Husband, Dad, Deputy Editor on @Modern_Railways, railway author and campaigner. #FlyingScotsmanBook out NOW on kindle and iBooks. All views my own.
Joined January 2012
- Tweets 25,838
- Following 1,276
- Followers 2,342
- Likes 7,421
326 Photos and videos
Re yesterday's quite spectacular bridge strike on the main line (the lorry driver has some serious questions to answer) - if only there was some sort of scheme to deliver a 21st century railway to relieve capacity on Europe's busiest mixed-use railway with bigger clearances....
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And you could run trains much faster on it, say between Euston and Crewe, which means you could run more local, regional and freight trains on the current Fast lines, which would ease road congestion. Anyone got any ideas how we might do that?
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Andy Bowes-Roden = = retweeted
Jun 11
We have a final limited quantity of DCC ready Heljan Class 47 limited editions modelling 47817 in Porterbrook purple and white for OO gauge. Get your hands on one of these models for just £95.99 saving 52% off the original RRP while stocks last here: shop.keymodelworld.com/colle…
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The world is an increasingly uncertain place. It does not require a degree in defenceology to understand we need to up our defence spend significantly and quickly. If that means other departments have to make sacrifices, and if taxes have to rise to fund it, so be it.
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Another hacked account of a Twitter friend. Disregard any messages from @h1bennett
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Here it is. With help from an AI image generator, I give you Bandy Owes-Borden’s not patented train phone crushometer to deal with inconsiderate phone use!
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Someone, sooner or later, is going to get themselves and their organisation in deep, deep trouble for breaching GDPR rules. It's very simple: if something is covered by them, don't work on it or discuss it in public. Because it can be photographed and/or recorded.
Jun 8
In first class on a train and the person behind me is having a needless and needlessly loud (both) phone conversation about some sort of disciplinary issue involving a ileostomy bag and an affair and... I think there's GDPR issues here even before anything else.... 😳
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And that’s the Citroen gone to a family who’ll get more proper use out of it than we will now the driving is 90%within 10 miles. Can’t say I loved it, but it was comfortable and the economy was nice. Sadly, local driving kills diesels.
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Andy Bowes-Roden = = retweeted
🚆 A proud milestone in Derby!
The first of ten new Elizabeth line Aventra trains for @Tfl has rolled off the production line at our Litchurch Lane Works.
More 👉 ow.ly/pjRg50Z7WE3
Watch 👇
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Andy Bowes-Roden = = retweeted
Ten years ago, Cornish Lithium began with an idea. Today, we celebrate 10 years. 🎉
Our Founder Jeremy Wrathall and CEO Jamie Airnes visited our sites to recognise the team behind our journey.
To everyone who has helped shape Cornish Lithium, this celebration is for you!
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Andy Bowes-Roden = = retweeted
Rail Minister Lord Hendy officially opens #Porterbrook's Long Marston #testtrack - the UK's first electrified testing loop: modernrailways.com/article/h…
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There are SO many birds in the garden after Mrs B-R bought some new feeders. @AssistantWoof is in her element trying to chase them all. If she good, she'd be Schrodinger's woof: half in the porch keeping warm and half outside.
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All getting very exciting ahead of the #RailwayInnovationAwards on 3 July. Some amazing entries below. And if you haven't booked your place, rail industry friends, do so - because this event always sells fast!
The shortlist for the #RailwayInnovationAwards is out NOW! To see which of the bumper crop of entries from across the industry have made it, visit modernrailways.com/article/r…
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My take on the Kernow Connect proposals...
Okay Seb, I'll bite. 1) It's categorically untrue to claim Cornwall's railway can't handle heavy freight: it can, and does, with 180,000 tonnes a year more when Cornish Lithium goes into production.
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I spoke to James Churchfield on BBC Radio Cornwall earlier this morning about the Kernow Connect rail proposals. I am deeply concerned about the factual inaccuracies in it, and the assumptions behind it. bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002ww… - and the coverage starts at 1hr 7min in.
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I always want to support credible proposals to improve connectivity in the South West, but I also have a professional duty to assess things as they are rather than how we might like them to be. As they stand, these proposals are very deeply flawed...
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...and not helped by wildly inaccurate statements such as Cornwall's rail network being unable to operate heavy freight trains. The assumptions of a London-Exeter route upgrade which doesn't exist, capacity at EXD ditto, and much more really do not help the case at all.
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For Twitter friends up early interested in my take on the Kernow Connect proposals, you can listen to the always fabulous @ChurchfieldJE show live on sounds - around the 07.08 mark. To say the proposals are deeply, profoundly flawed is an understatement. bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/b…
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Chatting with @ChurchfieldJE soon about the Kernow Connect proposals. Have a listen around 0700, and I'll post a link to the show on Sounds when it's up.
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This an absolutely fascinating thread - and I think, compelling. Have a read of it and see what you think.
May 29
1/ Tony Blair's new essay wants Britain to drill the North Sea, bet everything on AI, and tie itself to Trump's America.
Each one is a bet against the actual future - and the Blair never notices. It's a Victorian answer to a 21st-century crisis 🧵bylinetimes.com/2026/05/29/t…
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