bring along your favourite festive tipple... We're asking the big Christmas questions: should the railway shut down around Christmas, and should we concentrate the vast majority of our engineering works over a period when so many people make the sorts of trips the railway is perfectly placed to cater for, and at a time when weather and blood-alcohol levels are at their most dangerous?

Join LIVE to share your thoughts, ask your questions and generally try to hash out an answer... See you at 8pm!

Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #Railnatter at   / 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.

Gather round the hearth for the first of our (still live!) festive episodes... This time we are exploring the story of the Torksey Viaduct, a tale which navigates the intertwining histories of railway companies, engineers, bridge design, competency, Megawatt Valley and more besides.

Grab a mince pie, pour a port, and listen in!

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.

The UK government's "Plan For Drivers" didn't end up being as popular as they thought it might be... For a festive treat, this week's episode is doing a traditional page turn of what we at Natter Towers are sure is a well thought-through piece of long-term transport policy* - join us at the usual time to take a look for yourselves!

*we do not think this

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Lots of people have been asking for this one! You may notice I use a lot of maps and diagrams on here, on Twitter, and elsewhere too... People act surprised when I tell them I do them all in PowerPoint, because it is the best tool for the job in most cases!

To get a free, interactive tutorial via the medium of me making up a few maps on the hoof, join LIVE on Wednesday at 8pm... Suggestions are coming in via the Discord server (link below) for where those maps are, by the way, and the Bristol Metro is one of the favourites!

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.

Have you heard of Lillian "Curly" Lawrence? Get comfy for a story of genius, wit, charm and tragedy - and of a transgender woman who shaped the model railway scene perhaps more than any other individual.

We'll also touch on LGBTQIA+ history more broadly, dipping into the Railway Museum's oral archives as well as looking at existing exhibits through a different lens.

Here's a link to the project: https://www.railwaymuseum.org.uk/research-and-archive/people-pride-and-progress

Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

The Department for Transport have stopped up the datafeed that gives us the UK's full rail passenger ridership, so instead we're going to take a whizz through the ORR's latest passenger rail usage report to give us a feel for what's going on, how demand is looking across rail operators, and what this means when we think about the future.

Join LIVE at 8pm on Wednesday!

Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #Railnatter at   / 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.

This week, friend of the show Zach joins us to talk about the tramways and railways of Jersey, what they looked like at their zenith and what became of them... We'll even have a stab at reckoning if there's a good case for bringing them back!

Join LIVE at 8pm on Wednesday!

Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #Railnatter at   / 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.

Two years ago, two Class 158 trains crashed into each other at Salisbury Tunnel Junction following an extreme storm.

This week, we'll read through the recently published RAIB report to understand what happened and why - vegetation management and low adhesion will be big themes...

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.

On the 3rd October 1983, the UK's first modern high speed line was fully opened between Doncaster and York...

Chris Valkoinen from the @NatRailwayMuseum contacted us to say he'd found a pile of technical drawings relating to the Selby Diversion and suggested we take a look - so that's precisely what this #Railnatter shall do in celebration of this momentous occasion!

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On the 5th November 1993 (remember, remember, etc) the Railways Act 1993 received royal assent, and the wheels were truly set in motion for the atomisation of British Rail... An event that would lead us right into the mess we have today.

To "celebrate" its 30th anniversary, I thought we'd have split tonight's show into two parts. The first will be a page-turn of the dismal white paper (New Opportunities For The Railways) co-authored by the @adamsmithinstitute and @hmtreasuryuk that gave us the industry structure we have today. The second will be a discussion of how we unpick the mess and how the next government should prioritise its fixing of Britain's railways.

Join LIVE on Weds at the new slot of 8pm!

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

On Sunday, two trains collided near Adamuz in Spain in an appalling, extremely unlikely and hugely tragic crash, which so far has claimed the lives of 40 people. Enough detail has been released that we can plot out how the two trains derailed with reasonable confidence - and that's what we'll do, using photos and video from the scene.

Rob and Jamie from Podcasting Is Praxis drop in to explore the aftermath of the crash, and how knowing what the derailment looked like doesn't really answer any of the questions over its cause. We also cover a bit of news.

Listen to Praxiscast: https://praxiscast.podbean.com/

Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

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!

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.

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?

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.

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.

It's the first 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.

This is the first three hours of the trip, distilled down by an enormous factor into a... one hour episode. We get from Belgrade to Užice.

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.

This week, we're joined by two of the Dovetail Games team to talk all things train simulation... Matt Peddlesden (executive producer) and Joseph Rogers (brand manager for Train Sim World, WSR volunteer) will take us on an odyssey of discovery on how you research, develop and expand train simulation games!

Join me and the Dovetail Games crew LIVE on Wednesday at 7pm to ask your questions!

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.

HS2 has, once again, been in the news, now that the Infrastructure Projects Authority (not beer related) has said the project may be unachievable, which won't be news to viewers of course. Anyway, government has responded to the Transport Select Committee's IRP report, and several Yorkshire councils have published their proposals for getting HS2 trains up to Leeds and the North East.

Basically, a bit of an HS2 update is required, so join LIVE on Wednesday at 7pm to get involved!

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.

This week #RailNatter is joined by the managing director of ScotRail - or rather, of Scotland's Railway, the alliance of organisations that run rail services in Scotland. That's right - Alex Hynes is joining us to talk about the direction that Scotland's railways are going in, balancing the needs of policymakers and operations, and what exactly the current structure of Scottish railway operations is.

