Christian Wolmar's Fab Feb newsletter
Christian Wolmar
Dear subscriber
Thankfully, the crazy rush has died down and the railways are off the news until the next debacle or HS2 report or fares rise or whatever. I was talking to a senior government source the other day and was told that the new transport secretary has so far spent something like 80 per cent of his time on the railways, leaving not much time for all the rest – those unimportant matters like roads, aviation, shipping and the like. Rail really does kick above its weight when it comes to politicians’ attention.
The laugh of the month was undoubtedly the climbdown by junior minister Simon Burns on his use of a car to drive him from the wilds of Essex into town because, he claimed, ‘his red boxes were too conspicuous’. The hapless fellow, whose previous claim to fame, was seriously injuring a cyclist by pulling out of the Houses of Parliament into his path, has now had to resort to the train. The saving in CO2 is noticeable.
More seriously, there has been the publication of the second section of HS2 which pretty much was as trailed, with parkway stations in the East Midlands and at Meadowhall near Sheffield, but also, interestingly, city centre termini in Manchester and Leeds, essential if any large numbers are to be attracted to the line. I remain, of course, pretty sceptical particularly in the light of technological developments to come, and all the other known and unknown unknowns. But it certainly gives me plenty to write and broadcast about – lots of appearances BBC, ITV and Sky
On the publishing front, the Kindle version of my 1999 Stagecoach book is now available and it has a lengthy 5,000 word interview with the founder of the company, Brian (now Sir) Souter with plenty of revelation about his plans, his mistakes and what he wants to see from the rail industry. It’s available for a ridiculously cheap £6 at Amazon here and other platforms.
I did have the privilege of going on one of the celebratory trains for the Tube’s 150th anniversary, a fabulous event and TfL are to be congratulated for overcoming all the hurdles, especially ‘elf and safety. My book on the Underground’s history, The Subterranean Railway has been updated and revised to coincide with the event. You can get a signed copy by emailing me, or, without signature, via Amazon and the new revamped books page on the site.
In terms of new entries, there is, fortunately, rather fewer than last month. The two Rail columns focus on the predictably bland Brown report on franchising and on the way the train companies are a law unto themselves when it comes to penalty fares .
The Surveyor column focuses on innovation as it does next month, too. I am getting rather obsessed with the impact of driverless cars, an issue that is simply not being sufficiently taken account of in transport debates. That will be on the site next month.
For a bit of light relief, there is the story of my journey on the Transsiberian, for which I wrote a piece in the Mail on Sunday, complete with mad-looking picture of me pretending to drive a steam engine at a museum. The caption read ‘Christian Wolmar in the train’ which has made me rather worried that there are people who think the line is still run by steam engines. But happily, thanks to the slight lull, the book which will debunk that and numerous other myths is getting written, and I am hoping it stays calm for next few weeks so I can finish it.
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Christian