Thursday 15th January 2026
“Cynicism”?
It’s hardly surprising.
Roger French
Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS
Rail investment: a brief history in 20 headlines
Thursday 15th January 2026
“Cynicism”?
It’s hardly surprising.
Roger French
Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS
BusAndTrainUser 
A wonderful reflection by Roger on Northern Rail fairytale. Starmer’s political broadcast last night was pure fantasy. Where’s he going to next as the man wanders the world.??
the Wandering Busman.
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Glad it’s not just me then.
Darryl in Dorset.
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Brilliant, thanks as always Roger. RC
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Two words, Leeds trams
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This seems to be the spirit of the times. Probably now is the moment for coming up with rail – and bus – infrastructure projects which can be substantially completed before the next election. If a Farage led government is next, who is to say what will not be cancelled?
If the main point of NPR is a faster route connecting Manchester and Leeds, get a simpler route designed and started a.s.a.p. If it is to give Bradford a better rail connection, that can be done – just make the prime consideration that it must be done quickly – even if we end up with not such a good final outcome.
In London, Crossrail 2 is already in the long grass: it may be the best long-term option, but if it is never built that is no compensation. But there are other ways to link terminals – how about connecting the Waterloo Wimbledon suburbans to the Overground Weavers from Liverpool Street, by enlarging the Waterloo and City tunnels. Don’t go in for Elizabeth Line style gold-plating (no awards for architects) just the minimum necessary to get the line up and running quickly!
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Why do they NEED a faster route from Leeds to Manchester? There are already two trains an hour taking about 55 minutes? It seems to me politicians will only consider big, headline grabbing, projects when much more could be achieved by simply improving what is there – junction and signalling upgrades increase reliability, while spending money on more rolling stock would avoid people being crammed into two or three-car units for long journeys.
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Why is it so difficult to improve the service between Liverpool and Manchester history indicates that there were 4 lines built between Manchester and Liverpool. All 4 seem to still exist in some form but only two provide through services
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Kicked deep into the long grass once again.
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It is bizarre that electrification west and north form Sheffield is now being proposed a few months after wires on the MML was ‘paused.’ (Euphemism).
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I realise that Roger’s article is looking specifically at NPR, but I can’t help but feel that the dithering over electrification is another rather tragic failure. The bi-mode excuse is a sticking plaster solution, and trying to invest in full 25 kV AC overhead lines still will deliver best value and reliability in the future. Yes, I realise the massive cost overruns for the GWR scheme but surely 12 coach class 387 units have genuinely transformed the performance of these lines now? The skills keep being trained and then thrown away which is one of the main costs.
One wonders what other improvements can be made on key arterial routes, yes MML Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham but other parts of the North and Midlands in future could provide a step change in railway performance and services.
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Always entertaining to hear from industry spectators who, if they were in positions of influence in government, feel they would do a much better job. Brightens up a grey Thursday.
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i suspect they would turn out like those Reform councillors: totally out of their depth when faced with the reality of governing.
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And then if Reform get in in 2029 they’ll cancel it all as they don’t believe in public transport.
Steve
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Government like these big announcements, but when it comes to delivering anything it probably
A – gets quietly forgotten and kicked into the long grass since there is a general election and there’s no money left in the piggy bank, or
B – Realise that they cant deliver the whole plan to budget and cut bits out, or
C – The projects gets delivered but late and over budget.
The country is littered with half built infrastructure projects and I fear this will be the same..
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Whilst the political point-scoring at every opportunity against Reform gets a little tedious, the stark fact remains that Politicians can and do promise the earth over rail projects, knowing full well they will be safely in the House of Lords (or coining it in “big business”) when the usual disastrous cost over-runs are revealed a decade down the line. But we live in a democracy, so it is up to us to vote according to our beliefs. Sadly, for most, that would actually mean new roads and unrestricted car use. Rail projects sound great, but actually impact on only a few.
Thanks to our Chinese “friends”, who apparently let a deadly virus “escape” (why would a Country develop such a thing unless to create havoc?), the resultant financial chaos inflicted on us and seemingly forgotten by most people, has simply made grand schemes of any sort unaffordable. So depending on who is in No 10, these promises or otherwise will continue to be made at every opportunity to keep the masses happy, and in the full knowledge, whilst desirable, cannot be afforded whilst they mis-spend our money elsewhere.
Terence Uden
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U.K. politicians of all political persuasions have absolutely no idea how to procure or manage high value projects of any kind. Our military will attest to this as countless projects have either over-run original budgets &/or been eventually cancelled. The lesson here surely is once state funded projects are agreed then ensure the treasury build in penalty clauses that keep contractors focussed. Equally, contractors should negotiate their own penalty clauses should a change of government result in changes or cancellations. If this is already the case, then it just confirms how inept the system is.
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