#Railnatter

#RailNatter Episode 127: Avanti and the ”unofficial strikes” (yes, it’s a News episode)

Much has been happening in the world of transport, so it's time to pause, take stock and catch up with current happenings again...
We'll be talking about strikes quite a bit, but there's plenty else to flick through, including the UK's broader economic outlook, the energy crisis and the impacts of the ongoing heatwave. Join #RailNatter live to get involved!
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis. Merch is at https://masquette.co.uk/collections/r.... Join in the discussion at https://garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter Episode 126: The Transport Select Committee’s Integrated Rail Plan report

It's a #RailNatter page-turn again - and we're sinking our metaphorical teeth into the Transport Select Committee's Integrated Rail Plan (a.k.a. #RailBetrayal) report... It's the one I appeared in Parliament for!
We'll dig into the detail, but it summarised by saying that there was little evidence of valid assessment in IRP, that government should prepare for their cuts to be reversed, that journey time benefits were not achievable and that there was not enough focus on capacity. In other words, they leave government's plans in tatters!
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis. Merch is at https://masquette.co.uk/collections/railnatter. Join in the discussion at https://garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter Episode 125: What if the InterCity 125 had never existed?

It's been over two years since we've done a proper alternative history episode (Episode 7 was on what might have happened if the APT had made it) so for Episode 125 it's only right that we look to the InterCity 125 (a.k.a. the High Speed Diesel Train) and have a think about what might have happened if it had simply never come into existence...
What might have changed? Would the railway renaissance that came about in the 1980s never have come to being without them? Might we see a very different-looking railway network today had they not appeared and been so successful? Tune in to see what I reckon!
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis. Merch is at https://masquette.co.uk/collections/r.... Join in the discussion at https://garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter Episode 124: Railways and modernity in Scandinavia

For quite a long time, Scandinavia has been a quiet hub of railway modernity - indeed, Sweden had the most per-kilometre electrification in the world for a number of years. Denmark has constructed enormous rail infrastructure in recent years, and on average trains across the region are pretty young. X2000s and various excellent metro systems are a delight to behold.
To talk about all of this good stuff, and perhaps dig into what we can learn from our Scandi pals, we've the pleasure of being joined by writer Dominic Hinde on this week's #RailNatter... Dominic will guide us across the railways of northeastern Europe with aplomb, and you can all ask your questions as it's a live one!
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis. Merch is at https://masquette.co.uk/collections/r.... Join in the discussion at https://garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter Episode 123: A collection of railway watches and where to find them

Well I am very pleased to say that this week, we are joined in #RailNatter towers by podcaster extraordinaire Alice Caldwell-Kelly (famed for @Trashfuture Podcast, @Well There's Your Problem Podcast and Kill James Bond)!
Alice and I will be going on a ferroequinohorological odyssey through time (quite literally) to see how small clocks and the operation of the railways are interlinked - and we'll also be gawking at some very fetching hand-held rail timepieces... Pocket watches and wristwatches galore!
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis. Merch is at https://masquette.co.uk/collections/railnatter. Join in the discussion at https://garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter Episode 122: Shapps’ terrible signalling tweet (and the VLR Q&A)

Well a lot has happened in the world since we last did a news segment, so it's another general news catch-up for this week's #RailNatter...
We'll focus in on Shapps' signalling tweet from a couple of weeks back, where he made a hash of just about every sentence he was fed - as well as looking at the horror show of the Tory leadership contest if our special boy Grant Shapps is the one who has the best stance on human rights.
Also, as promised last week, we'll do the Very Light Rail (both rural and urban) Q&A session!
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis. Merch is at https://masquette.co.uk/collections/railnatter. Join in the discussion at https://garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter Episode 121: What is Very Light Rail and is it any good?

It's a question you've all been asking for a while - what is VLR, and is it any good? Well, tonight's #RailNatter will hopefully answer that question!
I was at the first (?) VLR "conference" a few weeks ago, plus you might have noticed that I omitted the Revolution VLR tour that I did at Rail Live for last week's episode... Well, all of this is to be combined into this week's episode, so there should be a bit of a feast for you all!
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis. Merch is at https://masquette.co.uk/collections/r.... Join in the discussion at https://garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter Episode 120: Rail Live 2022!

It's Rail Live 2022 - and so I'm sending you another pre-recorded #RailNatter from the past!
Rather than running about like a headless chicken as I did last year, this time I'm running about like a headless chicken *with a plan* - we'll split the episode into four segments - exhibits, plant, trains and people - and have an explore accordingly!
There'll also be a couple of shorter videos to follow this one, including some nice timelapses of setup day...
Trashfuture rail strikes episode here for your listening pleasure: https://trashfuturepodcast.podbean.co...
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via https://paypal.me/garethdennis. Merch is at https://masquette.co.uk/collections/r.... Join in the discussion at https://garethdennis.co.uk/discord.