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 the show to make it sometimes controversial, frequently irreverent - but always topical and relevant.
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Episode's summary

Sir John Kingman is the new Chair of GBR GBR’s new HQ in Derby is announced. Are things finallyhappening? And we hear from Dr Julia Buckley, MP for Shrewsbury aboutwhat she thinks of the ORR’s decision to reject an open access application **Enter the Traingift giveaway to be in with a chance ofwinning one of two £50 Traingift vouchers: https://www.traingift.com/en/greensignals/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=referral In this episode: (00:00) Intro (01:30) Sir John Kingman is new GBR Chair (09:30) GBR’s New HQ (13:04) Dr Julia Buckley interview (35:06) Railway News round-up (35:10) Alstom agreement for Class 720s (35:44) East Midlands Railways told to improve (38:51) Transport & Environment international servicespoll (40:08) CAF Class 197s on the Cambrian (41:04) Railway Mission Chaplain dies (42:01) SWR catering survey (43:57) ScotRail Adopt a Station (44:56) Newport bridge bash (47:00) Green Signals news (51:12) Heritage News round-up (51:16) Bala £850k grant (52:41) West Somerset Railway chairman dies…

Episodes

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159. GBR’s New HQ in Derby… and New Chairman are announced

Sir John Kingman is the new Chair of GBR GBR’s new HQ in Derby is announced. Are things finallyhappening? And we hear from Dr Julia Buckley, MP for Shrewsbury aboutwhat she thinks of the ORR’s decision to reject an open access application **Enter the Traingift giveaway to be in with a chance ofwinning one of two £50 Traingift vouchers: https://www.traingift.com/en/greensignals/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=referral In this episode: (00:00) Intro (01:30) Sir John Kingman is new GBR Chair (09:30) GBR’s New HQ (13:04) Dr Julia Buckley interview (35:06) Railway News round-up (35:10) Alstom agreement for Class 720s (35:44) East Midlands Railways told to improve (38:51) Transport & Environment international servicespoll (40:08) CAF Class 197s on the Cambrian (41:04) Railway Mission Chaplain dies (42:01) SWR catering survey (43:57) ScotRail Adopt a Station (44:56) Newport bridge bash (47:00) Green Signals news (51:12) Heritage News round-up (51:16) Bala £850k grant (52:41) West Somerset Railway chairman dies…

22 Oct 2026
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158. Is Open Access finished? ORR rejects ALL applications for new West Coast Main Line services

Is Open Access finished? We ask the question as ORR rejects ALL applications for new West Coast Main Line services Is London-style ticketing the answer everywhere, or has technology moved on? And Richard divides opinion on rolling stock financing. Again. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:35) Is Open Access finished? (14:56) Is London-style ticketing the answer everywhere? (31:36) Rolling stock financing (40:19) Railway News round-up (40:22) Virgin new trains image (42:31) CrossCountry extra Voyagers (43:22) Class 350/2s to be refurbished for Northern (44:18) Retail Code of Practice for ticketing (45:16) 400k Cambridge South passengers (46:19) Grand Central withdraws Grimsby plans (47:17) Hereford Transport Hub nears completion (48:21) Thanks to Supporters (49:34) The Railway Ball (51:37) Heritage News round-up (51:40) RAIB report on Bluebell Railway incident (54:18) Severn Valley Raise the Roof update (55:40) Wensleydale Pacer unveiled in Northern Spirit (56:14) The Quiz (59:19) Lumo’s new beer ‘Brewmo’…

15 Oct 2026
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“Rock deals in Hope” – Exclusive interview with Rock Group Founder, Mark Swindell

Few issues polarise opinion quite so much in the rail industry (and amongst those who follow what goes on in the industry) as the pros and cons of rolling stock leasing. One of the challenges is to understand exactly what people mean by rolling stock leasing though, because the model has changed so much in the 30 or so years since the practice burst on the scene as part of rail privatisation. One of the relatively new entrants in the market is Rock Rail, founded in 2014 and part of the Rock Group founded and led by Mark Swindell. They see themselves very much as a disruptor – and they’ve been successful too, winning major orders such as SWR’s Class 701 Arterio’s, much of the highly successful Greater Anglia fleet and most recently, the high-profile order from TransPennine Express for their new fleet of Alstom Adessia Stream Battery Electric Multiple Units. Green Signals had the chance to sit down with Mark Swindell recently to ask for his views on GBR’s Rolling Stock and Infrastructure strategy, the speech…

13 Oct 2026
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Trains to Europe: Are lower fares and more trains coming?

For thirty years, High Speed services between London, Paris and Brussels have been in the hands of single operator – Eurostar. Things may be about to change. On 13th August 2026, the ORR announced the pre-approval of Virgin Train’s Track Access Agreement for High Speed 1. Other operators are keen to join them. Not before time some would say. The rest of Europe is liberalising access to its high-speed network at an accelerating pace and the benefits have been dramatic. In Spain, prices between Madrid and Barcelona have fallen 44%. Between Madrid and Malaga, 52%. Across available routes, 85% of travellers now choose train over plane on corridors where both air and rail are viable. It’s a similar story in Italy and France. Trainline, Europe’s leading independent train and coachticket booking platform recently commissioned a report to look at the benefits of increased competition on high speed rail routes and to put some figures on the outcomes. And on Thursday 16th September 2026, their report entitled…

12 Oct 2026
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157. Are trains now to be owned by the Government? New Rolling Stock Strategy suggests they might

Are trains now going to be owned by the Government? The new Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy suggests they might… Discontinuous electrification – a cost-effective answer to wires? Or short-term gain for long term pain? And RAIB releases their interim report into June’s fatal collision at Elstow. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:34) Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy (19:34) Discontinuous electrification (30:32) Elstow collision interim report (38:17) Railway News round-up (38:20) RMT votes for strike action over EWR (40:08) ASLEF rejects CrossCountry pay offer (42:23) New ORR CEO (43:09) TfW Class 398 Tram Train problems (44:37) Level boarding for Elizabeth Line (45:50) West Yorkshire mass transit taskforce (47:25) Did bedbugs infest Southeastern trains? (50:11) Thanks to supporters (51:14) Heritage News round-up (51:18) Heritage Rail 75th anniversary train (52:40) Gartell Light Railway to close (53:42) Wycrail model railway exhibition returns (54:31) Class 91 guided tours (55:43) King…

08 Oct 2026