#Railnatter

A year after being created, GBRX has done one thing: write a rail industry AI action plan. And it is absolutely shambolic. It is also insightful about the direction Britain's railways are being taken in, and who is taking them there. Featuring: Amazon, Google, NVIDIA, OpenAI and... Palantir. It's grim, but it's important. Read Cory Doctorow's essay: https://pluralistic.net/2026/08/01/dare-snot/#i-will-fucking-piledrive-you-if-you-mention-ai-again 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

Since 2020, Britain's railways have seen drastic cuts in timetabled services across much of the country. But what have these cuts done for overcrowding? How have they impacted on growth? And which cities and operators are now chronically overcrowded? Thanks to MUCH DATA, we'll fling at high speed through a detailed picture of the railway that we have, and the railway that we need. Read the NEF report here: https://neweconomics.org/2026/07/cutting-the-transport-cost-of-living 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 had a change in leadership for the country, but not for transport, and that means that the creation of GBR continues unaltered. In an episode of two halves, we'll first look at what the IDEAL railway organisation looks like, and how it fits into the wider transport picture. In the second half, we'll talk to Jo Grew, strategy director for GWR and NR Western, to understand what integrated operations like in practice, and remind ourselves: what is this all for? 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 a corker tonight - the long-awaited network development episode for Yorkshire and the North East (outside of WY, SY and Tyne/Wear). Where are the gaps? What are the new bits of railway we need to maximise the railways' ability to get people and goods off the road? Join us for the first of a four-part mini-series! 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

Tonight, we’re talking about the Titfield Thunderbolt! To celebrate its re-release in 4K we’ll be speaking to the team behind its loving restoration, talking about its impact and where its predictions hit the mark (and where they perhaps didn’t) and we’ll be taking a deeper look at the railway that inspired it all – the @TalyllynRailway1865 .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 have a packed show for you tonight! We start at the new Cambridge South station, taking stock of what major station budgets can buy you. Then we review Starmer's Labour legacy for railways, and how much of Louise Haigh's original vision remains intact. Then we blast our way through two months of news - joined by @MikeWillSee of @NetworkNewsUK !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

On 21 October 2024, two Welsh regional trains collided with each other at Talerddig on the line between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury, resulting in the death of a passenger and serious injuries to three others. A week ago, the RAIB released their final report into this terrible crash.Given extra poignance by the appalling crash between two East Midlands trains near Bedford last week, this episode we'll ask the question: how do trains crash into each other on today's highly protected railway?Full RAIB report: https://www.gov.uk/raib-reports/report-08-slash-2026-collision-between-two-passenger-trains-near-talerddigSupport #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

He's back! Chris Brownbill grips the reverser for this week's episode with another trip to an Australian city: this time we are in ADELAIDE, or rather TARNDANYA. We cover all manner of transport systems, but we hone in on the O-BAHN for its pure ridiculousness, and I bring a long a bit of a historical deep-dive.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

Well, they did it. Labour got a drubbing and are in the process of collapsing. The Tories are nowhere. Reform are ascendant and the Greens are hot on their tails. But what does it mean for transport in Britain? What does it mean for GBR? We'll get stuck in, alongside a bit of news too.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

Westminster has always infantilised local elections, but local authorities are the most persistent interface between our lives and the functioning state, and this is absolutely true when it comes to transport.In this "local" election special, we'll dig into this relationship, talking with Nathan Goldup-John, first candidate in Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd and Charlotte Husnjak, second candidate in Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf, to explore the relationship between local and devolved government and the scale of their ability to change how transport works for you.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

This month, the Foundation for Integrated Transport released its paper on decarbonising suburban transport in Britain. Led by Jonathan Bray, it looks at the key challenges with providing adequate transport options to Britain's suburban communities, it picks out the main lessons we can learn from other cities that are way ahead of the UK on this, and makes a series of recommendations for the UK government. But are they enough? As ever, we'll dig in together to find out. For the wider, time critical, context, we are also joined for a look at the UK's transport decarbonisation plans - or lack thereof - with Professor Greg Marsden of Leeds ITS.Suburbs report here: https://integratedtransport.org.uk/new-report-decarbonising-suburban-transport-ways-of-thinking-and-actingGreg's overshoot report here: https://in-fuze.org.uk/overshoot-report/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

What if we've been getting railway upgrades wrong for decades? What if big, grand, finite projects were about the worst way to deliver the change to transport Britain so desperately needs? By looking at what the Transpennine Route Upgrade is delivering in detail, including the latest look at some massive civil engineering, we'll ask ourselves: "What if the secret to modernising a nation’s infrastructure isn't a grand opening ceremony, but a series of tiny, invisible victories?"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

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

This week we are talking about Network Rail's PLPR train - the incredible and now pretty experienced train that put machine learning into practice in a way that makes today's AI boosters look more like hucksters than they already are. Alex Cusdin joins us to talk through the train and its tech, and tell the story of how it came into being. Capturing an incredible 18TB of data a day, this train captures 70,000 photos a second to enable a very high resolution view of the track to automate and improve inspection, in the process making railways safer. This is an example, now well proven, of how technologies can be applied to make better use of skilled people, rather than displacing them. And it's about to be replaced. 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

In the first of a series of chats with political leaders who are shaping the mobility landscape in the UK, I was delighted to spend a long lunch with Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the TSSA. We talked about a range of subjects including union saturation into the consultancy world, the Iran war and its impacts on the cost of living, rail reform and GBR, as well as her current campaign on violence against transport workers. Join our chat in the TSSA office and on a multi-train adventure in East London - with extra bits to follow in the bonus. Head to Michael's @NetworkNewsUK for more on Liverpool Street station. 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

10 hours, 22 locations and about 100 miles (probably) of travel later, and we've got a real feast of an episode to mark our 300th... Tonight, we rate ALL OF LEEDS for mobility using our patented science-based system: the PROCIV system. In doing so, we will consider the West Yorkshire mass transit plans and whether they are prioritising the right solutions. We'll also drop a few bombshells, not least a reminder how much was spent on a pointless new bypass for part of Leeds in 2025! 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

Back at the start of February, the UK's Transport Select Committee published its report into rail investment pipelines and how to end the boom and bust cycle that double prices and delays improvements... But is the report any good? Does it propose any useful solutions? Will government have any interest in doing anything it suggests? It's a classic page-turn, and you can grab the report yourself, here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8739/rail-investment-pipelines-ending-boom-and-bust/publications/ 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

Are there three movies that better define US transit culture better than Speed (1994), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and The Warriors (1979)? Probably not, if our guest this week is to be believed! Because who could be better to guide us on this silver screen odyssey than Josh Boerman, co-host of @TheWorstOfAllPossibleWorlds and @IllConceived ? Nobody, that's who! 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 a delight to say we welcome back Justin Roczniak of @wtyppod fame as we sift through some local, national and international news and try to work out: WHAT IS GOING ON? 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