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Is there no intention to make a UK-wide pay as you go/book card? Having so many incompatible regional schemes is irritating. I have continued to get my Railcard discount applied to my Oyster card (despite removal of ticket offices) and it's disappointing if that facility isn't made available on the various regional schemes one might encounter ...not that I'd be surprised if Oyster disappears and only contactless payments (without Railcard discount 🧐) become the only non paper payment mechanism accepted on TfL.

how did you get a footplate ride?

Really good interview. Highly disappointed that they have no toilets on the train/trams for core valley lines. 1hr journeys for older and disabled people who need toilet facilities is unacceptable.

The question I would like to put to first trains guy is how come lumo is so good but your Regular franchise South western railway so awful and the first one to be nationalized? Is it easier to run a limited scope open access service than a regular franchise?

Thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks Richard.

Been out on the valley lines north of Radyr today. Had a few trips on the class 150s . Even had a trip from Pontypridd to merthyr then back to Cardiff on 756116 . What a difference in terms of power the 1 in 40 bank up.to quakers yard from.abercynon was no challenge for itits still surreal travelling ona emu on the valley lines

Manchester's initial Metrolink network used colour light block signalling on the former heavy rail lines to Althincham and Bury, with line of sight on the street sections through the city centre. the signals were removed later and the whole network became line of sight. There are still some signals at junctions clearly. Tyne and Wear had block signals from new and retains them today together with an inductive trainstop system based on German PZB technology (Indusi).

Would be great to see an interview with Mark Barry.

This is great but when is the main line to Cardiff to Swansea going to be electrified ?

Another superb video. I worked alongside James Price when he was a senior civil servant and I was at Arriva Buses Wales. He clearly knows his stuff and has developed the rail network to a very high level. I only hope that he and his team will be able to deliver on the bus network as North Wales and many parts of South Wales have excellent bus networks that really deliver and the constant threat of franchising has stifled investment in the fleet, certainly in North Wales, and many years on from the original threat, it has not been delivered. TfW needs to build a team now that knows about buses and will work with local authorities and operators to assist in getting back to the sort of investment that North Wales saw between 2009 and 2017. Well done James. The South Wales Metro looks really exciting.

Excellent and informative video

How is this channel only less than 10K subs? Possibly the biggest heads on the UK rail industry, this should be getting more than double the subs.

Extraordinary that SE Wales is rightly seen as a City Region and can realise the value of getting better connectivity to improve the local economy, whereas in Northern England where this is desperately needed, the plug is about to be pulled on NPR.

Unfortunately, the reality is the project has been very poorly planned from the outset. The end result, might be a positive one but even the class 398s, shown here have been ordered with incorrect specification. The one major omission has been the provision of on board toilets. The WG subsequently seemed to suggest that was part of the plan and that passengers must get off the train, visit the convenience then return to the train, catch the next one. This is just the thin edge of a huge wedge

Really great insight into this project which seems to be so well led by James Price. As always really great questions from your long experience in the transport industry. Many thanks for making this enlightening episode I always enjoy every Green Signals episode.

GWR have the tech but not joined up they use it outside the travel card zone.

It's good to see some progress with the rail network in South Wales. It's just a shame that the Welsh Government have held up rail connections on the eastern side of Cardiff by delaying the proposed Cardiff Parkway station. The station is sometimes included on SW Metro maps and at other times not. The Welsh Government wants people out of cars and on to public transport but then they block those proposals too. From the eastern side of the city by bus it takes more or less an hour to get into the city centre. By rail the estimate is around 8 mins plus time to access the station (no more than 15 mins on foot).

Excellent interview, great video! 👍

Very very interesting interview indeed.

Aberdare to Hirwaun is one section that can make use of light rail especially to get around the level crossings issues especially robertstown

Positive news from a labour run state??? Im not buying it at all.

TFW taken over by the clowns at the Cardiff bay circus .Anything the Welsh government touches ends in failure . I look forward to this failing also .

Excellent interview, Richard. It is always refreshing to see interviewees who can give the facts without waffle or changing the subject. As a Welsh ex-pat, I am really pleased to see the progress in my former homeland- I used to pass Taff's Well daily by train from Cardiff Queen Street on my way to Treforest Estate.

