#Railnatter
Join railway engineer and writer Gareth Dennis plus a wide range of guests on his semi-topical weekly talk show about all things rail... This podcast is uploaded after the live (or live-ish) show has finished on YouTube at 8pm (UK time) on Wednesdays.
Join railway engineer and writer Gareth Dennis plus a wide range of guests on his semi-topical weekly talk show about all things rail... This podcast is uploaded after the live (or live-ish) show has finished on YouTube at 8pm (UK time) on Wednesdays.
Episodes
Episodes


Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
The Secret To Fixing York's Traffic Problems | #Railnatter 285
Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
York is broken - traffic is knackered and the city, with its wonderful medieval core and rivers, barely reaches a fraction of its potential as a result.
It turns out there's a fix though - and it involves LEARNING FROM OTHER PLACES! Shock/horror/etc.
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


Wednesday Nov 26, 2025
Melbourne’s trains - with Chris Brownbill | #Railnatter 284
Wednesday Nov 26, 2025
Wednesday Nov 26, 2025
Chris Brownbill (https://railmaps.com.au/) has taken over! With Melbourne's Metro Tunnel - their Crossrail - opening this weekend, it is as good a time as any to get to know Melbourne's public transport that bit 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


Wednesday Nov 19, 2025
The PWI has to change its name | #Railnatter 283
Wednesday Nov 19, 2025
Wednesday Nov 19, 2025
It's time for the PWI (the Permanent Way Institution) - my beloved professional institution, the best of the lot, and one I'm immensely proud of - to change its name. And you can make it happen.
Find out more at: https://www.thepwi.org/about/our-next-chapter
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


Wednesday Nov 12, 2025
The man who destroyed Britain's buses | #Railnatter 282
Wednesday Nov 12, 2025
Wednesday Nov 12, 2025
We need a laugh (?) so this week we are going through a report written by Professor John Hibbs for the IEA (the bad one) nearly twenty years ago, and twenty years after Britain's buses were deregulated outside of London and proceeded to be completely decimated, where they weren't engaging in outright urban combat.
In its pages, we see why he and the IEA maniacs think that deregulation was great, and why moving away from it would be a disaster. As the architect of deregulation, Hibbs was (RIP) a dangerous, dogmatic extremist who has caused untold misery to millions, but reading this will be extremely funny because what he has written is extremely and obviously stupid and his elevation makes a mockery of academic transport "science". Hahahaha (cries).
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


Wednesday Nov 05, 2025
Everything you need to know about the Railways Bill | #Railnatter 281
Wednesday Nov 05, 2025
Wednesday Nov 05, 2025
Yesterday, the UK Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander deposited the Railways Bill in the House of Commons. Does this actually mean anything? Not yet, not least as quite a lot of important stuff about the future of Britain's railways isn't in this document at all, but it does help clarify the direction of travel, if not the destination.
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


Wednesday Oct 29, 2025
The real reason HS2 died | #Railnatter 280
Wednesday Oct 29, 2025
Wednesday Oct 29, 2025
Back in June the Stewart Review suggested a series of reasons why Britain's embryonic domestic high speed railway line was tripping over its shoelaces. Today, we dig into that report, with the usual useful context on its author and its subject matter.
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


Wednesday Oct 22, 2025
British airports that have got to go | #Railnatter 279
Wednesday Oct 22, 2025
Wednesday Oct 22, 2025
You've been asking for this one for a long time - YES, the airports episode is finally here! Which of the UK's 32 mainland airports (including on the island of Ireland) deserve to survive into the 2040s, and which must CLOSE? Tune in to find out!
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


Wednesday Oct 15, 2025
The city that’s choking itself to death | #Railnatter 278
Wednesday Oct 15, 2025
Wednesday Oct 15, 2025
A city I love and have travelled to many times for a decade now - Belgrade is a melting pot of culture, art and architecture, food and fun. And yet it is being poisoned by corruption, greed and car dominance. The result is a dying city - and a warning to the UK, given our cities are taking exactly the same trajectory.
(don't worry about the hallelujah chorus after the Graun extract slides)
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

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