Green Signals

Is the news that Bradford Interchange will be the site of a new city station “absolutely massive” as Mayor Tracy Brabin claims – or no announcement at all? The clock is ticking to make a decision on a new test track facility in South Wales. Is time running out? And… We hear about how a software solution is helping people make more accessible journeys. ** Order books from Transport Treasury Publish...

On a recent trip to Berlin to attend the InnoTrans 2026 railway trade show, we had the opportunity to tour Alstom’s massive Hennigsdorf facility to the north west of Berlin. Whilst there, we saw the Avelia Stream Nordic EMU and new S Bahn stock for Hamburg and Munich, with the Munich stock being equipped for remote operation. We travelled on it whilst it was being driven from InnoTrans over 20km a...

Siemens Mobility is one of the world’s leading providers of rail systems bringing together rolling stock, rail infrastructure, rail services, and software solutions. In the UK, 3 manufacturing facilities and over 30 sites employ more than 5,500 people who amongst other things design, deliver and maintain digital signalling and electrification systems for the East Coast Main Line and TransPennine r...

Sir John Kingman is the new Chair of GBR GBR’s new HQ in Derby is announced. Are things finallyhappening? And we hear from Dr Julia Buckley, MP for Shrewsbury aboutwhat she thinks of the ORR’s decision to reject an open access application **Enter the Traingift giveaway to be in with a chance ofwinning one of two £50 Traingift vouchers: https://www.traingift.com/en/greensignals/?utm_source=youtube&...

Is Open Access finished? We ask the question as ORR rejects ALL applications for new West Coast Main Line services Is London-style ticketing the answer everywhere, or has technology moved on? And Richard divides opinion on rolling stock financing. Again. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:35) Is Open Access finished? (14:56) Is London-style ticketing the answer everywhere? (31:36) Rolling stock fi...

Few issues polarise opinion quite so much in the rail industry (and amongst those who follow what goes on in the industry) as the pros and cons of rolling stock leasing. One of the challenges is to understand exactly what people mean by rolling stock leasing though, because the model has changed so much in the 30 or so years since the practice burst on the scene as part of rail privatisation. One...

For thirty years, High Speed services between London, Paris and Brussels have been in the hands of single operator – Eurostar. Things may be about to change. On 13th August 2026, the ORR announced the pre-approval of Virgin Train’s Track Access Agreement for High Speed 1. Other operators are keen to join them. Not before time some would say. The rest of Europe is liberalising access to its high-sp...

Are trains now going to be owned by the Government? The new Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy suggests they might… Discontinuous electrification – a cost-effective answer to wires? Or short-term gain for long term pain? And RAIB releases their interim report into June’s fatal collision at Elstow. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:34) Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy (19:34) Disco...

The Vale of Rheidol railway that runs between Aberystwyth and Devil’s Bridge in Mid Wales is unique. It survived the end of British Rail steam in 1968 and was only sold to a private Trust in 1989. It has been run ever since as a profitable, commercial railway with no volunteers, just paid staff. For those who work here, this is their job. Their livelihood. Yet this is no Disney attraction. This is...

The Portishead branch closed to passenger services in 1964. The campaign to reopen it began almost immediately. Over the intervening years, there have many false dawns but finally, after decades of lobbying, the dream is about to become reality. Work is now well underway to reopen the railway and in September 2026, Green Signals was invited for a special visit to see the works underway first hand...

Government “calls time” on Avanti West Coast performance and announces nationalisation date… The Prime Minister makes his own comments about troubled South Western Railway… Meanwhile, East Midlands Railway seems to be moving in the right direction ** Book for the Beer & Music Festival at the KWVR ** In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:27) Avanti West Coast nationalisation date (15:15) Andy Burn...

Chiltern Railways returns to public ownership – and itraises some questions… ScotRail finally admits failures in its ticketing app launch And Richard reports from the world’s largest rail industryexhibition – InnoTrans! In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:31) Chiltern Railways joins GBR (06:36) ScotRail’s ticketing app (15:09) Railway News round-up (15:12) East Midlands Railway fleet refurbishment...

In the 1960s and 70s, the legendary Peter Rampton amassed a remarkable collection of steam locomotives and artefacts from around the world. He brought them back to his farm in Surrey, had a few open days in the 1970s and then pretty much locked the doors to the barns to keep the secrets within safe and hidden from view. Now, in the barn find of the century for narrow gauge railway enthusiasts, Col...

