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As things stand currently, this is all pie in the sky. The Welsh Government, whether you agree or disagree, has no powers whatsoever to undertake works on Network Rail's network. It can only gain those powers if the UK government grants them, which to date it hasn't done. Note that even in...

It seems quite surprising that headspans are being fitted. You've sounded doubtful about headspans being installed from now on. Why would they be fitted here, do you know? Perhaps for aesthetic reasons like the ones fitted at Rainhill?

Thanks. Judging by the video posted earlier, the gantries around Reading extend until about 1.75 km , or just under 1.1 miles, east of the station. So about 7.5km/4 and two-thirds miles to the east of that is without masts. Perhaps now would be a good time to ask why (judging by video...

For those of us not in the know, where is MP74? Is it just outside Swindon?

This is what I'm on about! With respect, several of you have said previously that NR would brush off the Save the Goring Gap mob with a polite version of 'sod off' (and I said I hoped they would). But look at the record. That has not happened. Look at where we've come from, and you will see...

Well, it would be nice if there WAS someone in government or NR to make a passionate case for why headspans are a bad idea and who was in a position of authority to influence the outcome. But such a person has yet to make an entrance to this debate. It's no good ranting on this board about it...

Notwithstanding that Philip Phlopp (who works for NR, correct me if I'm wrong) has repeatedly ruled out on this board that headspans are on the table for Goring Gap, this line from the Save the Goring Gap website linked to above is troubling: This detail doesn't sound like it came from...

To come back to the original question, yes, NR does provide statistics, albeit in kilometres. The latest annual return for 2014-15 gives figures for track renewals under various headings (see page 133). I'm not sure what all the headings mean (perhaps some of you can help), but assuming that...

The fact that hundreds of millions of euros of private money, and billions of euros of development bank money - all of it on low-risk terms - have already been invested in the Moroccan thermal solar plant to which you refer and its two sister plants suggests that thermal solar is not considered...

This visualisation may also help. If you look at the black and white bridge in the centre of the photo above, and imagine the whole scene rotated through about 130 degrees anticlockwise, that is the scene in the visualisation. The new Ordsall Chord bridge is directly on top of where the...

To talk about Network Rail's debt is to miss the point in a rather unfortunate way. It's not a case of either keep NR public and the debt will get even more massive OR privatise it and the Treasury can breathe a sigh of relief. The irony of NR's debt is that the reason it is so big is precisely...

Well this thread has exploded in the last 24 hours, mainly due to ranting, but in arguing over whether NR should or should not run the stations, an important point seems to have been overlooked. As I mentioned a few pages back, the revenue NR makes from retail is not a significant proportion of...

This is the sort of half baked thinking which nearly destroyed the railway under Railtrack, and could do so again. I've got a fair bit of experience of privatisation and outsourcing of railway and other infrastructure, and I can tell you emphatically that selling off or concessioning out...

Surely you mean "one via Sandy and one via Hitchin"? They would both start at Bedford Midland. The sections are shown in this video from about 6:30 onwards. Not all were built in error - a third section was built during the Second World War under emergency powers. That also lacks authorisation.

Not much point in building a rail link to Heathrow when its future is still unresolved. If Gatwick displaces Heathrow as hub airport (unlikely, but as of now still on the table), the strategic case for building the link is surely weakened. Compare with the HS2 Heathrow link, which is also on...

Mystery solved. I did do a quick google to check, but evidently too quick. Thanks.

A few statistics from the NR video perhaps worth making a note of should they come up in discussion: - Ten bridges modified (four rebuilt, ten strengthened) - Track lowered by 30cm at four locations - 550 piles for overhead line equipment - 24 hours to wire one mile of track - 721 masts...

Have I missed something or have NR quietly de-scoped Farnworth tunnel? Previously I read that, once finished, the tunnel's linespeed would be 100mph. Joseph Locke said so over a year ago, as did Rail Technology Magazine. But the NR press release today says: Unless 75mph is the top speed of...

I wonder if the helluva length of the possession is influenced by the fact that this line isn't used by franchised train operators? I originally thought that that meant Schedule 4 compensation didn't apply - at least not for passenger train services. Having checked, it does apply to London...

Night work has been going on since at least Christmas Day, as I outlined in a post a few weeks ago. There was work from 1am to midday on Christmas Day, from 8pm to 8am on several successive days, and there should be more work this Sunday from 8pm to 8am. And yes, the noise has already made the...