It’s another busy episode with plenty to talk about… and this time, we’ve gone ‘on location’ too! Richard Bowker reports from Siemens Mobility’s HQ in Chippenham, where he attended a very special event on December 12 which marked 35 years since the notorious Clapham rail accident in which 35 people died and a further 69 suffered life-changing injuries. It was a tragic disaster that led to fundamental changes in railway safety management. Then we return to Scotland for part 2 of our exploration of railways north of the border, speaking to Director of Rail at Transport Scotland Bill Reeve, who gives us a strategic and government perspective… and it’s a fascinating chat! Finally, we have a frank discussion about the major incident at Paddington on December 7, which led to stranded passengers self-evacuating. And Richard doesn’t pull his punches on this one…

In this special extra episode of Green Signals, we remember the life of rail elder statesman Peter Norman Townend who died on October 18th at the grand old age of 98. A railwayman whose career began in 1941 at the age of 16, as a premium apprentice for the London & North Eastern Railway at Doncaster ‘Plant’ – as its headquarters was known locally – Peter was undoubtedly best-known for his time as Shedmaster at ‘Top Shed’ at London’s King’s Cross during the last great days of steam, in the later 1950s and early 1960s. Peter's is a legendary name to many on and around the railway. After steam went, he served the emerging modern industry with distinction too, as the King’s Cross Divisional Traction & Rolling Stock Engineer and took early retirement in 1984. To the end of his days, Peter acted as a unique adviser to organisations including the National Railway Museum and the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, during its audacious building of Tornado. No-one understood the Gresley ‘Pacific’ in particular like Peter Townend. In his days at King’s Cross, he had a squadron of 40 ‘Pacifics’ in his care. Presenters Nigel Harris and Stef Foster are joined by Tony Streeter (Associate Editor, Trackside magazine), Steve Davies (Former Director of the National Railway Museum), and Mark Townend (Peter's son).

This time, we’re heading north of the border with special guest Alex Hynes (Managing Director, Scotland’s Railway) to find out why they seem to keep getting it right on railways in Scotland when the rest of the UK struggles. We talk alignment of track and train, the Sleeper, and rolling stock. Richard Bowker puts his cynical accountant’s hat on to question the gamble Scotland has taken to scrap Peak fares for a six-month trial period. And we find out how Scotland is responding to one of its biggest challenges – resilience in the face of climate change. Away from Scotland, we pay tribute to the late Alistair Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish and former Secretary of State for Transport, who died shortly before we recorded this episode.

As the country braces for more rail strikes in early December, we decided that Green Signals should focus some time this week on understanding how and why we've got to where we have with industrial relations. What are the strikes on the railway all about? What should the Government be doing to put an end to them? We are joined by Graham Eccles, former Co-Chair of the Virgin Rail Group and one of the most experienced industrial relations specialists the railway has ever produced. Graham tells it like it is and provides the best explanation we've ever heard of why the industry has got into this position. In this magazine-style episode, we also discuss the growing problem of luggage on trains and the decision by some operators to start actively restricting what passengers can bring on board. And we top it off with a chat with NSAR's Neil Robertson on the results of the Annual Rail Workforce Survey and the impending skills and experience shortage faced by the railway.

Network Rail Chairman Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill joins us for his first media interview about Railway 200... and it's a good one! Peter tells us all about the plans for celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of the modern railway in 2025 and how he wants all of you to get involved. But beyond that, he also discusses the wider importance of the railway and why it is so vital that we take this opportunity to celebrate its origins both to inspire the next generation of railway workers and to reset the public's relationship with rail. Outside our 'big interview' we also talk about Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper's recent appearance at the Transport Select Committee... spoiler alert - we weren't impressed. We also discuss news of Alstom's announcement that it is going to start of the process of winding down train building in Derby.

In this episode, Nigel and Richard speak with Andrew McNaughton, former HS2 Technical Director, and one of its first two employees. They discuss the reasons behind HS2's alignment, speed, and capacity, emphasizing the importance of fighting for Phase 2A. The hosts also touch on the King's Speech, express concerns about the slow progress of the project, and discuss the implications of scrapping HS2 North. They highlight the need for factual correctness in salvaging the environment and share exciting news about future plans and a new team member.

MD Mark Hopwood lifts the veil at Great Western. In this episode of Green Signals we are delighted to welcome to the show Mark Hopwood CBE, the Managing Director of Great Western. Mark is a career railwayman but is widely and properly recognised as one of the most visionary railway leaders of his generation. His ‘can do’ attitude backed by years of experience with a passion for delivering for his customers has enabled Great Western to deliver outstanding results, year after year.Mark himself accepts it’s not easy and the period we are living through is one of the toughest in recent times. In a wide ranging interview we talk about the challenges of day to day operations and the very basics of running a railway company in 2023. We cover projects such as the electrification of the Great Western Main line, the opening of the Elizabeth line and the reopening of the line to Okehampton, pretty much the first and so far most successful of the “Reversing Beeching” projects. Mark explains in detail why it is perfectly reasonable of the Government to want to keep a firm grip on costs – who could disagree – but we discuss whether the split of the P&L on today’s railway with the DfT in charge of costs and the Treasury receiving all the revenue really makes sense and whether it is holding us back in a return to growth. We finish with a discussion on whether it still makes sense to be running sleeper trains and Pullman dining cars in these cash constrained modern times. Away from Great Western we talk about whether a Judicial Review of the Government’s decision to cancel HS2 north of Birmingham is a possibility. This is a cracking episode with one of the railway industry’s best known and most experienced leaders and is one not to miss!

Some 700,000 respondents objected to the DfT and train companies proposals to close some 1000 ticket offices. Transport Focus rejected all the proposals. The result is a humiliating climbdown and U Turn for the Government. On this week's Green Signals, we welcome THE expert when it comes to Fares & Ticketing Policy, Mark Smith aka the Man in Seat 61. Mark is a career railwayman but he was also head of the Fares & Ticketing team at the DfT. There is literally no-one with more experience and knowledge. Mark, Richard and Nigel discuss the issues surrounding fares and ticketing on Britain's railway, agree that it was absolutely right that the proposals were rejected as the Government and the train companies had done everything in completely the wrong order. We also discuss what could and indeed should now be done to sort out the mess. Richard explains why this latest debacle provides irrefutable evidence, if any were needed, that the 20 year experiment, started when the SRA was abolished, to bring increasing micro management of the railway into the heart of central Government has completely and utterly failed. He calls for the industry to grow a spine and to now say, and do, what is right instead of meekly parroting the latest 'line to take' from government. We also have a lighthearted chat about favourite railway journeys and the fact that Green Signals was mentioned in dispatches in Transport questions in the House of Commons no less!

In the light of the decision on HS2, we look at the West Coast Route Modernisation of 1997 - 2009 and discuss how close it came to being binned and how bold decisions got it done. We also consider whether the same environment exists today - and draw some depressing conclusions. Nigel and Richard also launch a new feature on great railway journeys they have made and with surprising selections for their first choices! We also touch briefly on a growing problem in the Heritage Railway sector and ask is there a crisis brewing?

The podcast debunks the top 10 myths about HS2 and explores the challenges of preserving heritage rail equipment. They discuss the costs of HS2, analyze the impact of COVID-19 on rail travel, and the importance of regional connectivity. They also address the myth of a worsening cost benefit case for HS2 and emphasize the need for accurate information to counter the numerous HS2 myths.