TransPennine Express orders new rolling stock – and it’s excellent news for Derby! But we have plenty of questions Avanti West Coast cuts services AGAIN; and Tickets will soon be automatically valid on other services when yours is cancelled. But is there a catch? **LINK TO GREEN SIGNALS LISTENER SURVEY: https://tally.so/r/lbGWQp In this episode: (00:00) Intro (01:10) TPE’s rolling stock order (17:...

Massive news for Derby, Alstom and TransPennine Express withthe announcement that TransPennine Express (TPE) have placed an order with Alstom for 29 x 5 car battery electric multiple units using the Alstom Adessia platform. The deal is to be financed by Rock Rail and the new trains will enter service from 2032 with full deployment by December 2034 The order is a major boost for the Alstom Derby Li...

More diversions! We look at GWR’s plan to keep customers ontrains over Christmas. But GWR are also struggling with unreliable Class 175s… And Lumo re-fuels a train mid-service… yes, really. **LINK TO GREEN SIGNALS LISTENER SURVEY: https://tally.so/r/lbGWQp In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:27) GWR diversions plan (14:55) GWR Class 175 problems (27:28) RMT update (29:39) Chancellor on cost of rail...

Away from the politics and the noise, from the debates about costs and benefits, the various teams at HS2 are quietly and diligently getting on with delivering some of the most remarkable engineering achievements this country has ever seen. Today, we have come to visit a section of railway that has more than its fair share of amazing engineering – from the West Ruislip portal of the western sectio...

RMT ballots for strike action over Driver Only Operation onEast West Rail Has Andy Burnham agreed a pay deal with ASLEF for AvantiWest Coast drivers? And digital signalling goes live between Welwyn Garden Cityand Hitchin In this episode: (00:35) RMT ballots for strike action (15:16) Pay deal for Avanti drivers (23:56) Railway News round-up (24:08) New Elizabeth Line trains enter service (24:57) Sc...

A major milestone was reached on 31st August 2026 when the Welwyn to Hitchin Migration area of the East Coast Main Line went live for ETCS 2 operation. Whilst the system is still in what is called overlay mode, it nonetheless represents a major success for the project. Green Signals recently had the chance to spend time with members of the project team as well as the drivers using the system in se...

Bewdley station on the Severn Valley Railway last saw a regular commuter service to Birmingham in 1970. Now, 56 years later, and thanks to a partnership between the Severn Valley Railway, the West Midlands Rail Executive and West Midlands Railway it is once again possible to catch a commuter service from Bewdley - and on a heritage train. Membership: If you want to see even more from Green Signals...

Is it time to get tough on CrossCountry, following a poweroutage that resulted in cancellation of most of its services? We ask why a £3m contract has been awarded for a GBR brandstrategy when the GBR brand has already been launched. And has West Coast Railways been denied an exemption to runMk 1s without CDL - AGAIN? In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:39) CrossCountry power outage (14:35) £3m GBR...

RAIB releases its initial report into the Lewes derailment Virgin Trains take a step closer to competing with Eurostar; and We take a look at the amazing HS2 station at Old Oak Common In this episode (00:00) Intro (01:04) The Lewes derailment and the challenges facing Network Rail (28:37) Virgin Trains secures track access to HS1 (35:19) DB Cargo UK up for sale (36:39) Disruption on LNER and East...

In West London, London’s new mega station is taking shape. At Old Oak Common, a brand new 14 platform super hub railway station is rising from the ground and when complete, it will transform train travel. The 6 platforms for the semi underground HS2 station are nowbuilt, and Green Signals has been invited along to take an exclusive look. And it’s fair to say, it’s breathtaking!

Finally, after years of inaction, it does finally look like there’s change coming to Channel Tunnel rail services between London, Paris and potentially many more destinations besides. There are brand new operators on the cards such as Virgin Trains, Gemini and Trenitalia. There’s the possibility of new trains as well as new services. There could be new capacity at St Pancras International, new dep...

24 hours of north west rail chaos following a power cut. Do mega signalling centres put too many eggs in too few baskets? East Midlands Railway – is there light at the end of the tunnel? And the latest proposal on Channel Tunnel services is seriously left field! In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:27) Manchester Power Cut (12:56) East Midlands Railway timetable restoration (19:05) Channel Tunnel up...