Best HS2 Podcasts (2024)

1
3/4 Does the Chancellor's Budget give any hints of a UK transport strategy? 50:22

28m ago50:22

50:22

Christian Wolmar interviews Steve Gooding, Director of the RAC Foundation on what last week's UK Budget by the Chancellor of the Exchequer says about current and future plans for road vehicle taxation as electrification spreads and discussion of journey-based usage charges grows [01:45]. Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker then examine, compare …

1
Out of Africa: 'Kalahari' NG15- 134 Back in Steam & Memories of Uganda , Railway Ride-outs in Wales 49:47

15h ago49:47

49:47

Send us a text This episode focusses on engines from Africa. The first returned to steam after 20 years of restoration work and fundraising from dedicated volunteers – the NG 15 134. Alasdair talks to volunteer project leader Adrian Strachan and some of the volunteers and staff Now you know many a gem is found browsing a Railway Second hand book st…

1
3/3 Exclusive! Discover how the train drivers' pay dispute in England was really resolved 34:25

2d ago34:25

34:25

Christian talks to train drivers' union ASLEF's Assistant General Secretary - Simon Weller - about what really happened when the UK Labour Government came into power and negotiated a settlement of the long-running pay dispute [2:30], including exploring in detail the issues around Sunday working, why the Conservatives' anti-strike measures failed a…

1
SPECIAL Anniversary Engine Room with James Bovill, Maria Machancoses, and Andrew Pritchard 50:48

8d ago50:48

50:48

BBC Journalist and Midlands Connect alum, James Bovill, joins Maria and Andrew for a chat about what Midlands Connect has achieved over its first decade since inception.By James Bovill

1
3/2 Can London's Euston station be fixed and are Lime bikes a boon or a curse? 30:01

19d ago30:01

30:01

Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker examine the controversies and challenges at London's Euston station [01:30], ask just how much fun the BBC's 'Nightsleeper' drama is [17:08], debate the pros and cons of the Lime bike hire scheme and other micro-mobility technologies [17:18] and consider whether the Lower Thames Crossing is doomed [27:19].…

1
A message from The Northern Agenda editor Rob Parsons 2:46

23d ago2:46

2:46

The Northern Agenda podcast is changing - and our editor Rob Parsons shares the details! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Laudable

1
Reaction to the Labour party conference in Liverpool 35:43

1M ago35:43

35:43

For the last five days the eyes of the political world have been focusing on Liverpool's waterfront for Labour party conference, its first in power for 15 years. Thousands of people have piled into venues around the city, from party members and MPs to business leaders, metro mayors and of course senior Cabinet members - many of whom are from the No…

1
3/1 Live from Liverpool where Labour is "ripping up the very roots of Thatcherism" from transport 31:30

1M ago31:30

31:30

Launching Season 3, Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker report from the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on the keynote address by UK Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh MP [3:48]. Christian analyses a meeting discussing driverless cars addressed by Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood MP [13:50} and talks about his o…

1
Will Labour really deliver for the North? | Learning the lessons from HS2 fiasco 1:03:06

2M ago1:03:06

1:03:06

If you're into politics it's likely you'll be heading to, or at the very least reading about, one of the big party conferences happening this autumn. By far the biggest is Labour's annual get-together in Liverpool, their first as a new government. And anyone who's interested in the future direction of the Labour party will want to Rob Parsons…

1
Crewe Heritage Centre, Avanti's Present Day Crewe & Railways by Bike 56:24

1M ago56:24

56:24

Send us a text In this episode of Making Tracks we visit the Cheshire town of Crewe, once dubbed the ' Railway Capital of the World ' -and see how the the town's railway and industrial inheritance is being preserved at the Crewe Heritage Centre, We meet three trustees and take a walk around the museum, sit in the cab of the only remaining APT – Adv…

