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I see they have started refurbing the roof at Carlisle station. Does anyone know if the tacky plastic ends that currently exist are going to be removed and replaced with something more in keeping with the style of the station?

Good day all. I have just returned to the UK and am looking to get an entry level job on he railways. I am thinking of something in a customer facing role i.e Train Manager/revenue protection, customer services etc. I have a couple of questions which those in the know might be able to help...

Interesting that we will soon be at the Govt's notional 75/25 split for passenger vs govt support. I wonder if they will change this target once tey realise that passenger growth seems to be endemic and that the premiums being offered for some of the newly let franchises are substantially...

In the age of computers and automation it must be a fairly simple process for comparisons to be made on ticket sales for different conductors/guards operating the same shifts on different days. Surely it is easy for a driver manager or revenue manager to analyse these patterns and to highlight...

I have seen Network Rail media releases that used the cost of the 'Tidy Railway' as a contributing factor in their recent budget blowouts. If no effort is being made to tidy the railway I am not sure what costs they could be talking about. There is obviously some collection of scrap rails...

Crewe has had a lot of work done recently albeit in a piecemeal way with parts of the station being upgraded independently of each other rather than as some overall plan. My question is twofold. Does this mean the plan to move the station is now scrapped and is there a plan to renovate the rest...

Many thanks for the reply. A one third reduction in support in one year is pretty good/bad depending on your standpoint. Is this reduction due to carry on going forward?

An £80m cut in subsidy in one year seems an awful lot to absorb. Was there a reduction in track access or some other counterbalancing actor did Northern really manage to achieve this and maintain services levels. What does their subsidy profile look like going forward?

I am surprised that terminals such as Castle Donnington, Telford and now Radlett continue to be built or proposed. The current railfreight model is overwhelmingly in favour of point to point block loads. The only real anomaly to this is port to container depots such as Wentloog and Trafford Park...

The demise of many bulk commodities has been predicted for a long time. Coal has long been on borrowed time and in a way the biomass evolution has offset some of this pain. The metals sector is one that is very vunerable due to market conditions over which we have little control. All future...

Why limit the discussion to the rural network. We happen to have a network that is rich in 'architectural' heritage and keeping it is a burden on the rail budget. Does any of it matter really? surely build everything with bus shelters and concrete and we can do away with the need to look after...

Network Rail has something called the Tidy Railway initiative which is meant to be cleaning things up. I haven't seen any evidence of it happening but there is a massive recycyling plant at Whitemoor so stuff is coming from somewhere.

Slightly misleading in that one in four may have at some time not had the correct ticket but that doesn't equate to one in four journeys. Guess when you see these quotes and the 'opportunistic' nature of most fare dodging the arguments against ticket barriers dont hold water. It is...

Interesting discussion. The headline figure is curious as it doesn't specify if this includes the savings that have already bee agreed by NR in CP5 or if this is off the agreed budget and on top of these savings. As the majority of the budget is for maintenance and upkeep of the network and...

With reference to the information contained in the ORR report I think I am right in making a couple of observations. The numbers are not adjusted for inflation - there would be a natural increase over 30 years due to this. Direct rail support is not categorised into sections i.e...

As most on here have commented the postponement of the MML electrification was very predictable. I live on the MML but also travel around the county for work and have seen different stretches of the GWML where little or no work has been done on getting wires up. In fact I would suggest that the...

I a little interested in stations especially the heritage aspect of them and the renewed interest in preserving such aspects. I often wonder if BR had had more cash back in the day if every station wouldn't have been 'improved' to look like Euston and New St. As a matter of interest up to...

The benefits of ticket barriers far outweigh the negatives. The simple fact is that on board checking is very hit and miss and does vary massively according to the attitude of the staff concerned. Ticket barriers at least ensure that a ticket is held. It does eradicate the casual fare dodger...

Can anyone confirm what services are currently running to/from London Gateway. I have seen photos recently of services to Wakefield and other locations as well as the regular runs to Trafford Park. Have these new services had a detrimental effect on Felixstowe traffic?

There might be a general nashing of teeth over this but DBS stopped long ago relying on running trains to make cash. Over a period of time they have disposed of numerous sites as well as hundreds of locos and thousands of wagons. Last year they pocketed multi millions from Network Rail for...