#Railnatter

#RailNatter Episode 46: Coronavirus versus railways

#RailNatter​ started with the first of the coronavirus lockdowns… With the virus having been around in the UK for around a year, and with passenger levels still at less than 20% of pre-COVID levels, what does the future look like for Britain’s railways?
For Episode 46, we’ll look at a lot of the myths, forgotten realities and plans elsewhere in the world to get an idea of whether the doom and gloom currently being peddled is in fact misplaced…
Join LIVE to ask all of your questions, make your suggestions as to what happens next, and generally get involved in the discussion!
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter​ at patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via paypal.me/garethdennis. Join in the discussion at garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter Episode 45: A page-turn through the NIC’s strategic rail links report

For Episode 45 of #RailNatter, we’re grabbing a copy of the National Infrastructure Commission’s “Rail Needs Assessment for the Midlands and the North”.
This was supposed to be the stepping off point for a revolution in railway transport for the regions outside of London and the south, and yet it appears to have signified the start of a major abandonment of by the current government. But why?
Join me LIVE to ask your questions as I flick through the report and explore its contents in detail…
Read my piece on why the report was a failure here: https://garethdennis.medium.com/the-n…
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via paypal.me/garethdennis. Join in the discussion at garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter Episode 44: What is the South Wales Metro? (with James Bennett)

We’re back for our first LIVE #RailNatter of 2021… For episode 44 we are heading to South Wales, where James Bennett will update us on the progress of the South Wales Metro, and indeed explain a bit more about what it is.
Will I have to hammer the #NotAMetro buzzer? What type of traction is being used where? How much of the system will be electrified?
Join us LIVE for the answers to these and any other questions you might have!
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via paypal.me/garethdennis. Join in the discussion at garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter​ Episode 43: US railroads can be Good, Actually (with Justin Roczniak)

That’s it! 2020 is finally over! It can only get better, right?!
To celebrate, this episode of #RailNatter is a corker: we’ve got Justin Roczniak a.k.a. @donoteat01 off of Franklin and @Well There’s Your Problem Podcast bursting some preconceptions that us exceptionalist Brits might have about US railroads… Oh, and quite a lot of other stuff, too (this one ran long, as you might have imagined it might)!
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via paypal.me/garethdennis. Join in the discussion at garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter Episode 42: Snow versus railways (with Alex Priestley)

Well, everyone is hopefully stuffed full of carb-rich food at this point, and given that (for British viewers at least) it is probably four degrees and drizzling outside, I thought it would be best for us to think about snowier times…
Who better to join us to talk about snow than certified/certifiable snow nerd and in-denial Bahnnerd Alex Priestley? We’ll cover what snow is, how it impacts on the railway, how the railway deals with it, and two times we escaped snow-based railway calamity (and yes, we’ll mention snow sheds and jet engines mounted on flatbeds).
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via paypal.me/garethdennis. Join in the discussion at garethdennis.co.uk/discord.
This episode is also the meaning of life, the universe and everything.

#RailNatter Episode 41: What do the railways do at Christmas? (with Bonnie Price)

Yuletide Greetings, all! It’s the first of the #RailNatter holiday specials, and Bonnie Price has joined us to talk about what on earth the railways get up to when the trains are all tucked up in their depots!
We cover what a blockade is, what sort of thing we do when they are in place, and why we both think the future of the railways would be brighter if we were more comfortable with spreading them around the year a bit more…
Enjoyed this? Please do consider supporting #RailNatter at patreon.com/garethdennis or throw loose change at me via paypal.me/garethdennis. Join in the discussion at garethdennis.co.uk/discord.

#RailNatter Episode 40: Four fatal derailments that changed the permanent way for good

Four post-war railway disasters changed the modern permanent way (a.k.a. track system) more than any others: Hither Green, Tattenhall, Ulleskelf and Hatfield.
All of these fatal tragedies exposed cracks in our understanding of the way the permanent way worked, resulting in the industry learning, developing, and becoming safer. This week’s #RailNatter will explore the legacy of each in turn.
Join LIVE to ask your questions and hopefully see how important and powerful incremental innovation is.
Note that this episode contains images and descriptions of train derailments that some viewers may find upsetting.

#RailNatter Episode 39: What is slab track and why is it good (with Ivana Avramović)

I harp on about slab track quite a bit, not least in relation to its improvement in the whole-life costs and impacts of intensively-used railway infrastructure… But what exactly is it, and how does it work?
Well, Ivana Avramović is from PORR, which is the world’s leading manufacturer of slab track, and she’ll be joining us for tonight’s #RailNatter to explain all!
Tune in LIVE to ask your questions!