I wish we had the Swiss system where trains and buses actually time with each other. Where I live only 1 or 2 buses an hour actually times with the train which is rubbish when there are a combined 8 trains per hour at the 3 local stations.
@aaronsmith9209 this👌 I used to travel between Leicester and Birmingham regularly, my home stop in brum was served by buses hourly after a certain time of night, every time my train was due to get me back precisely the time the bus got there, so by the time I'd ran over the bridge to the bus stop the bus had left. Thus meaning either an expensive taxi or an hour wait at a cold wet bus stop 🤦♂️
I think this format should be available in a 90min version for people that just want to know the facts and a 180min extended chat version for us train nerds!!!
Yes. We would love a 3 hour long video, I'm not even being sarcastic. This has been a genuinely interesting discussion, I'm even going to buy his book.
@@Ozzy1984_ Yes. The dishonesty of continuing to spread the lies about EVs, their batteries, their excessive weight etc. really annoyed me. He's got a (very) valid argument for much, much greater investment in all forms of public transport, not just trains. But his (apparently) deliberate misrepresentation of the real facts about EVs just made me turn off. Rail is fine for large urban populations, but rural populations also exist, and straight up lying about cobalt (pretty much the entirety of the battery industry has declared that they won't be using it by the end of 2025, and most no longer use it already) does nobody any favours at all.
@@davidcolin6519 Can you support your claim that "most" EV manufacturers no longer use cobalt? The best I've been able to find is that they are reducing their use of cobalt. Also, can you give details of some of the other "lies" he's told about EVs?
I saw Gareth by chance on a clip on BBC a while back and found his podcast and his opinion on HS2 fully flipped my opinion. It is actually crazy how badly it was presented when you see why it was proposed in the first place. The original HS2 as proposed should be any serious governments no1 priority in terms of infrastructure. I'm yet to see a serious argument against it.
The one thing he left out is that the capacity freed up involves cancelling services to the intermediate stations that the fast trains between London and Birmingham currently stop at (primarily Coventry, but those trains have at times also stopped at Rugby, Milton Keynes, and Watford Junction). So the case for HS2 isn't entirely an upside for rail passengers.
@@CmdrTobs Believing the technical hurdles can and must be overcome isn't the same as being cynical? If anything, the idea that the fact that it will be a technically impressive thing to complete means we shouldn't do it is the cynical take.
He has a TH-cam podcast called Railnatter so congrats because you can listen to/watch him plenty more. He is also currently guest hosting on Well There’s Your Problem which is also excellent.
Awesome! I love this message. I'm a passionate urbanist, transit advocate, cyclist, and car free in Los Angeles. It's great to see transit advocacy in places that aren't exclusively about urbanism! By the way, I got my friend to take the bus for the first time in a long time as we went to a used bike shop and I helped him buy his first bike yesterday. The bike revolution is under way!
The French once asked Japan how they could make their bullet trains out of such lightweight materials. They wondered about the danger, given a crash, that the train would just crumple up. Japan just stated simply, that they do not crash.
I think it’s more of a problem with how you deal with bad actors for public transit Like in the us the addicts arent banned or dealt with in a manner that stops them from ruining the experience for others
Try to do a train with 3 kids with prams and luggage. There is a reason all these East Asian countries are going through a demographic disaster. Public transport is almost never family friendly. It is great if you are single or a group of adults.
I usually enjoy Downstream episodes but this one in particular is one of the most enjoyable to listen to. Really relatable. I could hear you both jump from one topic to another and linking them in the end. I yearn for a part 2 to this
Great guest, great message. I'm ordering your book Gareth. I spent 4 years at a Climate job working on sustainable transportation, building decarbonization, and renewable energy policy. It was crazy to recognize that EV cars/SUVs/pickups can't be sustainable for a number of reasons, but principally because of the emissions required to build them perpetually. The solution for sustainable transportation is actually rail (with catenary, not battery) with trams, light rail, regional rail and HSR and for short trips micromobility including e-bikes, scooter, microcars and active transportation. This isn't based on opinion. We haven't got the emissions, the readily available resources, nor the energy to keep building 2+ ton vehicles for everyone and churning through them. Really good to see someone's finally cracked this with a book. Now let's help spread this message to our governments at all levels. You all have your text book and your marching orders.
I’d much rather rely on public transport and trains could be better than cars, but in the UK, this is certainly not the case. I live only 10 miles north of Brighton with a 20 minute walk to a train station on the main London to Brighton line and yet I never get the train down to Brighton because it costs more than paying to park and the trains are almost always cancelled or severely delayed, making them totally unreliable. I always get the train to London though, because driving to London is a form of torture.
That's rail privatisation for you. Same here in NW England. To get to Liverpool I have 15 miles of railway (the same actual track) that's Northern Rail and ancient diesel trains pulling decrepit carriages on a threadbare service. Then the next 15 miles is Merseyrail and electrified which is better. The two timetables do not match up in the slightest. It's expensive and very time consuming getting two trains for a 30 mile journey along the same actual track. So I drive. I absolutely hate the drive by the way. It's horrible. But it's less horrible, less time consuming and less expensive than the train.
That’s what happens when we prioritise car ownership. Look at how much *space* roads for cars take up as well. Imagine if we could pedestrianise most high streets and plant trees, have markets, live music. All kinds of things. That was reality until, what, 100 years ago, max. Cars were also incredibly, incredibly dangerous and were the largest killer of people under 30 or 40 until 30-40 years ago
Government policy. Since the 1960s and Beeching, whose cuts are still being carried out, the Government has been systematically working against the railways.
@@intelligenceofacertainkindIf it's the line I'm thinking of, then that's why Merseyrail have invested in battery trains, to extend services along lines like that. Granted, they need permission from the Government to do so, so contact your local MP to try and get the ball rolling
This came up randomly in my feed. I'm not especially interested in railways, but from the first words i was riveted! I love Gareth's combination of incredibly comprehensive knowledge and unbridled passion. Reunify the railways and make him the boss, in perpetuity!
Plenty of people in Rail know this, but they are not being allowed to run the railway. DfT has all the levers and DfT are short term know nothing prats you wouldn't trust to run you a bath.
people advocating for socially beneficial programs are rarely accepted into the neoliberal mainstream. they're ideologically opposed to anything that exists to help people rather than make private profits
The Rail Minister, and former head of Network Rail, got Gareth blacklisted from the Rail industry earlier this year. So not only isn't he promoted as much as he should be, the bosses of the railways are actively suppressing him.