1
Nasty individuals, racists and useful idiots | How riots unfolded in Rotherham and Middlesbrough 33:52

2M ago33:52

33:52

Only a few weeks ago the big story in many of our Northern communities was the rioting and disorder we saw this summer, seemingly sparked by the horrific killing in Southport. We saw violence break out across the country but it seemed like much of it was in the North, places like Sunderland and Darlington, Blackpool, Hull, Preston and Liverpool. Si…

1
2/25 Rail renationalisation passes key milepost and new road costs come under scrutiny 34:59

2M ago34:59

34:59

Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker bring listeners right up to date with progress of the new UK Labour Government's rapid legislation to allow franchised passenger train operations to return to state control [01:45]. Mark discusses with Christian his recent Guardian article calling for the abandonment of all England's major road building scheme…

1
👶 Women failed from the day they're born | Joe Morris: the Labour MP in a seat that voted Tory for a century 37:53

2M ago37:53

37:53

There's a definite 'back to school' feeling in the air in politics this week. The news agenda is already being dominated by the issues that we're going to be hearing about again and again in the coming months - small boats, the housing crisis and the ravaged state of the public finances. It's back to school for the North's politicians too, and with…

1
Thinking outside of the box: how embracing neurodiversity can harness creativity in the North 38:12

2M ago38:12

38:12

The Northern Agenda tries to think outside of the box when it comes to both our newsletter and podcast, and in this week’s episode, our guest does exactly that. Tina Catling is a renowned innovation consultant, author, and speaker, who advises organisations and people around the world on how to unlock creative potential and innovation. She has been…

1
The Northern Agenda on the road: Clitheroe in the Ribble Valley 1:10:38

2M ago1:10:38

1:10:38

We all know there's a big North-South divide when it comes to pay, but which part of the North of England has the highest average wage? Here's a clue, it's not Manchester or Leeds. With an average median annual full-time wage of nearly £42,000, Ribble Valley in Lancashire is the highest-paid local authority area in Northern England. Its residents e…

1
2/24 Satnav guiding UK airliners and better train services across Britain's Pennines 33:39

3M ago33:39

33:39

Christian looks skyward with HACAN Policy Director Paul Beckford to turn the spotlight on UK Airspace Modernisation and what this will mean for both passengers and residents living under the flightpaths [2:07]. Next, it's a discussion with TransPennine Express Managing Director Chris Jackson about restoring train service frequency and a host of inn…

1
York and North Yorkshire mayor David Skaith on his "whirlwind" first 100 days | How visits to Bolton's pubs is shaping research 37:14

3M ago37:14

37:14

Politicians and pubs are a combination as old as the hills, with even the likes of teetotal ex-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak turning up for photo shoots at local watering holes on the election trail this year. But if our decision-makers stuck about after the cameras disappeared and observed the conversations ordinary pub-goers were having, would th…

1
What the future holds for our town halls after a turbulent and challenging last decade 44:20

3M ago44:20

44:20

So if you look at the biggest jobs in local government in the North of England, undoubtedly near the top of the list are the chief executives of the city councils of Manchester and Leeds. They're roles that come with responsibility for vital services in our region's two biggest cities, leading thousands of employees and overseeing annual budgets in…

1
Is TransPennine Express on the right track for recovery? 35:02

3M ago35:02

35:02

Just over a year ago, TransPennine Express, which runs intercity services across the North of England, became the latest to come under government control due to its dire performance that had infuriated political leaders and customers. Installed not long after as managing director was Chris Jackson, faced with some formidable hurdles to overcome if …

1
Mail Rail:London's Underground Narrow Gauge, Biker Railway Ride-outs, Ffestiniog Gravity Train & Darjeeling Himalayan locomotive 19B 50:46

3M ago50:46

50:46

Send us a text In this episode of Making Tracks, Alasdair Stewart goes over old ground, or rather underground, as he revisits the Post Office railway – or Mail Rail as it has become known in recent decades, which is part of London's Postal Museum. Alasdair was keen to take a journey on the railway after working as a contracting engineer on the trac…

