#Railnatter

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#Railnatter Episode 233: Changing the UK's useless fiscal rules Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

We've been decrying the fact that the UK has crippled its own economy by imposing its own made up and entirely useless fiscal rules - in other words the rules on what it can and cannot borrow, and for what - for a long time. But the Office of Budget Responsibility (itself also pointless) has published a report suggesting these should change.

Will they? Why might this government finally change them? Will this definitely be good? Tune in LIVE to find out!

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#Railnatter Episode 232: The crash of Independent Air Flight 1851 Oct 02, 2024

Show notes

Every now and then, we abandon trains and talk about something different, then by the end of the episode everyone gets to see how much the episode has actually been about trains the whole time. This is one of those times.

The crash in 1989 of IDN 1851 is one of the aviation disasters that most grimly highlights how successive small factors can overlay to result in unavoidable calamity. It is critical to understanding systemic, widespread effects right down to seemingly innocuous human errors and their relationship to each other and to safety outcomes. It also happened on my birthday. So it's a worthy episode (in all senses) for us to look at and consider in some detail.

#Railnatter Episode 231: Fares unfair (it's a news ep) Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

I'm hosting @RailEngineers 2024 tonight, so it's a quick news catch up pre-record... and the emerging theme is FARES. Plenty of other things to look over though.

#Railnatter Episode 230: How to change minds and ingratiate people Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

They did it! Greens4HS2 finally swung the Green Party of England and Wales into having a viable stance on high speed rail, crucially meaning that the party can (a) hold Labour's feet to the fire properly on its rail investment plans or lack thereof and (b) it can actually comment on any transport or other investment policy at all without looking ridiculous.

It has been a long time coming though, and I'm delighted to say we're joined by Emma Garnett, sustainability researcher at the University of Oxford and key figure in G4HS2 and the wider GPEW. Her and the team worked extremely hard to make this change happen, and how they made this work is instructive for all of us who want to see policy change via grassroots activism. Not to be missed!

#Railnatter Episode 229: Euston, safety, and Hendy's legacy Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

Well this one's going to be a bit grim. We'll cover off some news before I open for questions on the Hendygate situation.

Safety, accessibility, and the railway's attitude to both are under extremely uncomfortable public scrutiny now, and so far the industry has not stepped up, so to speak. The situation at Euston shows no sign of improving, and the Rail Minister, Peter Hendy, is still in post. What's next?

#Railnatter Episode 228: Ireland's railways 2. Thoughts on the present Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

In the second of what will definitely now be a three-part miniseries on Ireland, we are joined by Iain (anoniaino on Twitter!) to talk about the what Ireland's railways look like today... lining us up nicely for the next and final episode on what's next!

#Railnatter Episode 227: Labour's pre-election rail and urban transit review Aug 21, 2024

Show notes

Before the election, the UK Labour Party commissioned Juergen Maier to head a review into railways and urban transport strategy... And it was published literally today. So the hell with the original schedule, let's take a look and see if it proposes anything useful - and more importantly consider if it will be ignored by Rachel Reeves.

#Railnatter Episode 226: Ireland's railways 1. A potted history Aug 14, 2024

Show notes

In the first of (I think!) a two-part miniseries on Ireland, we are joined by Iain (anoniaino on Twitter!) to talk about the history of Ireland's railways and how we got to the system we have today.

#Railnatter Episode 225: How The Railways Will Fix The Future Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

I DID IT. I WROTE A BOOK. And as an exclusive for all you lovely viewers, you can Q&A me about it and anything else you can think of in this week's #Railnatter... Plus we'll cover a bit of news off.

#Railnatter Episode 224: What's left of HS2? (a flick through the latest NAO report) Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

Post election, it's worth taking a look at the National Audit Office's latest report into High Speed 2 and the mess the previous government made of it.

With a new Labour government picking up the divine right to rule from Murdochs, Platts and Gerkos of the world, we've been launched headlong into 2010 austerity again - but what does this mean for HS2? Might they pick any of it back up again?

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