Join LIVE on Wednesday at 7pm.

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.

It's a news episode, and there's so much to catch up on... more HS2 mess, bad on-demand buses, the continuing demise of Translohr, the dreadful Odisha train crash in India, diminishing pay across the GB rail industry, and so much more.

Join LIVE on Wednesday at 7pm.

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.

Northern Powerhouse Rail has been announced by government, again, and this time what's being proposed is even more nebulous than last time... If we ignore Network North, that is. We dig into the details to understand what is being promised, what is new (if anything) and what we've been left since the 2020 high point in UK railway aspirations.

Read the full government release here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/northern-growth-strategy-case-for-change/northern-growth-strategy-case-for-change#northern-powerhouse-rail

Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

We've the delight this week of being joined by Emily Turner of  @roundelroundwego  to talk about railway and transport fandom, what it is, how some of its tropes can be off-putting, and how making it more inclusive is a bonus for everyone involved... Including industry itself.

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.

In a very last minute change to the schedule, we are in fact going to do a good old fashioned #RailNatter Q&A on today's horrible news about ticket office closures.

Get your ragey questions ready and join the show LIVE at 7pm to get stuck in!

Useful RMT campaign page with all the various consultation links: https://www.rmt.org.uk/campaigns/rail/save-ticket-offices/

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.

This week we are joined by Juliet Phillips from E3G to talk about how hydrogen has been disrupting the home heating market... and not for the better. It's a sorry tale that we in transportation should pay close attention to.

Join LIVE at 7pm on Wednesday!

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.

It's a fun one, and some engineering history for you all... 120 years ago, give or take a few days, the patent was placed for what would become the modern windscreen wiper, a vital safety device that we all take for granted.

But how many of them can I find in the  @NatRailwayMuseum ? Why do we know of so few women inventors? Why do I always end up in the Warehouse?

All questions I'll attempt to tackle LIVE(ish) at 7pm on Wednesday - and there'll be challenges for you, the viewer!

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.

In sad news, a vital facility for plugging the UK rail skills gap has been abandoned to rot... But why?

We'll talk about how the college came about, its poor management from the off, the non-existent strategic planning that led to its demise, and will remind ourselves of what we've lost.

Join LIVE at 7pm on Wednesday!

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.

This week we are talking all things mobility and mining, and we've the absolute pleasure of being joined by Thea Riofrancos, Associate Professor of Political Science at Providence College.

With her research being focused on resource extraction, renewable energy, climate change, green technology and social movements, she's the perfect person to explain why building our transport future around resource-intensive technologies such as lithium batteries is a non-starter, and indeed that we should be pushing back against it as hard as we can.

Join us LIVE at 7pm UK time!

Link to the More Mobility, Less Mining project: https://www.climateandcommunity.org/more-mobility-less-mining

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Okay, so we won't just be talking about Elon Musk fumbling the bag... It's a news episode and there's plenty to catch up on!

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.

Our very special pilgrimage site of Colton Junction suffered a catastrophic (but all too common) failure this week, and so it seems like a good chance to talk about crossing noses, what they are, why they fail and how we can stop them failing.

May or may not include gratuitous imagery of Colton Junction's fabulous equal splits.

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This week we are looking at two rail crashes, one at Pitlochry in Scotland and another at Pershore in Worcestershire, that took place in the 1980s.

Thankfully, neither involved serious injuries, but both incidents can teach us a few things, despite having been mostly forgotten... Including the unforeseen side-effects of introducing new bits into dynamic engineering systems like railways.

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This week's #RailNatter is a return to Gerrards Cross and all the shenanigans that led a tunnel with a Tesco on it to collapse onto a live railway...

Why did the HSE not publish their original report? Well, thanks to an intrepid fan of the show, we've finally got hold of it! We'll be lawyering up as we flick through the pages of the draft report and stare in horror and the engineering negligence that nearly led to a multi-fatality rail disaster.

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On 6 September 2024, a freight train derailed over a bridge in Audenshaw in Greater Manchester. At the end of 2025, the RAIB published their report into the crash, looking in detail at the sequence of failures that let to this event. It lays out a series of mistakes and engineering limitations that force us to look more closely at the way we run our railway and train our engineers.

Download the  @railaccidentinvestigationb7617  report here: https://www.gov.uk/raib-reports/report-10-slash-2025-derailment-of-a-freight-train-at-audenshaw

Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

It's an age-old question... A rail bridge is out, only the rails are left, so do you take the train fast or slow over the bridge?

There's a lot to think about: gravity, dynamics, waves, stiffness, materials, energy, vibrations... All combine to give us the answer. But what is it? It's slow - you obviously drive slowly over the dang bridge! Anyway, hopefully this will explain why!

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Last week, the TUC published their report "Public transport fit for the climate emergency" and, in classic #RailNatter style, we are going to sift through it page by page!

Having only really flicked through it up to this point, this report appears to dig deeper into my "rail capacity needs to double by 2050" figure and comes out showing this looks to actually be an underestimate. Union researchers are pretty rigorous, and so I'm keen to see what they've found...

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It's another #NotAMetro episode! This time, though, we are diving into the strangest transport systems to see if we can break the #NotAMetro sorter...

Intensive bus services, monorails, airport doodads, all welcome! Throw your most bonkers urban transit solution at me, LIVE!

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.