Green Signals

The venerable Mk 3 coaches that date from the 1970s and 1980s have served Chiltern Railways well for over 15 years now but everything is about to change. On Tuesday, 27th January, Chiltern Railways officially launched the first of its 13 Mark 5a trainsets, complete with Class 68 locomotive all decked out in a striking blue livery. Named Chiltern Explorers, the winning name in a customer vote, Rich...

The Great Western Railway. Brainchild of legendary engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Chocolate and Cream coaches and quintessential English Branch lines. GWR has always done things a little differently whether it be broad gauge tracks or diesel hydraulic locomotives. There’s the Great Western Way and there’s the wrong way surely someone must have said at some point…. Today, GWR conforms more than...

Northern Powerhouse Rail, or NPR, was announced by the Government to much fanfare on 14 January 2026. Up to £45 billion will be invested in the creaking railway infrastructure of the North. A new line between Birmingham and Manchester is going to be under consideration. Years of dither and delay ends now, trumpeted the Secretary of State for Transport. Many cheered for joy but a few scratched thei...

Northern Powerhouse Rail – Is it really a done deal, or just the beginning? A new line from Birmingham to Manchester! Richard thinks it’s bonkers… And we preview an illuminating interview with Great WesternRailway MD Mark Hopwood. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:28) Spanish train crash (02:26) Northern Powerhouse Rail announcement (22:18) New Birmingham to Manchester railway (32:14) Mark Hopwoo...

Imagine a world where you could arrive at a station, get out your phone and open an App, click Start journey, make your train journey and then at your destination simply click End journey – and then have complete confidence and trust that you would be charged the correct, cheapest available fare. Sounds like science fiction? Well, it could soon be science fact thanks to the Digital Pay as You Go t...

Billwatch returns… Scrutiny of the Railways Bill is heating up and the Government comes out fighting – but are we convinced? We preview a fascinating visit to see Digital Pay as You Go in action on East Midlands Railway And Network Rail gets the Clifton Bridge renewal at Penrith completed early! In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:30) Billwatch (38:25) Digital Pay as You Go trial teaser (42:45) Tha...

New rules on access to the railway are coming… and it couldbe bad news for freight Trenitalia gets serious about competing with Eurostarthrough the Channel Tunnel A further 30 stations in the South East get contactlessticketing. But some commentators are pretty angry…. In this episode: (00:48) Railway access rules incoming… (27:09) Trenitalia get serious about Eurostar (33:51) Cheadle station dela...

As 2025 comes to a close, we take a look at TransportSecretary Heidi Alexander’s first year… We review the key moments from 2025… And we take stock of the year that was Railway 200, with apreviously unseen interview about the Greatest Gathering. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:34) Heidi Alexander’s first year (17:08) 2025’s key moments (39:15) Thanks to supporters (41:07) Greatest Gathering int...

2025 finally saw some action to please those who have long campaigned for better use to be made of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link between London and the mainland of Europe. Virgin Trains was successful in winning the right to access the all-important maintenance yards at Temple Mills in North London and the British Government signed two Memoranda of understanding with the German and Swiss Government...

Leeds Tram is delayed until the end of the 2030s! RAIB issues an urgent safety update on lineside monitoring equipment And RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey makes some concerning comments in a recent interview In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:28) Leeds Tram delayed (19:29) RAIB urgent safety update (28:58) Channel Tunnel Rail report teaser (36:03) RMT interview with PoliticsHome (42:44) Thanks...

Great British Railways gets a new look… and meets with almost universal derision! Billwatch returns to Green Signals with the second reading of the Railways Bill And we find out how one of the biggest timetable changes in recent years has gone so far… In this episode (00:00) Intro (00:27) GBR gets a new look (08:03) Railways Bill second reading (28:43) New railway timetable (35:42) LNER intermedia...

Imagine being able to implement signalling solutions in days, not decades? Well, that’s the vision of Universal Signalling, an exciting new signalling tech start-up who are doing things differently – and to great effect. They also have a smart approach to research, development and roll out by starting small, building knowledge and experience and growing from there. Their first significant deployme...

