#Railnatter

Justin Roczniak fixes Britain's railways | #Railnatter 297

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

Can the Greens win the Gorton & Denton by-election? | #Railnatter 296

This one's important. If the Greens win, it will end Starmer's short stint as PM and - as importantly - show that Reform are NOT the default winners at the next general election. But can they do it?
Transport is a key local issue in this byelection, and given its importance for communities and indeed the future of our democracy, it was time to create a new scoring system to help target where improvements need to be made: the PROCIV system. It's scientific - and it helps us see what improvements Gorton and Denton must see to make people's lives better.
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

Why the British rail industry is SO complicated | #Railnatter 295

I'm joined by not one, not two but THREE guests tonight, as fellow rail industry employees Georgia Haslam, Kostas Kuklys and Katie Williams help demystify the immensely complicated British railway industry...
Find out more about this year's Rail Week here: https://www.railweek.com/
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

Here's how HS2 gives Birmingham a metro system | #Railnatter 294

I've been teasing this one for ages, but we are finally looking at how HS2 gives Birmingham and the West Midlands a metro system, and what its wider suburban railway network COULD look like... Plus there's a bit of news.
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

The trans woman who gave us model railways | #Railnatter 293

Have you heard of Lillian "Curly" Lawrence? Get comfy for a story of genius, wit, charm and tragedy - and of a transgender woman who shaped the model railway scene perhaps more than any other individual.
We'll also touch on LGBTQIA+ history more broadly, dipping into the Railway Museum's oral archives as well as looking at existing exhibits through a different lens.
Here's a link to the project: https://www.railwaymuseum.org.uk/research-and-archive/people-pride-and-progress
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

Here's how the Spanish rail crash unfolded | #Railnatter 292

On Sunday, two trains collided near Adamuz in Spain in an appalling, extremely unlikely and hugely tragic crash, which so far has claimed the lives of 40 people. Enough detail has been released that we can plot out how the two trains derailed with reasonable confidence - and that's what we'll do, using photos and video from the scene.
Rob and Jamie from Podcasting Is Praxis drop in to explore the aftermath of the crash, and how knowing what the derailment looked like doesn't really answer any of the questions over its cause. We also cover a bit of news.
Listen to Praxiscast: https://praxiscast.podbean.com/
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 is the actual Northern Powerhouse Rail plan? | #Railnatter 291

Northern Powerhouse Rail has been announced by government, again, and this time what's being proposed is even more nebulous than last time... If we ignore Network North, that is. We dig into the details to understand what is being promised, what is new (if anything) and what we've been left since the 2020 high point in UK railway aspirations.
Read the full government release here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/northern-growth-strategy-case-for-change/northern-growth-strategy-case-for-change#northern-powerhouse-rail
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

The Audenshaw rail crash | #Railnatter 290

On 6 September 2024, a freight train derailed over a bridge in Audenshaw in Greater Manchester. At the end of 2025, the RAIB published their report into the crash, looking in detail at the sequence of failures that let to this event. It lays out a series of mistakes and engineering limitations that force us to look more closely at the way we run our railway and train our engineers.
Download the  @railaccidentinvestigationb7617  report here: https://www.gov.uk/raib-reports/report-10-slash-2025-derailment-of-a-freight-train-at-audenshaw
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