1
Matt Vickers: the last remaining Tory MP in the North East | The fascinating hidden stories of Manchester you won't have learned about at school 50:24

3M ago50:24

50:24

On a brutal General Election night for the Conservatives, there were a few bright spots where their MPs managed to defy the swing to Labour and hang onto their seats. In the North East of England - where Labour otherwise swept the board - just one Conservative MP now remains, Matt Vickers, who won in the new seat of Stockton West despite pre-electi…

1
2/23 Calling All Stations is LIVE! 32:43

3M ago32:43

32:43

In our first ever episode recorded in front of a live audience at the Cogitamus and Rail Forum #allchangerail seminar, Christian Wolmar and Mark Walker examine the outcome of the UK General Election and the appointments of Labour's Transport Ministers [1:08] along with publication of the new Government's extensive transport legislative programme in…

1
📈 Alarming Vital Signs in the North East 51:43

4M ago51:43

51:43

Doesn't it seem a long time ago that a victorious Boris Johnson took in the applause from Conservatives in Tony Blair's old seat of Sedgefield after winning a host of North East seats in Labour strongholds like Darlington, Redcar and Bishop Auckland in the 2019 General Election? Five years later, the Tories have been all but wiped out in the North …

1
From Wearside to Westminster: what's it like to be a new MP? 45:46

4M ago45:46

45:46

This week's there's an induction like no other going on in Westminster's corridors of power, as dozens of newly-elected MPs from across the North are introduced to the bewildering intricacies and traditions of life in the epicentre of British democracy. But what's it been like for someone who a week ago was battling to be elected and now finds them…

1
Rishi, Binface and me: election night in North Yorkshire 30:52

4M ago30:52

30:52

It's General Election night and Rob Parsons has got himself a front row seat for one of the highest-profile counts in the North: Rishi Sunak's Richmond and Northallerton constituency in North Yorkshire. With Sunak's Conservatives facing near certain defeat to Labour in the polls, the media is waiting for the Prime Minister to show his face in the e…

1
Why voters in the North are so disillusioned by the General Election 26:56

4M ago26:56

26:56

This week voters across the North will be going to the polls for the General Election with all the national polling pointing to a big Labour victory. But Rob Parsons wants to hear what's happening at local level across the North of England and has reassembled a panel of top political journalists, Liam Thorp from the Liverpool Echo, Joseph Timan fro…

1
Northern election rivals taken to task 1:08:27

4M ago1:08:27

1:08:27

In the run-up to the General Election, we've heard so much from the likes of Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak, Nigel Farage and Ed Davey - wouldn't it be interesting to put the local candidates bidding for voters in the North in the spotlight for a change? This week on the Northern Agenda podcast, election rivals in the North East are taken to task ove…

1
Will Orgreave miners get the truth after 40 years? | A postcard from Southport 41:56

5M ago41:56

41:56

We're 40 years on from the so-called Battle of Orgreave, when thousands of picketing miners were attacked by riot police in South Yorkshire in what has been described as one of the most violent clashes in British industrial history, with police using ‘paramilitary’ tactics. And to mark the occasion a new report, chronicling what campaigners say is …

1
2/22 Transport manifestos for General Election and how to boost UK merchant shipping 50:45

5M ago50:45

50:45

Christian and Mark Walker look at the main UK parties' General Election manifesto pledges on transport with Labour's hot off the press [1:35]. Nautilus International General Secretary Mark Dickinson speaks to Christian about his union's manifesto for a thriving merchant shipping industry in the UK [15:17]. Christian recounts his cycling tour of the…

1
The hidden poverty in Rishi Sunak's leafy Yorkshire patch 32:28

5M ago32:28

32:28

We're three weeks into the General Election campaign and Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives are staring down the barrel of an historic defeat that will see them reduced to just a handful of seats in the North of England and potentially scrapping with the Lib Dems and Reform UK to be the opposition to the next Labour government. It's been a torrid …

