Green Signals

Storm Bert wreaks havoc across the railway with heavy flooding and high winds causing major disruption for trains. Richard visits Northampton station, which experienced major flooding when the River Nene burst its banks. Here’s just a snapshot of some of the problems: Great Western Railway was running very limited services at the start of the week and advising people not to travel. Greater Anglia...

Have you ever wondered what goes into make a locomotive naming happen? Well, this is the story… following the process to name GB Railfreight 66312 Nigel Harris on November 4. From choosing the location, to negotiating timetable changes, casting the nameplate, moving the locomotive, to the final naming ceremony, we discover the logistical challenges behind a nameplate finally appearing on an engine...

Great British Railways - Will it really take 2 years to create? We discuss Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh’s appearance at the Transport Select Committee and her comments on the creation of GBR. Is Northern Rail performance about to improve, or is there still a long road ahead? A deal is done on Rest Day Working for conductors, but many challenges remain. £26bn – that’s what rail’s v...

We take a behind the scenes tour of the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway to chat to WyvernRail Plc Chairman Neil Ferguson-Lee about how the railway is doing in the current climate of heritage railways that are struggling. We find out about the challenges of running a heritage railway and what it takes to make it work. And we learn about this wonderful little railway, while on a journey from Wirksworth...

HS2’s £100 million ‘bat shed’… and the real story behind it. Why Natural England have taken issue with HS2 Chairman Sir Jon Thompson’s discussion at the Railway Industry Association annual conference of a bat mitigation tunnel in Buckinghamshire to protect Bechstein’s bat. Jacobite steam train - is West Coast Railways considering another Judicial Review over central door locking in its dispute wit...

Wales train crash new evidence: RAIB (the Rail Accident Investigation Branch) issues a further update with new information on the Talerddig rail crash on October 21st What is going on at Northern Rail? And why is performance SO bad? A week after the Autumn Budget, what have we learnt about what it means for railways? The Welsh Highland Railway gets complaints from nearby residents about ‘acrid smo...

On November 7th, Green Signals was live in person and on YouTube for the very first time at the Railway Industry Association (RIA) Annual Conference, joined by special guest Chris Green. Chris is a career railwayman in both the public and private rail industry. Among his industry achievements are creating the ScotRail brand during his time as General Manager Scotland and then Network SouthEast whe...

Electrification and battery technology are never far from discussions about decarbonisation of the railway. There are a number of solutions, including discontinuous electrification and battery-hybrid technology. We visited Salisbury Traincare Depot, home to South Western Railway’s Class 159 fleet. Richard speaks to Neil Drury, Engineering & Infrastructure Director for SWR about how the operato...

The Rail Accident Investigation branch releases its initial findings into the fatal train crash at Talerddig, Powys, Wales on October 21. Euston station sees some progress on the Government’s 5 point plan – but will it deliver real improvement? Plus… Richard speaks to Chiltern Railways Managing Director Richard Allan about electrification, battery trains and Chiltern’s future In this episode: (00:...

This is a recording of a YouTube Live we did on October 30th - Autumn Budget Day 2024. Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her first Budget statement to MPs in the House of Commons and Richard and Nigel then went live for Green Signals members on YouTube to discuss what was in the Budget speech and how it affects the railways and wider transport. Membership: If you want to see even more from Green...

Sir David Higgins is known to most on the railway for holding two of the biggest roles there are – as a former Chairman of Network Rail and former Chairman of HS2. But he was also Chief Executive of the London 2012 Summer Olympics Delivery Authority before that. Australian-born, Higgins has returned to the HS2 spotlight as chair of a private sector consortium proposing the Midlands-Northwest Rail...

Ahead of the Autumn Budget on October 30 2024, Richard spoke to the Railway Industry Association’s (RIA’s) Chief Executive Darren Caplan about what the railway’s supply chain wants to see announced. They discuss: the economic value of investment in the railway, the importance of a pipeline of work to secure the supply chain, the part private finance might play, and some specific projects such as E...

It’s an HS2 special this week! Is an HS2 Phase 2a Euston to Crewe revival on the cards? We look into rumours that the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to reverse Rishi Sunak’s decision to cancel the project. Sir David Higgins – we preview an exclusive interview with the former HS2 Chairman. Transport Secretary Louise Haigh launches an independent review into HS2 Phase 1, led by James S...