@@Alabaster_Kettand then a few months later I saw a story in the media talking about crowding at Euston being a bit dangerous. (No prizes for guessing what topic Mr Dennis talked about that got his career hendified)
Thank you Novara. This is easily could have been three hours or more. Masterful interviewer and guest; I'm absolutely sold on the book. More train content please!
@@taipizzalord4463they'd have to re-nationalise the railways. But that should happen anyway. Not for any ideological reason, just on the grounds of sanity. In big countries it's possible to have a private rail company serving very large sections of rail. It can work. But in a small crowded island country like Britain it's just stupid and inefficient having one company operating 20 or so miles of track then another operating the next 20 miles. The delays, problems with connections, the huge differences in quality of service, and even the inability of private operators to make it work financially - make the privatised system unworkable in small countries.
@@taipizzalord4463 that would require double-track or even quad-track railway lines. The North American freight railway companies can do that with ease, bur they simply refuse to because they hate capital costs reducing profits for their shareholders.
Freight in the UK has an issue due to the size of passing loops and depots, measured in SLU's, existing isn't effectively "long" enough, plus the issue with pathing...
As a proud cyclist and public transport user there are some of us out there making the case to others. Keep on letting others around you know the waste of cars.
I clicked on this thinking it was about EVs. If you'd mentioned it was about trains I would have skipped the whole thing. Surprised and pleased to find it so interesting. More Gareth please!
It's clickb8 argument which doesn't makes sense. Road EVs and Trains should not compete. They are different tools for different jobs. I also love Trams coming from Melbourne.
I love using trains, but the cost is just far too much most of the time. Took a train from Portsmouth to Bristol and back recently and it rinsed me out of about £150! I could have driven and it would have taken roughly the same amount of time, but cost me a fraction of that price in petrol. Work recently paid for a return train fare for me to get from Portsmouth to Fulham for a meeting and it was nearly £300!!! Privatisation has made it too expensive for all but occasional use if you also have the option of a car. Such a shame - railways are something the British were once proud of. Just like with poor nations vs rich ones, for regular people I think the cost is more important than any environmental concerns.
I agree with you. Rail fares should be cheaper, especially in your country. However, the cost of fuel does not nearly account for the cost of choosing to use a car.
What do you pay in Tax to support the Roads? How much does a Hillman Minx cost today? What is the Insurance cost to own a Car? You pay for every form of transportation .
The uk railways were built by private companies to reduce the cost of moving manufactured products and raw materials. Moving passengers was a secondary consideration. However, the UK now needs railways for a low energy efficient multipurpose means of transport to match France, Germany and Itsly, not to mention Switzerland.
Never thought I would watch 90mins purely about trains but Gareth was just so enthusiastic, not to mention very interesting, with the bonus of having a strong eric idle vibe going on, thanks.
I use trains,I have for 57 years . Its the best way to travel. It could be so much better ,but we are where we are .private travel in a motor vehicle is a luxury, however far to many people won't use any other mode . Their wedded to them . Its laziness ,and convenience that stops them to travel any other way .
I hate trains. Mainly because of the stations. They are too far apart from where I want to go. My workplace is 12km from my home. But the nearest station is 8km from my home. I should drive there, park my car, and use the train. But then, at the other end, I'm still 4km away. And I don't have a car there. It's too far to walk in a reasonable time. I've not been on a bicycle for years, because I'm too scared of getting run over by all the cars on the road. I feel like trains are not size correctly. They're too big, heavy, and expensive. That's why there's so few lines. And the signaling systems (to avoid collisions) is archaic. I want a mini train system. Cars on it will weight a max of 200kg, though most would be less. Max speed is 30kmh, so nearly all accidents would not be that serious, and we don't have to massively reinforce and armour them. This makes lighter, more energy efficient cars. Because of the ultra light weight, tracks will be cheap and easy to build, and will go everywhere. They would be 10% of the cost of building roads, and would take less space. New housing areas will be built with them, and make do with a narrow single row, lightly used actual road for the delivery of heavy goods or emergency services like fire engines. Developers would love this because they are cheaper to build than roads, and takes up less space, so more houses to sell. There would be no stations. Each house or shop would have a short siding just long enough for a car or two, where your car porch used to be. But mini train cars are smaller than ICE cars, so they take up less space. This allows us to load/unload cars without them stopping on the main track and blocking traffic. In apartments and shopping complexes, they would be where the car parking use to go, but take up only 10% of the space (because nobody is parking there, it's only for loading/unloading). What is missing is a computerized system to manage traffic on the thing that guarantees zero congestion (by not allowing more cars on it than the system can support). If demand exceeds capacity, you would not be stuck waiting on transit. You would be waiting at home. Developing this should be easier than AI self driving. The track solves 99% of the problem and removing all human drivers solves 0.99% of the remainder.
That was riveting. Dennis does a great job of knitting together and crystallising the issues that are causing this rut the UK is in. Would have welcomed another few hours of that
Fascinating talk and a lot of excellent points made. The truth is that you can't separate big projects and politics, and Gareth understands that very well. His cynical take on a lot of these matters has resonated with me very much.
@@CmdrTobs Microplastics from clothes mostly end up being filtered. The largest single source of microplastics in the ocean and waterways is from tyres - they make up something like 40%. They also end up kicked up into the air which is a problem for people near roads.
@@CmdrTobs Most of the tyre microplastics go into the waterways. The 2019 Kings College report was specifically on London, but could be generalisable - I'm not sure. The paper does say London has higher airborne microplastic levels than Paris and Dongguan, which is interesting. The 2023 study "Microplastics and Tire Wear Particles in Urban Stormwater ..." by Shima Ziajahromi et al shows 95% of stormwater runoff during rain are from tires - though that's a specific weather event. The 2020 Pew Charitable Trust study found that "The largest contributor to 2016 microplastic leakage into the ocean is tyre dust, contributing 78 per cent of the leakage mass; pellets contribute 18 per cent; and textiles and personal care products (PCP) contribute 4 per cent combined." As I understand it the specific plastic compounds in tyres are some of the worst to have in our waterways too.
Tokyo is the perfect example of why rail is absolutely the key to moving people around cities. JR is the example of how to move people around the country.
@@HopeIsFleeting yes we all know that! Not used by the majority, most don't need one at all, almost never the best option. It's a 40million people metropolis, if it relied on private cars it would be clogged with a capital F. A good rail system is the only solution to keep Tokyo/Kanto moving.
