Green Signals

Is HS2 Phase 2 about to be revived? We discuss an important new report to Government says we must not allow the West Coast Main Line to collapse. Richard takes a trip on the UK’s most exciting freight train with GB Railfreight – an alumina train from North Blyth to Fort William in Scotland. He also gets to go behind the scenes on Network Rail’s New Measurement Train – the fascinating Doctor Yellow...

Train strikes – the fight we all thought was over, just became more heated than ever. We speak to ASLEF’s Mick Whelan to understand what’s gone wrong now. Is it time to close the Island Line? We visit the Isle of Wight’s railway to find out. And an HS2 construction update as bridges and viaducts move into place! Subscribe: If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up. Better still, hit that...

The unscripted, uncensored, uncut blather from the Green Signals team after we've finished recording a show... When we finish recording an episode of Green Signals, the three of us always hang around for a while to chat about the show and what we've got coming up... so we decided to carry on recording and let our listeners in on the action. Expect some fun, more than a bit of silliness, an...

Is the most innovative and important rail site in Europe coming to Wales? We visit the Global Centre of Rail Excellence site to find out… CrossCountry services are cancelled on several routes and Transport Secretary Louise Haigh intervenes… Driver training begins on the Northumberland Line from Newcastle to Ashington, ahead of passenger services returning to the line on December 15th. Green Signal...

Without HS2, the West Coast Main Line will soon be rammed. We speak to experts Simon Pilkington and William Barter to explain why. We ask whether the problematic Trent Valley bottleneck can ever be resolved on the WCML. And controversially, we ask whether we should just cancel HS2 right now. Is there any point in continuing if we only build Phase 1? We also bring you some little teasers from our u...

HS2 cancellation of Phase 2 north of Birmingham means writing off £2 billion of costs. Restoring Your Railways (often referred to as ‘Reversing Beeching’) is cancelled by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves… and Richard is jumping for joy. Meanwhile, HS2 from Old Oak Common to Euston appears to be safe – for now. 75,000 fare evasion prosecutions are officially judged unlawful – we speak to a...

Glenfinnan Viaduct, one of the world's most iconic railway viaducts, is having major repair work carried out. The Director of Engineering for Scotland's railway talks to us about repairs to the iconic structure on the route of the Jacobite Steam Train The Government launches its first piece of railway legislation in double quick time – but we ask where (Shadow) Great British Railways has g...

Frightening level crossing misuse footage from Network Rail’s Wessex region highlights the true dangers of abusing the railway. ScotRail slashes 600 services and introduces a temporary timetable because of lack of availability of staff for overtime and rest-day working, as it battles on with the rail unions. World-famous Flying Scotsman heads to the National Railway Museum’s Locomotion in Shildon...

Is Royal Mail quitting rail after 194 years? Royal Mail announces that it will scrap its trains, but tells us it will continue to use rail services. The question is… how much? Louise Haigh becomes Transport Secretary and Lord Peter Hendy is appointed a Minister at the Department for Transport. We examine their in-trays and key priorities. Richard gets to go underground in the Severn Tunnel on a ve...

Could 75,000 train fare evasion prosecutions be unlawful? We discuss train operators’ use of the Single Justice Procedure and the rather extraordinary situation that appears to be unfolding in the courts. The Isle of Wight railway - Island Line - faces LONG closures for maintenance – AGAIN. LNER and other train companies launch a Be Kind initiative to tackle unacceptable abuse towards staff. It’s...

The man who ran the three largest transit systems in three continents… Andy Byford a.k.a. ‘Train Daddy’s’ list of jobs is quite extraordinary. He’s been Operations Director of Rail Corp in New South Wales, Australia; CEO of the Toronto Transit Commission; CEO of New York Mass Transit Authority; and of course Commissioner for Transport at Transport for London in the UK. There have been some massive...

Is the Jacobite Steam Train about to have a powerful rival in the new partnership between Locomotive Services Ltd & the Scottish Railway Preservation Society? We speak to LSL Managing Director Tony Bush to find out! We preview a not-to-be-missed interview coming very soon with former Transport for London Commissioner, Andy Byford (known in the US as ‘Train Daddy’) We take a thrilling ride on t...

