Might just leave these here as a table decoration, for the rest of the journey home.

A little excerpt from last week's @freewheeling.info podcast - full link here: www.freewheeling.info/the-freewhee...

Micro-managing quiz question of the day: You're travelling to a UK worksite to install 3 bolts. Network Rail standards specify how many spares should be in your van, how many? 2nd: standards specify arrangements of bolt heads when it's visible to the public. What is this?

“Crucially these are our assumptions for how rail will decarbonize. Electrification is a very mature technology in rail unlike for road vehicles. We assume 66% network electrification by 2050 and phase-out of pure diesel trains by 2040. Concerning to hear govt briefing against rail electrification”

Currently a tender - but this will be an interesting read when done. Several rail freight interchanges have floundered against local opposition. Definitely a topic worth looking into. www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/07244...

I have found I can follow the V&V (Verification & Validation) process precisely, as well as, every standard... but make structures out of Darth Vader body parts. Wondering whether to submit the designs or stop staring at V&V spreadsheets.

Feels most rolling stock awards now end in litigation. www.railwaygazette.com/traction-and...

OK, my last video of the week - promise. I've been at the GCRE test track this week, a quick explainer video on what we have been testing and why - also why GCRE is a great place to test it (1/2)

Why do I have a weather station at GCRE - the short answer is that it's sodding windy.

Huge thanks to @freewheeling.info who allowed me, this week, to go through the "Sparks Effect", HM Treasury and how we run the railway, on the Freewheeling Podcast. www.freewheeling.info/the-freewhee...

At GCRE this week, doing some more testing, and after last week's workshop on composites in rail - looking at my own composites in rail and how they held up after storms that shut half the Welsh rail network.

WAKE-UP (needs sound) - taken yesterday at GCRE in Wales.

Into Swansea earlier this evening. Transport Minister Heidi Alexander comments today, cancelling any further electrification works - reminds me why I find the route into Swansea depressing.

Random rabbit hole... whilst waiting for a late train.... Quadrupling of US people working as a typist in 4 years (albeit from a vast crash over a 30-year decline). Wondering if people inputting stuff as part of AI training is the reason for that change?

DfT and Chiltern have made a multi-billion pound decision on 30 year strategy for the route.... but still need to do the "costs and benefits analysis". Because that is normal www.railmagazine.com/news/chilter...

Not gonna lie, I 100% agree with you Noel, & while I wasn't so keen on the original proposal, the new one looks great to me. It's sympathetic to the actually original parts of the station that remain, & in my opinion look more impressive of a gateway to London than the current station does.

Ok, OK - hear me out:

Liverpool Street photo shoot - literally no idea.

Lincoln had a tram every three minutes, now it just has traffic jams (1/2).

I had thought maybe... rail was the only UK which had infrastructure "boom and bust" control period cycles. Water graph v rail graph. (1/2) assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687dfc...

Today, I will mainly be thinking about Latvia, which still lets you work on live electrification (on an insulated trolley, it is DC).

When you should be prepping a presentation.... but instead are generating nonsense.

Leeds, Leeds, Leeds - kicking off a new working group yesterday to support the use of composites in rail and guide people through the Product Acceptance process. A dry topic that is actually really interesting (or I find it interesting).

I don't know how Hendy thinks the foil will help, but if he has found the cash for the tunnel happy to nod along.

I am sure there are lots of reasons people come to Leeds - but coming to look at the electrification switching and feeding just outside the station must be in the top 10.

Beaulieu Park Station is open to passengers, but the work doesn't stop there. We've been training the NR maintenance teams last week & the next 4 weeks on the new electrification equipment. I do mean the royal 'we' at F+F, but still great to see the station open

Tax Me!

I am thinking of doing a podcast: Clamps around Switzerland

Bern has such a great tram network - episode 41: this random suburban tram stop has a large bike rack. Tram also shows the times of the interchanges at the next stop. Episode 42 later today.

I'm going to chuck this out there: wondering how much value Assessment Bodies (AsBo), Approved Bodies (ApBo) & Designated Bodies (DeBo) actually deliver to future passengers? Wondering if what started as a good idea, turned 1st into cottage industry & then just an industry.

Possibly the first time in 15 years travelling to a meeting with a physical paper drawing. Feel very 1990's architect- have dressed all in black to complete the look.

The UK often has multiple terms for types of railway maintenance/construction vehicles. I have come to the conclusion so does a lot of Europe. My glossary for 14 countries has lots of gaps/mistakes - anyone spot an error or can fill a gap let me know furrerfrey.egnyte.com/dl/yrCqxW8pb...

Perhaps a sign of the time or preparedness - reading (google translate) Sweden's on-track maintenance machine policy - which covers machine requirements in the event of war 😬 bransch.trafikverket.se/contentasset...

Wembley does a great job of moving a whole heap of people by rail. NFL today, wonder where Wembley would rank on the most well connected NFL stadiums - somewhere near the top I would hope.

Whenever I see that Macquarie Bank has taken over another piece of UK infrastructure, I think of Edgar Allen Poe's poems about the Grim Reaper.

So strike me down if I ever mention rail decarbonisation again.

Is AI overhyped? Currently working on a @spacegovuk project with @AirbusSpace - using earth observation satellite data and AI to support early-stage rail infrastructure designs. To do the things that engineers can't easily or the things that are just boring news.railbusinessdaily.com/satellites-a...

Fire on EMR and pandemonium at Paddington due to trespassers. I knew downloading more videos on the French nuclear power station programme & using a rolling programme of construction to reduce costs... was a good idea.

This year’s Rail Industry Pulse Survey, from the 6 leading trade associations & Network Rail makes a sobering read. + Only 4.3% of companies feel confident about future work volumes + 144 of 183 companies report lack of work is having a significant impact on their business

In 2022 we did an electric freight loading demo in Wellingborough, with moveable equipment. But doing electric freight in the UK is hard. First real project is in Nagpur, India. Because of course India, with huge freight & electrification projects. Silo loading electric trains

Free at last - I have to remember to never play late 90's games if I want to get anything done. Took 4 days to win... need to delete the game now.

Just writing my notes from last week's PWI's Practical Electrification Challenge - super fun, mildly stressful, better than 2024 is my main takeaway.

Very disappointed by the lack of puns on this story. press.chilternrailways.co.uk/news/shell-s...

I have been shortlisting nominees for the @RBF1858 - Heart of Gold Awards - Rising Star. Some genuinely nice people work in rail. Sortlist published next week. www.railwaybenefitfund.org.uk/news/heart-o...

Will move "heaven and earth to deliver value for money" to Treasury - but ticket prices & performance for passengers will be the same. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We've just finished up the PWI's Electrification Challenge in Swindon. Great few days.... but looking forward to the weekend now.

2nd full day of the PWI's Practical Electrification Challenge - today some rail tool suppliers are also on hand to show how tools work. Great spread of office folk - from Balfours, Babcocks, RSSB, ORR, Mott MacDonald, Atkins to name a few of the 20 companies attending

First full day of the @PWInstitution electrification challenge - a great cross-industry, hands-on event that helps people in rail understand electrification. @25kv.bsky.social up front in the classroom.

Switzerland today for Swindon tomorrow - gearing up for the PWIs electrification challenge kicking off tomorrow.

Great Western was fined this week over Bethan Roper's death. The RIAB report was in 2019, link below. This image always stuck in my mind. Warnings either need to be simple or you need to prevent the risk. 6 sets of instructions, doesn't make it clear assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5da5d8...