I am under the impression that a sizeable and vocal minority in Britain are anti railway, especially in terms of investment in the railway network. Don't understand it but recent governments appear to have pandered to them.
I wouldn't say we are vocal. I hear far more people like you demanding for 'investment' which is a euphemism for my non-railway using taxes subsiding even more shitty trains.
Not just anti-railway, there's a strong culture of not investing in public transport or any public infrastructure at all in the UK, and it's not recent.
@@f.g.9466 Public infrastructure, particularly government owned and run is very recent. I have a hard time believing attitudes to it are particularly traditional, not least because the UK built it's first.
@@CmdrTobs what did the UK build first? British railways were for the large majority built by private entrepreneurs competing against each other, not by the central government trying to serve people. The situation with water (of course, privatised) and the discharges in the UK resembles more of a developing country.
Brilliant and fascinating episode. So many mysteries about potty thinking and the scleroses that afflict the U.K. transport system clarified. Let’s have more … asap!
I prefer using trains to travel between cities - I can sit with my family and spend time 100% on them and not on the road. While trains are super efficient but when they get delayed unreasonably, it all falls apart pretty quickly.
For travelling as a group, cars beat trains 1000%. Like literally if there are 5 of you it'll be about 10x cheaper than the train. And the CO2 comes out about equal if there are 5 of you in a reasonable car.
@@simontist that's the issue. The UK doesn't have enough local rail outside London and what we do have is not frequent and much too expensive. All local and regional bus and rail in the country is free to use in Luxembourg and €49/month in Germany, €29 for people aged 6-25 in full time education.
Although I don’t share most of the political opinions of NM - it’s great that they have a speaker like Gareth on the podcast. Thoroughly enjoyed it and yes you need to invite him back. I agree about the lack of drive to built infrastructure nowadays especially when you compare it with the flurry of activity during the Victorian period to built thousands of lines of rail with associated stations using pick/shovel and private capital.
The tram system here in Prague is amazing. Far better and faster than what London loves- cars and busses. We also have a great metro system, and about half as much rail miles as all of the UK- in a country 5 times smaller. I can get to pretty much any part of the Czech Republic by rail, which is fast and cheap. Even little villages have rail stops. I also have a EV, though and get free parking and charging at a lot of places. Sometimes I need a car for certain tasks and situations.
How can you sit there and say with a straight face London loves cars and busses? Nowhere in Europe has anything on the public transport infrastructure of london, taking account londons sheer size by area and population. I think there's whole countries that don't have as many options as London does.
Absolutely true, but it's not just about London. I have a car because I live in a rural town in the SW (- population about 14k) which has to rely on private sector bus services, with rail services a 30 minutes drive. I can't help thinking back to a visit to a similar rural town SW Germany a few years ago where you could walk a few yards, hop on the tram that trundled up the high street and travel pretty much anywhere on the continent. Of course, they didn't impose Beeching on themselves and had an intact, accessible and far reaching rail infrastructure in place to support growth in population, commerce and industry. Missed a trick again didn't we.....
@@waqasahmed939When transport in London is being discussed it's always about Greater London and TfL's remit to provide public transport (except a lot of suburban national rail services) in the 32 boroughs and the City of London.
I like trains very much so this was always going to be interesting but I was still blown away and would watch this interview if it went on for several hundred hours. Absolutely fantastic!
M8 we get royally fucked by Westminster on everything in wales. I live in South Wales and it's shockingly shite. Despite owning 11% of UK railway we only get 1.5% of rail funding. I can't imagine how bad it is in mid wales, the only route i can remember is the Swansea to Shrewsbury line.
It's encouraging to see tfw investing in the infrastructure with the South Wales metro project but mid Wales is essentially a desert. Hopefully a north-south line actually *in* Wales will come next.
I was initially dubious about watching a 95 minute conversation about trains, but this was incredibly interesting. I'm probably going to read the book, so job well done.
A car has to be one of the least efficient modes of transport - all that steel and plastic has to be mined/fabricated and transported just to get on average one person from A to B
just to jump on the title + the thumbnail, because this is a common theme in my circles: *Trains are indeed better than cars; however, EVs are **_not_** a "scam".* As for the part that I agree with: For moving large numbers of people between their respective points A and B, the private automobile is the _worst_ tool for the job. This is not a matter of politics, or "culture", or personal preference, or aesthetics, or mUh FrEeDuMz, but a matter of basic geometry, arithmetic, and physics. If everyone goes everywhere individually wrapped in their own large metal box, there simply isn't enough room - and making enough room for the car as _the_ way to get around has been devastatingly destructive. I'm lucky to live in one of the two metro areas in the USA that has a decent mode share for public transportation, on account of spending the money to make a useful public transportation system. And even though the necessary qualifier "for the USA" means the bar is quite low, and even though everyone complains about it (just like everyone in the world does about their transit), I've been living happily car-free in this apartment for 30 years - I actually declined a free car shortly after I moved in here - because the combination of walkability and mass transit makes a car an entirely unnecessary burden. *And yet* even in the most walkable and multi-modal cities in the most enlightened countries, there are still valid use cases for the automobile. Sometimes, you really do need all that space to move the people and/or gear you need to move, and/or your points A/B aren't well served by mass transit. While the car is the worst tool for the job of _default_ transportation mode, it is still the best or the only tool for _some_ jobs. And *electric **_anything_** >>> the fuel-burning version of that thing* - whether you're talking about trains, buses, trucks, delivery and utility vehicles, or even cars. Automakers want to sell the idea that simply replacing fuel-burning cars with EVs while leaving the car-centric infrastructure and land use patterns of the mid-20th century in place. That is, indeed, a scam. And the folks I go to for my EV news (Transport Evolved) agree.
Yep, totally agree. Everyone should use buses and trains is a city dwellers perspective. This guy needs to get out to the country for a bit and see how he completely fails to get on.
Nate Hagens discusses this with a more structured and wide-boundary systems lens, with higher orders and logics precluding the benefits from being realised.
@@petebateman143 how about flipping your perspective and taking into account where _most people actually live_ : you need to get out of the sticks and into civilization for a bit and see how stupid private cars are as a mode of individual transportation. No one is telling you you can't have your private car when you're out in the middle of nowhere. But don't bring your cars to town.