Green Signals was exclusively invited to visit Alstom’s Derby Litchurch Lane train building and maintenance works to have a look around in the wake of the news earlier in the year that a follow-on order would be made for Elizabeth Line trains – securing the future the site. Richard speaks to a process manufacturing engineer who started as an apprentice, and to Alstom’s Communications Director abou...

On the evening of October 21st, two Transport for Wales Class 158 trains were involved in a low-speed collision, right alongside the A470 main road, near Llanbrynmair (east of Machynlleth) in Powys, Mid Wales. Sadly, one passenger has died and 15 others were taken to hospital, with what have been described as non-life-threatening or life-changing injuries. In this short bulletin, we lay out the fa...

Northern Rail threatens to prosecute a man over a £1.90 16-25 Railcard misunderstanding – but backs down Alstom’s Derby works – we preview a Green Signals visit to Litchurch Lane Northern Powerhouse Partnership leaders call on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to support HS2 Phase 2 alternative In this episode: (00:00) Intro (05:52) Northern Rail 16-25 Railcard story (28:50) Northern Powerhouse Partnership...

Freightliner CEO Tim Shoveller talks about rail freight's challenges and the battle against road haulage. Tim describes his early career and how he progressed to roles including: Managing Director of Network Rail's North West and Central Region, MD of South West Trains (where he led the development of the alliance with Network Rail), MD of East Midlands Trains from the beginning of its franchise i...

£1bn fleet of South Western Railway Class 170 Arterio trains in storage ‘because their windscreen wipers are too big’… but is that the real story? Great Western Railway’s Fast Charge Battery Train – we find out more about this exciting project. Euston station gets a 5-point plan… but are we impressed? And Siemens’ Goole Train Manufacturing Facility opens in Yorkshire! In this episode: (00:00) Intr...

Locomotive Services Ltd has a uniquely comprehensive collection of locomotives at their main headquarters in what was once Crewe Diesel Depot. We were privileged to have the chance to tour the site and find out more about the incredible work they do preserving such a comprehensive collection of railway assets for future generations, in what they describe as the 'Noah's Ark' of the railway. Owned b...

Is Britain is broken and what are the reasons it feels impossible to build infrastructure anymore? We analyse a new essay called 'Foundations: Why Britain has stagnated' Inside the railway’s Noah’s Ark – we preview an upcoming special video where we visit Locomotive Services Ltd in Crewe What is going on at Euston and is going to get a grip? Membership: If you want to see even more from Green Sign...

New Office of Rail and Road Chief Inspector Richard Hines speaks to Green Signals about his views on safety priorities on the railway, current hot topics in the industry and his vision for the future. Membership: If you want to see even more from Green Signals, including exclusive content, become a member and support the channel further too. YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@GreenSignals/joi...

Jacobite steam train – in an excerpt from an interview with the Office of Rail and Road’s Chief Inspector Richard Hines, we ask about the ongoing central door locking saga and Euston station. The RAIB answers YOUR questions about the Flying Scotsman crash report. And we talk about the BBC Panorama on HS2 that left us utterly appalled. Membership: If you want to see even more from Green Signals, in...

The ‘It’s not HS2’ plan (Midlands-North West Rail Link) – we delve into the long-awaited Mayors’ report into HS2 alternatives in the North The Jacobite steam train is involved in a potentially serious Signal Passed at Danger incident We follow up on some of the many questions we received about the Flying Scotsman crash report And we witness Pete Waterman getting a Freightliner Class 90 named after...

Flying Scotsman crash report – the Rail Accident Investigation Branch releases its findings into last September’s collision at the Strathspey Railway, which injured two people…. We speak to recently-retired HM Chief Inspector of Railway Ian Prosser CBE – and I ask him for his views on West Coast Railways and the Jacobite steam train And… Britain’s longest railway viaduct deck is completed as Richa...

Euston station: Lord Hendy – now Rail Minister - is accused of getting a railway engineer fired over raising safety concerns when he was Chair of Network Rail. We investigate… Shadow Great British Railways is launched and the Passenger Railway Services Public Ownership Bill enters the final stages in the Commons. An HS2 construction update at Birmingham as tunnelling reaches the halfway point. And...