It’s our first Billwatch! We examine the Transport Select Committee’s recent scrutiny of the Railways Bill ahead of its second reading this week… Great British Railways unveils a new livery for GBR trains. London to Germany by Eurostar! Excellent, but when can we book tickets? And Richard gets a behind-the-scenes look at a potentially game-changing new signalling solution… In this episode: (00:00)...

Avanti West Coast is forced to run a ‘Ghost’ Manchester toLondon train… until they weren’t, when the decision was reversed! Richard eats some humble pie over the fares freeze last week– and we update on how much it’s going to cost the taxpayer And after months of speculation, Alex Hynes is announced asthe new CEO of DFTO In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:29) The 07:00 Ghost Train that wasn’t (17:...

Booking train tickets in the UK is complicated – and knowing how to find the cheapest train tickets can be even harder. This is the complete guide, verified by experts, on how to do it. And if you get overwhelmed by information – just watch the bits you really need to know about, and make sure you check out the Quick Fire Step-By-Step Summary at the end. Your questions answered: (00:00) Intro (00:...

Rail fares are frozen for 2026! But is it wise and could there be unwanted consequences? No passenger trains for East West Rail until 2026 – more than a year after it became operational. We ask what’s going on? And we see the future of track worker protection demonstrated, as the use of “Lookouts” comes to an end on the mainline railway. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:35) Rail fares freeze for...

In a wide ranging and refreshingly direct and no-nonsense interview, Green Signals talks to Olly Glover, the Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson and member of the Transport Select Committee. We cover the Railways Bill, the role of Government, the need to put in place a rolling programme of electrification and investment more widely, the pros and cons of rolling stock leasing and much more. Oll...

The Secretary of State for Transport updates the Transport Select Committee on her Department’s performance so far. But what score does she get from Green Signals? Storm Claudia hits the railway, but one particular incident had us scratching our heads… And Northern launches a plan to reach 30 million more passenger journeys by 2030 – and we find out more. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:35) Hei...

The Railways Bill is here… but what will it all mean? And HOW will it be delivered? What happened when a Pendolino derailed at Shap last week? And Transport for Greater Manchester announces amazingticketing reforms! But where's the catch? BOOK TICKETS FOR THE SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY GREEN SIGNALS 'JOLLY'! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/severn-valley-railway-green-signals-jolly-day-ticket...

The Severn Valley Railway is one of Britain’s premier heritage railway lines. Running between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth it delights tens of thousands of visitors each year with its faithful recreation of a quintessentially Great Western Railway line coupled with bold and progressive events such as its very popular diesel galas catering for the more modern heritage rail enthusiast. We visited th...

This episode is livestreamed from the Railway Industry Association Annual Conference in London! The Railways Bill is finally here… Former Rail Minister and Chair of the High Speed Rail Group Huw Merriman joins us on stage And we round up the news from what has been a difficult week for the railway… LINK TO BOOK SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY ‘JOLLY’ DAY: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/severn-valley-railway...

Eurostar has been a feature of the UK railway landscapesince 1994. But in all that time it has been the monopoly provider – and the cracks began to show some time ago. The reduction in routes, the closure of Ebbsfleet and Ashford, the fact that Stratford International has never been used for Eurostar services and what consumers say are unjustifiably sky-high prices have all added to the clamour fo...

Eurostar orders double-decker trains – but will we see anyof them in the UK? The reopening of the Cowley branch in Oxford in announced…but is everything quite as it seems? And HS2’s link from Delta Junction to Handsacre junction isdelayed by a further FOUR years. In this episode: (00:30) Eurostar orders double-decker trains (21:39) Cowley branch to reopen (30:40) HS2 Handsacre junction delayed (35...

The Planning Act 2008 was designed to seriously improve (and speed up) the process for securing consent for major projects – by establishing something called a Nationally Significant Infrastructure project. But when the planning application alone for the Lower Thames Crossing has cost some £300m so far without a spade in the ground, can we say that it has? And why did HS2 still go down the Hybrid...

It is not that many years ago that the train operator in Wales was working to a franchise agreement that many criticised as ‘no growth’. Whether that was entirely fair or not, there was no doubt that train services in Wales were being run with ageing trains on infrastructure that in many places needed significant upgrade and investment. Fast forward to 2025 and the position has been totally transf...