What we need in transport is proper evidenced-based decision making if we are ever to get to save ourselves from the worst ravages of global warming. This talk proves we have anything but this from UK governments! We need a Royal Commission for future transport, not more chatter about potholes etc Thanks so much Steffi 😂
I love trains. You can make much more dense cities. Long rides are great too, gives you time to sleep or be online or work. Also being active keeps you healthier by walking around everywhere.
i've met Gareth through the PWI, always cuts through the BS and tells it how it is, has a good and the only argument that i have heard that promotes HS2, which no government has come close!
I enjoyed this interview way more than I anticipated. And it's the first time I've heard anyone talk about the major benefit of HS2 being that it'll allow more capacity on the existing rail network. Great interview Aaron!
if you want a great example of the capacity point. you should look at 9/11. Basically the whole of Manhatten was evacuated by train in about an hour when the towers went down.
5 weeks recently in China, Trains to everywhere, highly used, modern, fuelling commerce at all levels. The backbone of commerce built by the state at the service of the community Large cites with metro systems that weren't there last time I visited.. Electric buses and taxis as we as private ones.
In the UK this is true, but lots of other countries manage far better than we do. But yeah, at the moment it's awful outside of cities, I lived in the cotswolds for a couple years and I'd have had no life at all without a car.
@@paulfletcher3998 Bournemouth and Poole are both bigger than Lausanne, Switzerland which has a driverless underground network that runs every 4 minutes and has a stop roughly every 500 meters. Public transport is great if you actually build it in the first place.
I live in a very rural area. Up until the 1960s many of our small towns were connected by branch lines. They were all shut, but what really annoys me is that the land where the lines ran were all allowed to be developed on, this makes it so much harder, almost impossible to reopen them as they can't just simply follow the old routes. They also would probably struggle to turn a profit, which is what did for them in the first place. Obviously in a nationalised system profitable lines can pay for loss making lines. But we're probably even further from that way of thinking in 2024 than we were when the Beeching report devestated rural branch lines in the early 1960s.
They're better, but politicians are too lazy to push for it to be expanded, if they bother to have it developed in the first place. Thus, the issue falls onto the mentality of the political class in Britain. The public needs to force them to change, in order to get developmental changes throughout the country.
I look forward to all the replies that say "I can't use public transport because it's not good enough."
I wish we had the Swiss system where trains and buses actually time with each other. Where I live only 1 or 2 buses an hour actually times with the train which is rubbish when there are a combined 8 trains per hour at the 3 local stations.
@aaronsmith9209 this👌 I used to travel between Leicester and Birmingham regularly, my home stop in brum was served by buses hourly after a certain time of night, every time my train was due to get me back precisely the time the bus got there, so by the time I'd ran over the bridge to the bus stop the bus had left. Thus meaning either an expensive taxi or an hour wait at a cold wet bus stop 🤦♂️
I can't use cars because they're fucking the planet.
Yo they got the #1 trashfuture guest a spot on downstream!?!?!
Yeah unfortunately that is the case for most of the Anglosphere.
Yesss finally 90 minutes of talking about trains!
I think this format should be available in a 90min version for people that just want to know the facts and a 180min extended chat version for us train nerds!!!
Brilliant something to watch while your train is delayed .
I recommend Gloves trains on TH-cam. She has an infectious love of all things trains in Great Britain.
You need therapy.
@johnburns4017 no you
Yes. We would love a 3 hour long video, I'm not even being sarcastic. This has been a genuinely interesting discussion, I'm even going to buy his book.
It's handy then that Gareth is no stranger to a long-form podcast: Rail Natter and Well There's Your Problem are available wherever good pods are cast
The "Well There's Your Problem" podcast has finally hit Novara. This is genius at work.
The WTYP Cinematic Universe crossovers going crazy this season
@@callsignapollo_ more to come, too
It’s mad to have seen Gareth Dennis’ story just completely blow up! Sacked for having an commonly held opinion so impersonally!
I cannot thumbs up this video hard enough. Gareth Dennis is an inspiration and we need more voices like his to be amplified.
Do you believe in Climate Change? Just asking.
This guy is straight up my hero - every argument he makes is gold. I will read his book, cheers
He's got a lot of facts and some good analysis. He presents data in a biased way though, and I find that disappointing.
@@Ozzy1984_ very biased he could have been more honest I would have probably been interested in his ideas but ... mehh..
@@Ozzy1984_ Yes. The dishonesty of continuing to spread the lies about EVs, their batteries, their excessive weight etc. really annoyed me.
He's got a (very) valid argument for much, much greater investment in all forms of public transport, not just trains.
But his (apparently) deliberate misrepresentation of the real facts about EVs just made me turn off.
Rail is fine for large urban populations, but rural populations also exist, and straight up lying about cobalt (pretty much the entirety of the battery industry has declared that they won't be using it by the end of 2025, and most no longer use it already) does nobody any favours at all.
^^ name bunchofnumbers accounts are sore he's exposing elon nonce as the fraud he is
@@davidcolin6519 Can you support your claim that "most" EV manufacturers no longer use cobalt? The best I've been able to find is that they are reducing their use of cobalt. Also, can you give details of some of the other "lies" he's told about EVs?
He's called Gareth, likes trains, has a moustache. Wonderful. I'm getting the train tomorrow.
I could listen to Gareth talk about trains for hours. It's so rare to hear someone talk sense about public transport.
I will certainly buy his book.
This has been the best description of why HS2 was necessary - thanks for the clear explanation, I've modified my view
I saw Gareth by chance on a clip on BBC a while back and found his podcast and his opinion on HS2 fully flipped my opinion. It is actually crazy how badly it was presented when you see why it was proposed in the first place.
The original HS2 as proposed should be any serious governments no1 priority in terms of infrastructure. I'm yet to see a serious argument against it.
The one thing he left out is that the capacity freed up involves cancelling services to the intermediate stations that the fast trains between London and Birmingham currently stop at (primarily Coventry, but those trains have at times also stopped at Rugby, Milton Keynes, and Watford Junction). So the case for HS2 isn't entirely an upside for rail passengers.
@@Alabaster_KettThere was almost no discussion of the technical hurdles and they are serious, not to be cynically dismissed.
@@CmdrTobs Believing the technical hurdles can and must be overcome isn't the same as being cynical?
If anything, the idea that the fact that it will be a technically impressive thing to complete means we shouldn't do it is the cynical take.
@@stephengray1344 That is wrong. Capacity freed up by HS2 allows more services for intermediate stations, not less.
This was a delight to listen to, I could've definitely handled another hour or two of Gareth Dennis
I feel like this about basically all the Downstream guests though, I think this format should be available in a 90min and 180min version!
