Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #RailNatter
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Apropos of nothing, here are two maps showing where Britain's high speed rail network should be... Not for the high speed trains, but for the capacity they'd release on heavily congested existing railway lines. #whyHS2 
What are those maps? They show average daily road flows (the second one is for HGVs).
This is straight out of @safemyth's excellent report on HS2's carbon benefits: #whyHS2
This is straight out of @safemyth's excellent report on HS2's carbon benefits: #whyHS2
The sooner we paint a permanent, long-term picture of what our transport systems should look like, the sooner we can build them. Yet only one major party in the UK has attempted to even get close to doing this (the @scottishgreens).
Nothing is stopping @UKLabour doing this NOW.
Nothing is stopping @UKLabour doing this NOW.
Let's talk about this #Gadgetbahn: the Padova t̶r̶a̶m̶ guided bus.
Firstly, let's get the important question out of the way... What is it?
If the branding of the system is to be believed, it's a tram. Spoiler alert: it isn't.
If the branding of the system is to be believed, it's a tram. Spoiler alert: it isn't.
Because a glance under the sideskirts and at the roadway reveals that the branding is fibbing: the vehicles are supported on rubber tyres, and the single steel rail only acts as a guideway.
Well, the #IntegratedRailPlan (a.k.a. #RailBetrayal) has landed. And immediately we can see that their plans are just a re-announcement of things that have already been planned (or indeed cancelled):
Actually, the proposals precisely mimic the NIC's Rail Needs Assessment from last year, despite government decrying it loudly after its publication.
If you want to understand why those plans were bad, I wrote about it in reasonable detail: #RailBetrayal
garethdennis.medium.com/the-nic-have-f…
If you want to understand why those plans were bad, I wrote about it in reasonable detail: #RailBetrayal
garethdennis.medium.com/the-nic-have-f…
Good god. You know what? It isn't possible for me to thread this document as I'd planned to as it is genuine top-to-bottom bullshit. #RailBetrayal
This paragraph, for example, is completely untrue. How on earth did the HS2 plans prevent electrification? This is fiction!
This paragraph, for example, is completely untrue. How on earth did the HS2 plans prevent electrification? This is fiction!
As pointed out by @JenWilliamsMEN and others, there is a lot of confusion in the midst of this week's #RailBetrayal news over what the various legs and phases of HS2 and NPR actually refer to...
So, I created a map (click to pause):
So, I created a map (click to pause):
The white lines are the existing network, in case you hadn't worked it out...
It becomes pretty obvious why the Eastern Leg is so crucial when you see the map above, but if you want another animated map then this explains things clearly:
It becomes pretty obvious why the Eastern Leg is so crucial when you see the map above, but if you want another animated map then this explains things clearly:
Want a static version of the map in high-res? Be my guest (note that some of the HS2/NPR stations have been omitted for clarity):
If you enjoyed tonight's wonderful series finale of #TheArchitectureTheRailwaysBuilt🧣 then remember you can catch @MrTimDunn and I on last week's #RailNatter taking a cheeky behind-the-scenes look at the hit @YesterdayTweets show!
Oh, and if you want to see Tim and I exploring inside the old Curzon Street station principal building as well as a plod around inside the roundhouse (courtesy of @HS2ltd), then you can watch this old thing:
Plus make sure your fingers are crossed for Series 4 of #TheArchitectureTheRailwaysBuilt!!! 🤞🤞🤞
I'm on my holidays but have nipped off on some brief #PointlessPerambulations to look at the rather unique and squeezed-in former railways in Barnstaple...
Here's what it looked like! It was properly squished in next to the old Barnstaple Bridge, popping out over the muddy Taw at around 90° and joining the other bank almost parallel to the river. #PointlessPerambulations
And here's the real thing from above!
In last night's #RailNatter, we talked about #BlackLivesMatter and how it is crucial to keep up the pressure and for all of us to learn about our colonial past.
Here's a really important #RailwaysExplained about how Britain's railways only really exist as a legacy of slavery…
Here's a really important #RailwaysExplained about how Britain's railways only really exist as a legacy of slavery…
Back in 1833, the UK government abolished slavery and decided to compensate former slave owners - not the people who had been held as slaves - to the tune of £20m…
That's more than £19bn in today's money, and represented 40% of the government's budget at the time.
That's more than £19bn in today's money, and represented 40% of the government's budget at the time.
Around half the money stayed in the UK despite only 3000 of the 47000 compensated slave owners living here, meaning that very wealthy individuals received huge payouts.
People like George Hibbert and John Gladstone received the 1833 equivalent of tens of millions of pounds each.
People like George Hibbert and John Gladstone received the 1833 equivalent of tens of millions of pounds each.
