#Railnatter

Hosted by Gareth Dennis

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325

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Oct 2026

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About the show

The world's leading independent railway podcast. Join award-winning rail engineer Gareth Dennis and many guests talking about all things TRAINS and TRANSPORT. #Railnatter goes out LIVE every Wednesday at 8pm, UK time, with the audio podcast following on all common platforms.

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60 recent

October 14, 20261 hr 7 min

The Metro System Leeds Really Needs | #Railnatter 325

Copenhagen and Leeds are basically comparable cities - except that Copenhagen has twice the GDP of Leeds. Why? Because it has a functioning, integrated transport system with a proper metro as its beating heart. Leeds has none of that, and it shows. But what should West Yorkshire's Weaver Metro really look like? Spoiler alert: not trams. This one's going to be a visual feast. Not to be missed. Go back and watch Episode 300: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKIKp9kzTmQ Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

October 7, 20261 hr 17 min

The GB Rolling Stock Strategy Misses The Mark | #Railnatter 324

We've a lot to get through tonight, with news and updates galore, including new seats, new services, the collapse of what3words, Brightline's bankruptcy and so much more... But at the heart of tonight's episode is a page-turn of the new GBR rolling stock and infrastructure strategy, released last month to tremendous fanfare. There's some very good stuff in it that we'll flag, but does it take us any further forwards? Tune in to find out. Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

September 30, 20261 hr 26 min

How Treasury Broke Britain: The History of PFI (Part 1) | #Railnatter 323

In the first of an EPIC two-parter, I'm delighted to say that Britain's best podcaster November Kelly will be joining us to tell the story of PFI, how it was thrust upon an unwilling public by about six guys, how it is completely intertwined with the story of UK transport engineering and how the Treasury used it to completely break Britain.**Audio level issues will be fixed in Part 2, blame the ADHD host**Find EVERYTHING Nova here: http://novemberkel.ly/Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

September 23, 20261 hr 12 min

Why This Beautiful Main Line Is A Mess | #Railnatter 322

The East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Edinburgh is possibly the most beautiful mainline in Britain, but from an operational perspective, it’s a mess. It might not be as slow as you think, but thanks to heavy usage by intercity services, the local stations suffer – indeed, this section of railway has some of Britain’s least used railway stations on it.But what can we do to fix it? this evening, that’s exactly what we’ll be looking at in all the detail you’ve come to expect. Oh, and we'll explain why Reston and East Linton stations were built wrong.NE bus consultation here: https://betterbusesne.org.uk/Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

September 16, 202636 min

Are We Headed For Another Railtrack Crisis? | #Railnatter 321

The Lewes and Wickford derailments have been confirmed as being triggered by track buckles. But what has led us to the point where two trains can derail in two days? How have we let our track condition across the country get so poor? And why is Hendy involved again? Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

September 9, 20261 hr 4 min

Can California's long term rail plan fix HSR? | #Railnatter 320

California High Speed Rail is stumbling onwards, and we'll be catching up with progress as best as we can. However, tonight's main feature will be a run through of the 2024 state rail plan to see if HSR is being set into its wider transportation context in a way that might avoid the worst failures of High Speed 2 in the UK. Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

September 2, 202659 min

Will the Washington Metro extension work? | #Railnatter 319

Tonight, Gareth is looking over the proposed Washington extension of the Tyne and Wear Metro to see if it works, and what to look out for as the proposals develop. We'll go through a short history of the system and think about the wider integrated transport context. Also: there's news to catch up on! Respond to the consultation with your thoughts here: https://bit.ly/metwash Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

August 26, 202653 min

CrossCountry Trains Cannot Be Saved | #Railnatter 318

By pure chance, the entirety of the CrossCountry Trains service fell over the weekend just gone, cancelling countless services and exporting disruption across the network. But this failure is just the tip of the iceberg. Tonight, we look at what is broken at CrossCountry and how a new fleet of trains could solve many of the problems. However, the biggest question we will tackle is: should we destroy the CrossCountry operation altogether?Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

August 19, 20261 hr 7 min

York to Hull: Yorkshire's crucial missing rail link? | #Railnatter 317

This is it! We are building a new railway from York to Hull, looking at route options, stations, services and costs, and most importantly setting the railway into its local, regional and national context. We're LIVE so bring your thoughts, opinions and proposals! Watch the first episode of the series here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHYjemzb7rY Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways

August 5, 202651 min

Why GBR's AI plan is a SHAMBLES | #Railnatter 316

A year after being created, GBRX has done one thing: write a rail industry AI action plan. And it is absolutely shambolic. It is also insightful about the direction Britain's railways are being taken in, and who is taking them there. Featuring: Amazon, Google, NVIDIA, OpenAI and... Palantir. It's grim, but it's important. Read Cory Doctorow's essay: https://pluralistic.net/2026/08/01/dare-snot/#i-will-fucking-piledrive-you-if-you-mention-ai-again Support #Railnatter at https://patreon.com/garethdennis. Merch at https://merch.railnatter.uk. Join in the discussion at https://discord.railnatter.uk. You can also buy my book #HowTheRailwaysWillFixTheFuture: https://bit.ly/HowTheRailways