Our General Election Manifestos special! We review the rail policies of the main parties: The Conservatives continue with their Network North plan The Labour Party continues with their Get Britain Moving plan And one party manifesto has Richard needing to go outside for some fresh air after reading it… But we have some good news too! Transport for London has ordered 10 new Aventra trains from Alst...

Lumo and the divisive issue of Open Access. Richard Bowker interviews MD Martijn Gilbert and things get a bit lively! Is Open Access on the railway a good thing or a bad thing? Or perhaps a bit of both! One of the strongest advocates for Open Access on Britain’s railway is Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director of First Group’s open access operations, which includes Lumo and Hull Trains. We discuss: M...

Flying Scotsman, the world’s most famous steam locomotive, is to have a new custodian. But what is a custodian, who are they, and what will it mean in practice? Jacobite steam train operator West Coast Railway Company is fitting central door locking after all BUT…only to Mark 2s it seems… Lumo trains and the divisive issue of Open Access. Richard interviews MD Martijn Gilbert and things get a bit...

Behind the scenes at Hitachi Rail’s Newton Aycliffe train building facility, where we find out about the process and skills required to build trains… and discuss why it’s absolutely vital that the Newton Aycliffe factory is saved. We also speak to the Rt Hon Justine Greening about the work of the Purpose Coalition. Keeping with Hitachi Rail… Avanti West Coast’s new Evero train fleet launches! Nige...

HS2 Phase 2 to Manchester may have been cancelled but the problems have only begun. How to deal with the 54 brand new Alstom / Hitachi trains on order? What about fewer seats being available on Britain’s most valuable route, London – Manchester? And then there’s Euston station – what on earth do we build now? Chris Gibb, a senior figure in the railway industry previously a director of Virgin Cross...

Hitachi’s new battery Class 802 train trial. We take an exclusive behind the scenes look at this ground breaking new collaboration between Hitachi, TransPennine Express and Angel Trains direct from Newton Aycliffe. Rishi Sunak fires the starting gun on a General Election. Are the railways about to enter a new era? Is Sir Richard Branson about to mount a Virgin Trains comeback on the West Coast Mai...

Jacobite steam train controversy intensifies as customers vent their frustration at increasingly poor service. HS2 – the Government makes a sensible u-turn on funding the HS2 tunnels from Old Oak Common to Euston… but did Labour miss an opportunity with their response to the news? We discuss the initial findings of our look into train drivers’ terms and conditions following the feedback we receive...

What the Metro Mayors want to spend YOUR money on – we delve into some of the transport promises in winning Mayoral manifestos and ask how realistic they are. Richard has to eat a bit of humble pie over Yorkshire; and The Channel Tunnel turns 30! This time presented by Richard Bowker and Green Signals General Manager Stef Foster. Green Signals: Website - http://www.greensignals.org YouTube - https...

Our Top 5 myths of rail ‘nationalisation’ based on the reaction to Labour’s plans for the railway if it wins the next General Election. We discuss what’s been said in the media and by others and debunk some of the myths that are starting to take root as a result. Rail Minister Huw Merriman was our most recent Big Interview guest we reflect on what he said and whether we agreed with him on everythi...

We meet Rail Minister Huw Merriman in his private office at the Department for Transport to ask as many of the big questions people have about our railways as we could. We cover: HS2 - the decision to cancel the line to Manchester, the facts about the project's rising costs, and whether Network North is a genuine alternative. Train strikes - we ask "surely it's time that everybody sta...

Trains vs planes – why taking the train can be up to 80% cheaper than flying and 17 times greener, according to new research published by the Rail Delivery Group. We examine the findings in detail… and discover some surprising facts along the way. Rail ‘fat cats’ earn big bonuses, while passengers face worse performance… but is that really true? According to the Daily Mirror it is, but we don’t ag...

Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has announced Labour’s Plan to Fix Britain’s Railways (Getting Britain Moving) – Richard and Nigel give their first impressions of the plan and pull out the key points in this special Breaking News Special episode. We answer: Will it work? Is it ‘unfunded and pointless’, as suggested by the Government? What could it mean for rail fares and ticketing...

The inner workings of the Department for Transport and Government finances are revealed in this fascinating interview with former Permanent Secretary of both the Department for Transport and the Home Office, Sir Philip Rutnam. Having spent his career as a senior civil servant, including in roles within the Treasury, there is no one better to tell the inside story of the Government’s relationship w...