Monmouth, a town that was originally part of the Cardiff Metro project was summarily dropped from the scheme in spite of the fact that its commuting population is significant. Its nearest railway stations are Abergavenny and Lydney with Hereford, 40 minutes distant offering the only direct Paddington service over the painfully slow Cotswold line taking 3 hours. The town was the epicentre of three branch line services until Beechings axe fell. Some of us thought that there might have been consideration given to re opening the Chepstow line in view of the survival of most of the route unobstructed by subsequent development. Clearly the Welsh Assembly sees the town as being outside its sphere of influence even though numbers of town folk commute to Cardiff and Newport every day.

excellent interview , clearly in the part of Wales with the highest population , great development , very exciting ...very sadly Heart of Wales line , just ignored .....down to four trains a day , there is a strong case to promote more use , and improve the trains improve the service ..to close is a no , yet the line is being run down ....some attention please ,...

Sorry, spellcheck, Amey not Amex.

Very interesting video. I believe Amex has the contract. I would love to know the cost per mile, compared to some Network Rail projects.

Fel rhywun sy'n byw yng Nghaerdydd, mae diddordeb mawr gyda fi yn y fideo. Cyfweliad da iawn.

Richard you looked quite at home in the drivers seat on the 398. I can see you all coming back when its fully up and running to have a trip on them

A great video, and more power to South Wales Metro. We need this kind of thinking in England

Thanks!

Great new system and very interesting interview. It sounds like it has a real potential to contribute to quality of life and economic progress in the region. I must say I don't buy his argument on not going DOO, I think that's political, to take the easy line and not risk upsetting the unions. It works very well in many other places. But James seems like mostly a genuine guy so good luck to him. Let's hope they get enough increase in ridership to reduce the subsidy costs, which would be a great vindication of the value delivered by the system and a real reason to go to government to argue for more such developments elsewhere. If I can make a suggestion, it would have been nice to have included some maps of the system to help those of us not familiar with it, to understand it, and also a bit of the trains so we can see what is special about them. It sounds like a really promising compromise.

Another stunning video

Fantastic interview! Slightly disappointed at the lack of mention of the South West Wales metro around Swansea though. Was supposed to be the next project after Cardiff a while back.

Just wanted to congratulate you Green Signals for putting together a positive news story. Oh boy do we need to see more of this type of reporting. No project is ever perfect and goal posts move, but it is so refreshing to hear and see what happens behind the scenes. The people who make stuff happen need to be recognised. Well done for this episode and the other episodes I’ve watched.

Great interview, and very good input from James, good to see he’s on top of his game. (Just wish he’d not keep stuffing his hands in his pockets). Well done Richard and the Green Signals team 👍

HS2 sums up a lot of what's wrong with the UK, and why we're a growth backwater. Ludicrous legislation, mis-sold projects started with very little of the costs known at the outset, inevitable cost overruns based in initial guesstimates, disastrous management, delays... If HS2 had been about capacity, it should have been sold as such, built with 4 tracks (maybe 6), double-decker trains for freight and passengers, and fully-automated operation should all have been in the remit from the get-go. Rail has become a source of national ridicule, and with nationalisation and the recreation of BR, it'll only get worse! Great show - keep it up!

Fantastic content - I knew nothing about the South Wales Metro until watching this very informative video. Richard did a great job in promoting this rail success story. Thank you.

Less than a month after this interview Huw Merriman quit without even fighting his seat, which the conservatives retained. That was maybe a better measure of this level of commitment.

I travelled on this railway in late 2022 on a trip from Australia. It was easy to connect to and from Derby and beyond, but the best feature was the friendliness of the volunteers. Worth travelling on. I didn't have time, but the terminus is apparently a pleasant market town with many historic buildings. The catering setup you showed was an eye opener. Great.

Another great post richard keep them coming You may have noticed that I have upgraded to silver! It's because I like yours , Nigel and stef style of green signals so very interesting 👍

Another great video! Those videos showing MPs discussing HS2 makes me angry to see how bureaucratic and bogged down by meetings for meetings, no wonder everything costs a fortune and we get almost nothing done!

Yes, or even "Well look.." Bernadette Kelly is a so-sayer which drew my attention. (So) I think it was all started by Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, then spread like a virus.

I wonder who in the DfT actually wrote Heidi's letter? All credit to her for signing it, though. I think that underlying it, and the answers given by tbe Dane at the PAC is the realisation that there isn't much money for capital investment.

Block Failure again, certainly wouldn't travel on your railway with all the Block Failures you have. You should install MAS might make it run a bit better, or is the cause the wrong type of snow or leaves on the line!!!