Phil Haigh - Page 4

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Can public-private partnerships be made to deliver?

Philip Haigh examines what is needed for investment from both the public and private sectors to aid railway growth.

Phil Haigh 19 Sept 2024

Iarnród Éireann 2724 waits at Gort with August 11 2010’s 0640 Galway-Limerick, as 2711 vacates the single line with the 0600 Limerick-Galway. This section of line had just reopened as the first phase of a project to restore Ireland’s Western Rail Corridor. Subsequent phases, such as Athenry to Claremorris, fell victim to economic challenges but are being put forward once again by the All-Island Strategic Rail Review. DAVID THROWER.

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Analysis: Ireland's All-Island Strategic Rail Review

Ireland’s All-Island Strategic Rail Review has ambitious designs to transform and develop the countries’ rail network. Philip Haigh examines the facts and figures.

Phil Haigh 2 Sept 2024

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Opinion: How should operators do better with stranded trains?

What happens when your train is stuck, and how equipped are operators to deal with the issues that arise? A new report has some answers, says Philip Haigh.

Phil Haigh 21 Aug 2024

Rail North Committee members expressed sympathy for Northern‘s circumstances, despite it having a worse record on cancellations than some of its fellow operators. Northern 331004 stands at Wakefield Westgate on May 8 with the 0826 Doncaster-Leeds. TOM MCATEE.

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Opinion: Holding operators to account for poor punctuality

Who guards the guards is an ancient question brought into current focus by the new government’s policy of nationalising English train operators.

Phil Haigh 20 Aug 2024

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Opinion: Can HS2 be given a reboot, to put Phase 2 back on track?

Philip Haigh examines the National Audit Office report on HS2 costs, and considers what is required to reinstate the northern leg to Manchester.

Phil Haigh 6 Aug 2024

A Northern Class 195 crosses Arnside Viaduct in Cumbria on February 27. Northern, one of the operators under DfT control, cancelled more than 2,500 services in Period 3 (May 26-June 22), owing to train crew shortages. ALAMY.

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Work together to give the railway a fighting chance

Philip Haigh argues that the Department for Transport, operators and unions all have a part to play in ensuring that rail can win customers.

Phil Haigh 1 Aug 2024

Avanti West Coast is the principal operator on the West Coast Main Line, and has submitted five different bids for extra train paths as it seeks to return services that were withdrawn during COVID. But it faces competition from a posse of open access operators. AWC 805005 approaches Rugeley Trent Valley on May 10, during a Class 805 ‘Evero’ test run. ALAMY.

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The competition hots up to secure open access success

What must the Office of Rail and Road consider when weighing up the bids to run open access services on an already crowded West Coast Main Line? Philip Haigh reports

Phil Haigh 17 Jul 2024

The ORR says Network Rail failed to cope with the effects of increased traffic on its Western and Wales routes. Great Western Railway Class 800s sit at London Paddington on August 29 2023. ALAMY.

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Network Rail’s Western woes: the causes and effects

Philip Haigh lifts the lid on the Office of Rail and Road’s report into poor planning and performance issues on the Western and Wales routes

Phil Haigh 27 Jun 2024

The Department for Transport has been criticised for failing to update the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline since it was first published in 2019, leaving companies in the supply chain in the dark on infrastructure work. NETWORK RAIL.

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Analysis: Rail reform the first big test for incoming ministers

Separate Commons committee reports reveal the railway to-do list that hasn’t been moved forward, and which an incoming government will now have to tackle

Phil Haigh 25 Jun 2024