He has a TH-cam podcast called Railnatter so congrats because you can listen to/watch him plenty more. He is also currently guest hosting on Well There’s Your Problem which is also excellent.
He's also a guest on many podcasts, Well There's Your Problem and Trashfuture come to mind
Awesome! I love this message. I'm a passionate urbanist, transit advocate, cyclist, and car free in Los Angeles. It's great to see transit advocacy in places that aren't exclusively about urbanism!
By the way, I got my friend to take the bus for the first time in a long time as we went to a used bike shop and I helped him buy his first bike yesterday. The bike revolution is under way!
Good job!
❤❤❤ yes
Good for you and your friend
What's an urbanist?
being car free in the US must be tough unless you live in NY
Anyone lived in Japan knows how useful railway transport is. You never think about owning a car unless you are in the countryside.
@@IaN09876 fond memories of the Yamanote line. I couldn't believe how fast they accelerate.
The French once asked Japan how they could make their bullet trains out of such lightweight materials.
They wondered about the danger, given a crash, that the train would just crumple up.
Japan just stated simply, that they do not crash.
yep driving is an option. it is quite nice.. hell even korea has a semi decent mass transit. trains in the u.s. are a joke..
I think it’s more of a problem with how you deal with bad actors for public transit
Like in the us the addicts arent banned or dealt with in a manner that stops them from ruining the experience for others
Try to do a train with 3 kids with prams and luggage. There is a reason all these East Asian countries are going through a demographic disaster. Public transport is almost never family friendly.
It is great if you are single or a group of adults.
I usually enjoy Downstream episodes but this one in particular is one of the most enjoyable to listen to. Really relatable. I could hear you both jump from one topic to another and linking them in the end. I yearn for a part 2 to this
there was so much more we wanted to pick up, and could have too!
Great guest, great message. I'm ordering your book Gareth.
I spent 4 years at a Climate job working on sustainable transportation, building decarbonization, and renewable energy policy. It was crazy to recognize that EV cars/SUVs/pickups can't be sustainable for a number of reasons, but principally because of the emissions required to build them perpetually. The solution for sustainable transportation is actually rail (with catenary, not battery) with trams, light rail, regional rail and HSR and for short trips micromobility including e-bikes, scooter, microcars and active transportation. This isn't based on opinion. We haven't got the emissions, the readily available resources, nor the energy to keep building 2+ ton vehicles for everyone and churning through them.
Really good to see someone's finally cracked this with a book. Now let's help spread this message to our governments at all levels. You all have your text book and your marching orders.
I’d much rather rely on public transport and trains could be better than cars, but in the UK, this is certainly not the case. I live only 10 miles north of Brighton with a 20 minute walk to a train station on the main London to Brighton line and yet I never get the train down to Brighton because it costs more than paying to park and the trains are almost always cancelled or severely delayed, making them totally unreliable. I always get the train to London though, because driving to London is a form of torture.
That's rail privatisation for you. Same here in NW England. To get to Liverpool I have 15 miles of railway (the same actual track) that's Northern Rail and ancient diesel trains pulling decrepit carriages on a threadbare service. Then the next 15 miles is Merseyrail and electrified which is better. The two timetables do not match up in the slightest. It's expensive and very time consuming getting two trains for a 30 mile journey along the same actual track. So I drive. I absolutely hate the drive by the way. It's horrible. But it's less horrible, less time consuming and less expensive than the train.
That’s what happens when we prioritise car ownership.
Look at how much *space* roads for cars take up as well. Imagine if we could pedestrianise most high streets and plant trees, have markets, live music. All kinds of things.
That was reality until, what, 100 years ago, max. Cars were also incredibly, incredibly dangerous and were the largest killer of people under 30 or 40 until 30-40 years ago
Southern Rail isn't it and they are notoriously bad
Government policy. Since the 1960s and Beeching, whose cuts are still being carried out, the Government has been systematically working against the railways.
@@intelligenceofacertainkindIf it's the line I'm thinking of, then that's why Merseyrail have invested in battery trains, to extend services along lines like that.
Granted, they need permission from the Government to do so, so contact your local MP to try and get the ball rolling
Having spent 38 years working in the rail industry, I couldn't agree more with this. A balanced and informed discussion.
Been waiting a while for this guest, excited is an understatement.
This came up randomly in my feed. I'm not especially interested in railways, but from the first words i was riveted! I love Gareth's combination of incredibly comprehensive knowledge and unbridled passion. Reunify the railways and make him the boss, in perpetuity!
This bloke is brilliant, why isn't he more mainstream?. If guys like this were just left to run their railway it would be freaking amazing.
He has been on the BBC a couple of times. Gareth is quite well known in the train nerd circles
Plenty of people in Rail know this, but they are not being allowed to run the railway. DfT has all the levers and DfT are short term know nothing prats you wouldn't trust to run you a bath.
people advocating for socially beneficial programs are rarely accepted into the neoliberal mainstream. they're ideologically opposed to anything that exists to help people rather than make private profits
The Rail Minister, and former head of Network Rail, got Gareth blacklisted from the Rail industry earlier this year. So not only isn't he promoted as much as he should be, the bosses of the railways are actively suppressing him.
@@Alabaster_Kettand then a few months later I saw a story in the media talking about crowding at Euston being a bit dangerous. (No prizes for guessing what topic Mr Dennis talked about that got his career hendified)
Thank you Novara. This is easily could have been three hours or more. Masterful interviewer and guest; I'm absolutely sold on the book. More train content please!
There's far too much freight on the roads that could and really should be on rail. I'll agree with that.
Yeah, although I do not want a us/Canada system where passenger trains are waiting in sidings for freight trains.
@@taipizzalord4463they'd have to re-nationalise the railways. But that should happen anyway. Not for any ideological reason, just on the grounds of sanity.
In big countries it's possible to have a private rail company serving very large sections of rail. It can work. But in a small crowded island country like Britain it's just stupid and inefficient having one company operating 20 or so miles of track then another operating the next 20 miles. The delays, problems with connections, the huge differences in quality of service, and even the inability of private operators to make it work financially - make the privatised system unworkable in small countries.
@@taipizzalord4463 that would require double-track or even quad-track railway lines. The North American freight railway companies can do that with ease, bur they simply refuse to because they hate capital costs reducing profits for their shareholders.
@@intelligenceofacertainkind So nationalise to hide the costs 🙄
Freight in the UK has an issue due to the size of passing loops and depots, measured in SLU's, existing isn't effectively "long" enough, plus the issue with pathing...
