Toby Hart was a Network Rail train planner based at Leeds. This letter is his submission to the Rail Delivery Group and the Office of Rail and Road inquiry into the disruption following the May 2018 timetable changes. It backs up Railfuture’s contention that Network Rail’s reorganisation of the timetable planning function to reduce costs (at DfT’s direction) and centralise at Milton Keynes contributed to the failure of the timetable through a loss of expertise and insufficient iterations of the timetable process to resolve conflicts in the proposed timetable. Image: Official TfGM Twitter announcement on 19 May 2018.

Railfuture briefing by Ian Brown, Railfuture Policy Director, on the December timetable ‘cutbacks’ announced by the Rail Delivery Group today, 10 July 2018. Image by About Manchester

Help us design an App to reduce passenger crowding on trains - fill in our survey to let us know what information you need to find empty carriages.

In his letter to local MPs Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has thrown Network Rail, Govia Thameslink and Northern Rail under the bus, but how much responsibility should the DfT bear for the excessive cancellations and delays following the introduction of new timetables? Photo by James Chespy.

Some people are deterred from travelling by train by the complexity of buying a ticket and the perception that fares are expensive, whilst some passengers are unclear whether they have the best deal so feel ripped off. Image: Play the ticket maze game to reach the Oyster!

This picture is the image chosen by Transport for the North to illustrate its Long Term Rail Strategy. Is it fantasy or reality?

The government’s Strategic Vision for Rail, published on 29th November 2017, sets out a vision for our railways. The proposal to reopen lines closed by Beeching captured the attention of the press, but equally significant were the proposals for joint operation of train and track and changes to the franchising system. Photo: Apperley Bridge, which opened in 2015, is an example of a rail development which unlocked new housing in an area within commuting distance of Leeds.

Hebden Bridge Station Café voted best in country. Railfuture Communications Director Chris Hyomes presents the award to Lisa and Antoinette, owners of The Coffee Station, Hebden Bridge.

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A personal view from Railfuture vice-president Peter Rayner.Photo: A crowded train at Gretna Green in August 2016.