1
Rother Valley Railway:Missing Link Restoration Underway & Tours of Boston Lodge, steam engine driving experience courses as Ffestiniog Railway Society Marks 70 Year Anniversary 1:05:23

5M ago1:05:23

1:05:23

Send us a text This episode is a tale of two railways both celebrating milestones. A new beginning of the final stretch the two mile missing link that will join Robertsbridge to Tenterden and the Kent and East Sussex Railway and the Ffestiniog Railway Society marking 70 years. The inauguration of the RVR's new turntable coincided with the K&ESR 50t…

1
General Election 2024: A view from the North 32:39

5M ago32:39

32:39

For the next few weeks there's really only one story in town politics-wise and that's the 2024 General Election - the one that seems to have been on the horizon for months but in the end came quite unexpectedly with an announcement by Rishi Sunak in a rain-drenched Downing Street. Since then it's been a non-stop flurry of campaign stops, photo oppo…

1
2/21 Transport choices in the UK General Election and 1944 Normandy rail heroes 37:10

5M ago37:10

37:10

Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker examine the transport policy choices facing the UK political parties contending to win the 2024 General Election [1:25]. Mark interviews Christian about his latest book - The Liberation Line - telling the heroic story of how the reconstruction of the railways in France after D-Day from June 1944 hastened the A…

1
Levelling Up: How is it going so far? 33:10

5M ago33:10

33:10

Ahead of the General Election on July 4th, we’re taking a look at one of the key policies from the 2019 Conservative manifesto. Levelling up promised to boost Britain’s “left behind” areas, and helped Boris Johnson storm to victory as voters in former Labour heartlands turned to the Tories in droves. You can find out more by listening to our episod…

1
🏙️ 🐝 The city that shaped the modern world 44:43

6M ago44:43

44:43

This week Rob Parsons joins 13,000 (mostly blue suit-wearing) delegates from the business and political worlds at a major property conference in Leeds - the UK's Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum. The likes of Angela Rayner and Alastair Campbell were among the speakers at the three-day event at Leeds' Royal Armouries - which saw hect…

1
📱Smart phones 'destroying our children' | Where's Newcastle's Saudi jobs boom? 45:02

6M ago45:02

45:02

Most of us spend our days with a mobile phone practically glued to our hand - in fact you may well be listening to this podcast on it right now. And it's becoming more and more common for children to have a smart phone, some even before they start at secondary school. But there are more and more people who are terrified at what the ubiquity of smar…

1
2/20 Birmingham transformed by HS2 construction while culture wars bedevil roadspace policy 33:24

6M ago33:24

33:24

Christian and co-presenter Mark Walker visit the impressive HS2 station and viaduct construction sites in central Birmingham to see how the project is transforming the city's connectivity and skyline [1:30]. They also discuss the latest twists in the UK's roadspace culture wars including the insane conspiracy theories around '15-minute cities' [20:…

1
Having a mayor - what now for the North's new political superheroes? 45:38

6M ago45:38

45:38

We're a week on from the local and mayoral elections and the dust is still settling on a set of results which dealt another major blow to Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives. And it was the election of metro mayors - the political figureheads for big regions like the North East, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire - which made most of the headlines…

1
Sunak's silver lining: Live from Tees Valley as Tories hammered in local elections 30:13

6M ago30:13

30:13

Rob Parsons reports from a sports hall in the town of Thornaby-on-Tees - where he's witnessed perhaps the only bright spot for Rishi Sunak in what was a miserable local and mayoral election night for his Conservative Party. The Tories look to be on course to lose 500 local election seats in what could be their worst showing in 40 years. They…

1
2/19 Competing visions of 'Great British Railways' from Labour and the Conservatives 36:30

6M ago36:30

36:30

Taking a brief pause between media interviews on the Labour Party's freshly published plan for railways in Great Britain, Christian discusses with Mark Walker the strategy, proposals, details and still unanswered questions revealed in the Shadow Transport Secretary's paper [1:09]. Christian and Mark then examine the progress by the House of Commons…