As a proud cyclist and public transport user there are some of us out there making the case to others. Keep on letting others around you know the waste of cars.
What a great bloke, he is almost incandescent with enthusiasm. We need more people like him.
I clicked on this thinking it was about EVs. If you'd mentioned it was about trains I would have skipped the whole thing. Surprised and pleased to find it so interesting. More Gareth please!
It's clickb8 argument which doesn't makes sense. Road EVs and Trains should not compete. They are different tools for different jobs. I also love Trams coming from Melbourne.
25 mins in he discussed why we have large EVs and how they don't appear to be compatible with current road infrastructure.
Aaron I absolutely want two more hours of this
I love using trains, but the cost is just far too much most of the time. Took a train from Portsmouth to Bristol and back recently and it rinsed me out of about £150! I could have driven and it would have taken roughly the same amount of time, but cost me a fraction of that price in petrol. Work recently paid for a return train fare for me to get from Portsmouth to Fulham for a meeting and it was nearly £300!!! Privatisation has made it too expensive for all but occasional use if you also have the option of a car. Such a shame - railways are something the British were once proud of. Just like with poor nations vs rich ones, for regular people I think the cost is more important than any environmental concerns.
I agree with you. Rail fares should be cheaper, especially in your country. However, the cost of fuel does not nearly account for the cost of choosing to use a car.
That is exactly what Dennis is railing (pun intended) against!
It's frustrating, you have to know how to game the system to get a decent price
the reason they're expensive is because they're at capacity; so many people are using them that they have to discourage it through high prices
What do you pay in Tax to support the Roads?
How much does a Hillman Minx cost today?
What is the Insurance cost to own a Car?
You pay for every form of transportation .
I listened to the audio of this and now I regret not really *seeing* how much Gareth believes in trains
The uk railways were built by private companies to reduce the cost of moving manufactured products and raw materials. Moving passengers was a secondary consideration. However, the UK now needs railways for a low energy efficient multipurpose means of transport to match France, Germany and Itsly, not to mention Switzerland.
Never thought I would watch 90mins purely about trains but Gareth was just so enthusiastic, not to mention very interesting, with the bonus of having a strong eric idle vibe going on, thanks.
This guy is great, best guest.
I use trains,I have for 57 years . Its the best way to travel. It could be so much better ,but we are where we are .private travel in a motor vehicle is a luxury, however far to many people won't use any other mode . Their wedded to them . Its laziness ,and convenience that stops them to travel any other way .
Yeah and trains are so much less stressful than cars and roads. No such thing as "train rage" afaik
I think it's about having more autonomy
Trains doesn't really solve the last mile, and in many cases the last 100 miles, need to actually arrive at the destination.
@@SweBeach2023 a mile is what, less than 15 minutes of walking, even less when biking. I don't get why it's an issue.
I hate trains. Mainly because of the stations. They are too far apart from where I want to go. My workplace is 12km from my home. But the nearest station is 8km from my home. I should drive there, park my car, and use the train. But then, at the other end, I'm still 4km away. And I don't have a car there. It's too far to walk in a reasonable time. I've not been on a bicycle for years, because I'm too scared of getting run over by all the cars on the road.
I feel like trains are not size correctly. They're too big, heavy, and expensive. That's why there's so few lines. And the signaling systems (to avoid collisions) is archaic.
I want a mini train system. Cars on it will weight a max of 200kg, though most would be less. Max speed is 30kmh, so nearly all accidents would not be that serious, and we don't have to massively reinforce and armour them.
This makes lighter, more energy efficient cars. Because of the ultra light weight, tracks will be cheap and easy to build, and will go everywhere. They would be 10% of the cost of building roads, and would take less space. New housing areas will be built with them, and make do with a narrow single row, lightly used actual road for the delivery of heavy goods or emergency services like fire engines. Developers would love this because they are cheaper to build than roads, and takes up less space, so more houses to sell. There would be no stations. Each house or shop would have a short siding just long enough for a car or two, where your car porch used to be. But mini train cars are smaller than ICE cars, so they take up less space. This allows us to load/unload cars without them stopping on the main track and blocking traffic. In apartments and shopping complexes, they would be where the car parking use to go, but take up only 10% of the space (because nobody is parking there, it's only for loading/unloading).
What is missing is a computerized system to manage traffic on the thing that guarantees zero congestion (by not allowing more cars on it than the system can support). If demand exceeds capacity, you would not be stuck waiting on transit. You would be waiting at home. Developing this should be easier than AI self driving. The track solves 99% of the problem and removing all human drivers solves 0.99% of the remainder.
We love you Gareth Dennis cohost of the hit podcast Well There's Your Problem
That was riveting. Dennis does a great job of knitting together and crystallising the issues that are causing this rut the UK is in. Would have welcomed another few hours of that
Fascinating talk and a lot of excellent points made. The truth is that you can't separate big projects and politics, and Gareth understands that very well. His cynical take on a lot of these matters has resonated with me very much.
Can we get a Novara episode on busses? I enjoyed this discussion while cooking and more British transport information could be good time.
Are you familiar with the channel "Not Just Bikes"? You might find it interesting :)
Amazing man, it really difficult to make a transportation mechanism worse than not only cars, but private jets.
I love that he mentions microplastics! Such a huge problem with rubber wheel transport.
Per untit of cargo, car tyres are better than trainiers. If microplastics are a concern, start with Clothes and footwear.
Microplastics don't matter to the urbanist demographic anyways, TFR is simply not there.
@@CmdrTobs Microplastics from clothes mostly end up being filtered. The largest single source of microplastics in the ocean and waterways is from tyres - they make up something like 40%. They also end up kicked up into the air which is a problem for people near roads.
@@shraka Kings collage report in 2019 in London identified clothes fibre as the bulk source of airbourne plastic. (is this outdated?)
@@CmdrTobs Most of the tyre microplastics go into the waterways. The 2019 Kings College report was specifically on London, but could be generalisable - I'm not sure. The paper does say London has higher airborne microplastic levels than Paris and Dongguan, which is interesting.
The 2023 study "Microplastics and Tire Wear Particles in Urban Stormwater ..." by Shima Ziajahromi et al shows 95% of stormwater runoff during rain are from tires - though that's a specific weather event.
The 2020 Pew Charitable Trust study found that "The largest contributor to 2016 microplastic leakage into the ocean is tyre dust, contributing 78 per cent of the leakage mass; pellets contribute 18 per cent; and textiles and personal care products (PCP) contribute 4 per cent combined."
