Calling All Stations - The Transport Podcast

3/9 Indian railway adventure (part 1), Great British Railways consultation and benefits of shared transport

Christian reports live from India in the first part of his latest exploration of the country's vast and diverse railway system [1:23].  The new UK Government's consultation on establishing its own version of 'Great British Railways' is discussed by Christian and Mark Walker [6:53].  Richard Dilks - Chief Executive of CoMoUK - speaks to Christian about the opportunities for and challenges facing shared transport and those who wish to make use of the emerging options [27:16].  Almost literally from the departure lounge, Christian's final thought is on the dub(ai)ous pleasures of changing 'planes at a certain airport [46:55].
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3/8 Reeves on planes, trains and automobiles plus family-friendly and more competitive rail travel

Christian and Mark analyse the speech from UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP and her proposals on London Heathrow Airport, the Lower Thames Crossing and East West Railway [1:42].  Christian interviews Abi Taylor and Joe Thomas on the campaign for family-friendly trains in Great Britain [17:38] and Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of First Rail, on his company's ambitions to run more open access services [34:35].  In his final thought, Christian asks what sort of competitive landscape is being created for selling train tickets [44:59].
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3/7 Celebrating 200 years of railways and marking big reforms to buses

Christian interviews Alan Hyde from 'Railway 200' on the exciting programme of celebrations marking the bicentenary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and of the industry which changed not just the UK but the whole world [1:28].  Co-presenter Mark Walker discusses with Christian the big changes underway in England's bus industry with completion of Manchester's franchised Bee Network and a new Bus Services Bill being introduced into Parliament [28:27].  In his final thought, Christian reflects on the communications expertise of retiring RMT union General Secretary, Mick Lynch [35:06].

3/6 Big in Japan! Plus a dramatic change of UK Transport Secretary

Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker examine the brief but spectacular tenure of Louise Haigh MP at the helm of the UK Department for Transport  and ask what changes the past career and experience of new Secretary of State Heidi Alexander MP may bring [02:20].  Live from Tokyo, Christian reports on his experience of using the city's vast Metro system as well as Japan's pioneering high-speed Shinkansen main line network [15:30].  We have an interview with ASLEF President Dave Calfe on the rail drivers' union's new campaign for toilet and welfare facilities for train crew [36:50].  Finally, Christian asks whether Shanghai's maglev transport technology will find wider use [42:30].
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3/5 How HS2 manages bats, society manages cars and Ministers manage Parliament

Christian applies his journalistic sonar to HS2's controversial bat mitigation measures, detecting new aspects to the saga [2:00]. Transport Planning Society Chair Ben Plowden is interviewed by Christian at the Society's conference ‘The Road Less Travelled: the Principles, Policies, Practicalities and Politics of Reducing Car Use in the UK’ [13:43]. Co-presenter Mark Walker discusses with Christian the wide-ranging debut appearance of UK Transport Secretary Louise Haigh MP at the House of Commons Transport Committee [25:00].  Finally, Christian applauds the commitment of one dedicated bus user [44:38].
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3/4 Does the Chancellor's Budget give any hints of a UK transport strategy?

In this episode of The Transport Podcast, Christian Wolmar interviews Steve Gooding, Director of the RAC Foundation on what last week's UK Budget by the Chancellor of the Exchequer says about current and future plans for road vehicle taxation as electrification spreads and discussion of journey-based usage charges grows [01:45].  
Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker then examine, compare and look for themes in all of the transport-related Budget measures affecting rail, bus, roads and aviation [26:34].  
Finally, Christian asks just how worried we should be about hacking of transport data systems [48:06].
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3/3 Exclusive! Discover how the train drivers' pay dispute in England was really resolved

In this exclusive episode of The Transport Podcast, Christian talks to train drivers' union ASLEF's Assistant General Secretary - Simon Weller - about what really happened when the UK Labour Government came into power and negotiated a settlement of the long-running pay dispute [2:30], including exploring in detail the issues around Sunday working, why the Conservatives' anti-strike measures failed and how new proposals for Great British Railways may change the landscape.  There's also a flash of inspiration from Wolmar with a solution to the perennial problem of boarding passenger aircraft [32:10].
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3/2 Can London's Euston station be fixed and are Lime bikes a boon or a curse?

In this episode of The Transport Podcast, Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker examine the controversies and challenges at London's Euston station [01:30], ask just how much fun the BBC's 'Nightsleeper' drama is [17:08], debate the pros and cons of the Lime bike hire scheme and other micro-mobility technologies [17:18] and consider whether the Lower Thames Crossing is doomed [27:19].
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3/1 Live from Liverpool where Labour is "ripping up the very roots of Thatcherism" from transport

Launching Season 3 of The Transport Podcast, Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker report from the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on the keynote address by UK Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh MP [3:48]. Christian analyses a meeting discussing driverless cars addressed by Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood MP [13:50} and talks about his own presentation on transport challenges for the Labour Government given at the Public Transport Reception hosted by the Campaign for Better Transport and sponsored by Porterbrook [18:09]. Finally, Christian celebrates London Mayor Sadiq Khan's adoption of his own longstanding proposal for the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street [28:00].
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2/25 Rail renationalisation passes key milepost and new road costs come under scrutiny

Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker bring listeners right up to date with progress of the new UK Labour Government's rapid legislation to allow franchised passenger train operations to return to state control [01:45].  Mark discusses with Christian his recent Guardian article calling for the abandonment of all England's major road building schemes [23:22].  Finally, Christian previews the reissue of his book 'Fire and Steam' to mark the bicentenary of the world's first railway [33:14].
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