Shows / Green Signals
Green Signals
Green Signals is a show about railways - its politics, its economics, its people and history. We turn over the issues of the day and talk to the people making the decisions that affect all our lives. We also dig into many of the amazing events in the history of an industry that spans nearly 200 years. Nigel Harris (former Managing Editor and Events Director of the leading industry and opinion forming magazine RAIL) and Richard Bowker (former Chair & CEO of the Strategic Rail Authority) steer…
Episodes
- Green Signals
24. Budget 2024 analysis for rail, NAO slaps DfT, which decides to reorganise...
We examine what the railway got from last week’s budget with a bit of Budget 2024 analysis… spoiler alert – nothing that hasn’t already been announced! The…
- Green Signals
23. Are train tickets too expensive? Train fares increase 4.9%
Train tickets just got more expensive… Rail fares go up by 4.9% sparking fury amongst passenger groups. Has the time come to reconsider the balance between…
- Green Signals
22. Is Local Transport Fund really levelling up? And the surprising human factor we don't talk about
Local leaders are to receive £4.7 billion to transform transport in the North and Midlands through the Local Transport Fund – money that has apparently been…
- Green Signals
The Big Interview - Rail Reform: Why this time it's different! With Network Rail Boss Andrew Haines
Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines joins us to talk all things draft Rail Reform Bill. If you’ve been left with all sorts of questions after the…
- Green Signals
21. Labour vs Tories on railways & is there any point to Rail Reform Bill?
The Department for Transport finally publishes the Rail Reform Bill, but is there any point to it? Nigel reviews the annual George Bradshaw address which saw…
- Green Signals
20. 'Reversing Beeching': Anything achieved?
Richard talks about his visit to Wales & Borders with Nick Millington MBE, Route Director at Network Rail and finds out about lagoons, climate models and…
- Green Signals
The Railway Explained: Weather resilience, climate change & lineside trees
Richard Bowker visits Network Rail's Wales and Western region to spend the day with Route Director Nick Millington MBE. It's a fascinating day of learning…
- Green Signals
19. Government scores 0/10 on HS2 & Labour eyes rail nationalisation
Following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s scrapping of HS2 Phase 2A, HS2 is branded ‘very poor value for money’ by the Public Accounts Committee… And... is Labour…
- Green Signals
18. The Big Interview - Train strikes: Finding the truth behind the headlines - with ASLEF boss Mick Whelan
Train strikes have hit the headlines frequently over the past three years as an increasingly bitter dispute between train drivers’ union ASLEF and the…
- Green Signals
17: When ministers can’t agree… & the simpler fares that aren’t!
Ministers seem unable to agree, either on transport decisions – or more embarrassingly – with each other at a Conservative Home conference. What is going on…
- Green Signals
16. More train ticket booking confusion & is new plan for HS2 sunk already?
Why train ticket booking and rail fares in the UK are so confusing. With the help of fares expert The Man in Seat 61 Mark Smith, we demystify: LNER’s new…
- Green Signals
15. Harry Potter’s ‘Hogwarts Express’ off the rails & has Keir Starmer bottled it on HS2?
Has Harry Potter’s favourite train the ‘Hogwarts Express’ hit the buffers now that Jacobite steam train operator West Coast Railways has been derailed by the…
- Green Signals
14. Floods, HS2 land sale, Tube strikes & MORE misleading stats
It's been a week of severe weather disruption on the railway, news that HS2 land may not be sold before the next election, Tube strikes being called off, and…
- Green Signals
13. The Big Interview - Freight Expectations: Maggie Simpson & John Smith
The first of our new The Big Interview episodes, and we were so excited about it that we decided to invite two guests to join us! Director of the Rail Freight…
- Green Signals
12. Christmas chaos, cuts and Rishi's Acts of Railway Cruelty
The first of our new magazine-style episodes, where we focus on the big topical issues and what’s been happening on and around the railway over the festive…
- Green Signals
11. Christmas Special - Listener questions!
Getting into the festive spirit this time with our Christmas Special! Richard Bowker and Nigel Harris answer the questions listeners and viewers have been…
- Green Signals
10. Clapham remembered, Scotland Part 2, and chaos at Paddington
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…
- Green Signals
Peter Townend - A life remembered (1925-2023)
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…
- Green Signals
9. Scotland: Are they showing us the way?
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…
- Green Signals
8. Strikes, Skills & Suitcases
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…
- Green Signals
7. Lord Peter Hendy: Railway 200 & how the railway made the modern world
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…
- Green Signals
6. Why scrapping HS2's 36 miles from Birmingham to Crewe is utter madness!
Reflecting on our recent appearance at the Transport Select Committee, in this episode of Green Signals we are delighted to be joined by Andrew McNaughton. Not…
- Green Signals
5. How to run a railway in the era of micro-management
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…
- Green Signals
4. DfT's Humiliation and the great ticket office U Turn
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…
- Green Signals
3. How the West Coast was won 20 years ago....and why it might not work again!
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…
- Green Signals
2. HS2 - the top 10 myths debunked!
In this episode, Nigel and Richard discuss the top 10 myths about HS2 and explain why so many people have misunderstood what HS2 delivers for the country - and…
- Green Signals
Welcome to Green Signals, a beginners guide to Blackburn & Burnley, and what on earth were the Government thinking cancelling HS2!
Welcome to Green Signals, the essential new railway podcast for anyone interested in railways: what they are for, how they work, and why we need them more than…