As I understand it the specific plastic compounds in tyres are some of the worst to have in our waterways too.
Thanks!
Tokyo is the perfect example of why rail is absolutely the key to moving people around cities. JR is the example of how to move people around the country.
You know there are also cars in Tokyo right?
@@HopeIsFleeting yes we all know that! Not used by the majority, most don't need one at all, almost never the best option. It's a 40million people metropolis, if it relied on private cars it would be clogged with a capital F.
A good rail system is the only solution to keep Tokyo/Kanto moving.
Much appreciated. This was a great conversation
not enough people bring up the simple fact that railways are THE easiest to electrify.
Been watching gareths channel for years now, love how animated he gets when hes passionate about something 😂
I am under the impression that a sizeable and vocal minority in Britain are anti railway, especially in terms of investment in the railway network. Don't understand it but recent governments appear to have pandered to them.
I wouldn't say we are vocal. I hear far more people like you demanding for 'investment' which is a euphemism for my non-railway using taxes subsiding even more shitty trains.
Not just anti-railway, there's a strong culture of not investing in public transport or any public infrastructure at all in the UK, and it's not recent.
@@f.g.9466 Public infrastructure, particularly government owned and run is very recent. I have a hard time believing attitudes to it are particularly traditional, not least because the UK built it's first.
@@CmdrTobs what did the UK build first? British railways were for the large majority built by private entrepreneurs competing against each other, not by the central government trying to serve people.
The situation with water (of course, privatised) and the discharges in the UK resembles more of a developing country.
@ I agree
Brilliant and fascinating episode. So many mysteries about potty thinking and the scleroses that afflict the U.K. transport system clarified. Let’s have more … asap!
Just read his book and found myself wondering why he hadn't been on Downstream yet, looking forward to enjoying this one.
This was fun and informative, I really enjoy this guy's energy. Would love to see Gareth with Jason from Not Just Bikes.
We've done a podcast ep together!
I prefer using trains to travel between cities - I can sit with my family and spend time 100% on them and not on the road. While trains are super efficient but when they get delayed unreasonably, it all falls apart pretty quickly.
@@fablewalls I prefer using trains to travel around within the cities but most of the UK only has buses for that kind of thing.
For travelling as a group, cars beat trains 1000%. Like literally if there are 5 of you it'll be about 10x cheaper than the train. And the CO2 comes out about equal if there are 5 of you in a reasonable car.
@@simontist that's the issue. The UK doesn't have enough local rail outside London and what we do have is not frequent and much too expensive. All local and regional bus and rail in the country is free to use in Luxembourg and €49/month in Germany, €29 for people aged 6-25 in full time education.
Holy shit it's Gareth! 😁
EDIT: You should look up the episodes of Well There's Your Problem where he guests, he's brilliant!
His book is pretty good, defo recommend 👍
I loved the description ~1:17:00 about Hyperloop passenger loading as "cannons firing human mulch" into the thing.
I love his enthusiasm. Very interesting and very knowledgable.
Most interesting video I've seen all year. Please get Gareth on again!
This guy is brilliant. So many issues to look at.
Love it! Podcast of the month award! 🏆
Although I don’t share most of the political opinions of NM - it’s great that they have a speaker like Gareth on the podcast. Thoroughly enjoyed it and yes you need to invite him back. I agree about the lack of drive to built infrastructure nowadays especially when you compare it with the flurry of activity during the Victorian period to built thousands of lines of rail with associated stations using pick/shovel and private capital.
Loved listening to Gareth, so much passion. This was a great episode!
The tram system here in Prague is amazing. Far better and faster than what London loves- cars and busses. We also have a great metro system, and about half as much rail miles as all of the UK- in a country 5 times smaller. I can get to pretty much any part of the Czech Republic by rail, which is fast and cheap. Even little villages have rail stops. I also have a EV, though and get free parking and charging at a lot of places. Sometimes I need a car for certain tasks and situations.
How can you sit there and say with a straight face London loves cars and busses?
Nowhere in Europe has anything on the public transport infrastructure of london, taking account londons sheer size by area and population.
I think there's whole countries that don't have as many options as London does.
@@pierzing.glint1sh76Perhaps they mean greater London? That's a huge area.
Absolutely true, but it's not just about London. I have a car because I live in a rural town in the SW (- population about 14k) which has to rely on private sector bus services, with rail services a 30 minutes drive. I can't help thinking back to a visit to a similar rural town SW Germany a few years ago where you could walk a few yards, hop on the tram that trundled up the high street and travel pretty much anywhere on the continent. Of course, they didn't impose Beeching on themselves and had an intact, accessible and far reaching rail infrastructure in place to support growth in population, commerce and industry. Missed a trick again didn't we.....
I lived in Prague for a year, and nowhere else lives up to it for me it was painful moving back to Glasgow after being there.
@@waqasahmed939When transport in London is being discussed it's always about Greater London and TfL's remit to provide public transport (except a lot of suburban national rail services) in the 32 boroughs and the City of London.
Great Guest. Gareth is one of the best spokesperson on transport in the UK. The book is well worth a read too. Thanks Novara.
Wow that was so interesting - really illuminating. need this book, would also be an essential read for politicians of all stripes.
I like trains very much so this was always going to be interesting but I was still blown away and would watch this interview if it went on for several hundred hours. Absolutely fantastic!
We live in mid-west Wales. This discussion is largely irrelevant.
We need vast investments in infrastructure.
M8 we get royally fucked by Westminster on everything in wales. I live in South Wales and it's shockingly shite. Despite owning 11% of UK railway we only get 1.5% of rail funding. I can't imagine how bad it is in mid wales, the only route i can remember is the Swansea to Shrewsbury line.
It's encouraging to see tfw investing in the infrastructure with the South Wales metro project but mid Wales is essentially a desert. Hopefully a north-south line actually *in* Wales will come next.
I was initially dubious about watching a 95 minute conversation about trains, but this was incredibly interesting. I'm probably going to read the book, so job well done.
A car has to be one of the least efficient modes of transport - all that steel and plastic has to be mined/fabricated and transported just to get on average one person from A to B
So nice to see Gareth in more things!
just to jump on the title + the thumbnail, because this is a common theme in my circles: *Trains are indeed better than cars; however, EVs are **_not_** a "scam".*
As for the part that I agree with: For moving large numbers of people between their respective points A and B, the private automobile is the _worst_ tool for the job. This is not a matter of politics, or "culture", or personal preference, or aesthetics, or mUh FrEeDuMz, but a matter of basic geometry, arithmetic, and physics. If everyone goes everywhere individually wrapped in their own large metal box, there simply isn't enough room - and making enough room for the car as _the_ way to get around has been devastatingly destructive.