1
Local elections 2024: the ones to watch | How can North’s ex-mining towns catch up? 36:34

6M ago36:34

36:34

This week Rob Parsons focuses on the parts of the country where millions of us live - the so-called coalfield or ex-mining communities - and find out what the future holds for them. There's a new report out this week from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust setting out how the areas whose miners used to power industrial Britain are still lagging behi…

1
Which political story should we be paying more attention to: Angela Rayner or Mark Menzies? 50:58

7M ago50:58

50:58

Which political story should we be paying more attention to: the saga of Angela Rayner's council house in Stockport or that of Lancashire MP Mark Menzies, who is accused of using political donations to cover medical expenses and pay off “bad people” who had locked him in a flat and demanded thousands of pounds for his release? This week Rob Parsons…

1
2/18 John Major's rail privatisation helmsman torpedoes Conservatives' latest reforms 35:59

7M ago35:59

35:59

Christian speaks at length with Steve Norris, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the UK Department for Transport between 1992 and 1996, who was the key Rail Minister serving John Major's Conservative Government in delivering the privatisation of Great Britain's railways and the creation of new industry structures. While reflecting on the pas…

1
Alex Niven on why he believes the North will rise again | How much do we know about Labour's policies for the North? 39:36

7M ago39:36

39:36

This week, Rob Parsons speaks to an author who's asked the question: How did the North become a place of lost potential and broken dreams? And what can be done to make it one of the most dynamic and forward-looking places in the world once again? Alex Niven is the man behind the book The North Will Rise Again, which covers the colourful adventure…

1
EXCLUSIVE: The Northern Agenda hosts the hustings for the new elected mayor of the North East 1:02:41

7M ago1:02:41

1:02:41

This week the Northern Agenda podcast comes from the headquarters of the North East's Chronicle and Journal newspapers in the centre of Newcastle for a special mayoral hustings edition. In a month's time one of the five people speaking to Rob Parsons over the conference room table will be the new elected mayor of the North East. They'll have powers…

1
The Northern Agenda's Road to the Election: Blackpool South 53:31

7M ago53:31

53:31

In the next few months as the impending General Election dominates our politics, The Northern Agenda podcast is going on the road. Across the North of England voters will be going to the polls five years on from the dramatic 2019 election where large swathes of our region broke the habit of decades by switching their allegiance from Labour to the T…

1
Learning Legacy Podcast: Episode Five – How to swim in a sea of data 28:41

7M ago28:41

28:41

HS2’s Learning Legacy Podcast is a five-part series exploring the Learning Legacy programme. HS2 is one of the most complex and challenging railway scheme the UK has ever undertaken. As such, it has been generating vast amounts of data across the board. Every geological survey, every design, every site, every environmental survey, all generating mo…

1
Learning Legacy Podcast: Episode Four – Being safe and inclusive every step of the way 28:25

7M ago28:25

28:25

HS2’s Learning Legacy Podcast is a five-part series exploring the Learning Legacy programme. HS2 is focused not only on safety, but on overall health and wellbeing on all employees and contractors. Identifying long term risks to wellbeing is a challenge within any industry. It’s a particular problem on construction sites, where people often move be…

1
Learning Legacy Podcast: Episode Three – Reducing and reusing 30:33

7M ago30:33

30:33

HS2’s Learning Legacy Podcast is a five-part series exploring the Learning Legacy programme. HS2’s place within the current climate and environment has always been its top priority. Once operational, the British-built bullet trains will provide zero-carbon journeys between the UK’s two largest cities, Birmingham and London. Episode 3 explores how H…

1
Learning Legacy Podcast: Episode Two – The blueprint and the real thing 28:29

7M ago28:29

28:29

HS2’s Learning Legacy Podcast is a five-part series exploring the Learning Legacy programme. Design not only encapsulates the creativity and innovation of new products, but is the main source of information for construction to take place. Episode 2 of the Learning Legacy Podcast takes a look at the design stages of stations and tunnel portals and e…

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