I'm lucky to live in one of the two metro areas in the USA that has a decent mode share for public transportation, on account of spending the money to make a useful public transportation system. And even though the necessary qualifier "for the USA" means the bar is quite low, and even though everyone complains about it (just like everyone in the world does about their transit), I've been living happily car-free in this apartment for 30 years - I actually declined a free car shortly after I moved in here - because the combination of walkability and mass transit makes a car an entirely unnecessary burden.
*And yet* even in the most walkable and multi-modal cities in the most enlightened countries, there are still valid use cases for the automobile. Sometimes, you really do need all that space to move the people and/or gear you need to move, and/or your points A/B aren't well served by mass transit. While the car is the worst tool for the job of _default_ transportation mode, it is still the best or the only tool for _some_ jobs.
And *electric **_anything_** >>> the fuel-burning version of that thing* - whether you're talking about trains, buses, trucks, delivery and utility vehicles, or even cars.
Automakers want to sell the idea that simply replacing fuel-burning cars with EVs while leaving the car-centric infrastructure and land use patterns of the mid-20th century in place. That is, indeed, a scam. And the folks I go to for my EV news (Transport Evolved) agree.
Yep, totally agree. Everyone should use buses and trains is a city dwellers perspective. This guy needs to get out to the country for a bit and see how he completely fails to get on.
Nate Hagens discusses this with a more structured and wide-boundary systems lens, with higher orders and logics precluding the benefits from being realised.
@@petebateman143 how about flipping your perspective and taking into account where _most people actually live_ : you need to get out of the sticks and into civilization for a bit and see how stupid private cars are as a mode of individual transportation.
No one is telling you you can't have your private car when you're out in the middle of nowhere. But don't bring your cars to town.
@@dwc1964 I'm not the one telling city people how to live while completely ignorant of their circumstance, now am i?
He did not say cars are a scam or that they should be banned. He made it clear that the selling pitch that EVs are the solution is a scam.
Fascinating and hugely illuminating. Thanks both.
Loved this. One of the best you've had
I've watched this twice! Great conversation. I learned so much.
Great guest, and great conversation. Thanks, Novara
What we need in transport is proper evidenced-based decision making if we are ever to get to save ourselves from the worst ravages of global warming. This talk proves we have anything but this from UK governments! We need a Royal Commission for future transport, not more chatter about potholes etc Thanks so much Steffi 😂
We sadly buy the idea that we need cars. Ditch 'em, people. Use ya legs and (probably) get to where you need by rail.
This was one of the most interesting and informative bits of long form content I've ever seen.
Thank you Novara and Gareth. I'll be buying the book
Great episode and fantastic guest
This was really good. Thanks folks!
Wow, what an amazing video! Gareth is extremely knowledgeable and very handsome to look at too... those eyes, so full of passion!
Marvellous! I love the passion in Gareth's voice. I listened to the whole podcast. Thank you!
I love trains. You can make much more dense cities. Long rides are great too, gives you time to sleep or be online or work. Also being active keeps you healthier by walking around everywhere.
Both these guys are bloody clever, I wish out politicians would see this and listen
i've met Gareth through the PWI, always cuts through the BS and tells it how it is, has a good and the only argument that i have heard that promotes HS2, which no government has come close!
I enjoyed this interview way more than I anticipated. And it's the first time I've heard anyone talk about the major benefit of HS2 being that it'll allow more capacity on the existing rail network. Great interview Aaron!
if you want a great example of the capacity point. you should look at 9/11. Basically the whole of Manhatten was evacuated by train in about an hour when the towers went down.
Fantastic stuff Gareth. Having experienced a high speed network and integrated metro system here in China I couldn't agree more with you.
5 weeks recently in China, Trains to everywhere, highly used, modern, fuelling commerce at all levels. The backbone of commerce built by the state at the service of the community
Large cites with metro systems that weren't there last time I visited..
Electric buses and taxis as we as private ones.
Really enjoyed this. Thanks Gareth and Novara/Aaron.
Public transport is great if you live in a city. Try using public transport to get anywhere in somewhere like Dorset and it's almost impossible.
OK this is weird..I literally just posted about living in Dorset and then I saw your reply. You are 100% correct.
In the UK this is true, but lots of other countries manage far better than we do. But yeah, at the moment it's awful outside of cities, I lived in the cotswolds for a couple years and I'd have had no life at all without a car.
this is the point of his whole thing lmao??.
@Elspm well it's almost impossible to build any kind of infrastructure in the UK now. Look at HS2, or building any crossing over the Thames
@@paulfletcher3998 Bournemouth and Poole are both bigger than Lausanne, Switzerland which has a driverless underground network that runs every 4 minutes and has a stop roughly every 500 meters. Public transport is great if you actually build it in the first place.
Great content as always on Downstream. Having debates that you just don't see elsewhere un the media. More of this please 🙏
This guy is fucking amazing. Brand new Gareth Dennis convert here
Love this guy's enthusiasm. And i share it. Stop subsidising planes. Focus on trains.
I live in a very rural area. Up until the 1960s many of our small towns were connected by branch lines. They were all shut, but what really annoys me is that the land where the lines ran were all allowed to be developed on, this makes it so much harder, almost impossible to reopen them as they can't just simply follow the old routes.
They also would probably struggle to turn a profit, which is what did for them in the first place. Obviously in a nationalised system profitable lines can pay for loss making lines. But we're probably even further from that way of thinking in 2024 than we were when the Beeching report devestated rural branch lines in the early 1960s.
America has had about 42,000 annual traffic deaths in recent years. It's been a while since we had the 30,000 number that the host mentioned.
They're better, but politicians are too lazy to push for it to be expanded, if they bother to have it developed in the first place. Thus, the issue falls onto the mentality of the political class in Britain. The public needs to force them to change, in order to get developmental changes throughout the country.
i enjoyed this far more than i thought. You should do this again with another technology. It really concretises the flaws of neo-liberalism. love it
GO ON GARETH
Fantastic conversation. It was a pleasure to listen to it.
I fucking love trains
Finally a real piece of transport journalism not rich clarkson clone motor mouths.
A superb interview. Thanks again, guys :)
Amazing talk! would have definitely watched one more hour of it!
Fantastic interview