One of those days that didn’t quite go to plan…

I’d been busy researching an article and chasing up some details with some of the companies involved when what seemed like a simple request took on a lot more complexity due to the flowchart of organisations I needed to talk to and the different levels of permissions that then involved. Ho hum. The article will still get written (and will be all the better for it as now the scope’s grown) – but it’s going to take a while to line-up all the players. This means my plans for tomorrow have changed and I should get chance to take the camera for a stroll in the sunshine. No bad thing as the weather’s been lovely up here in the Pennines and it seemed a pity to be chained to a desk for the duration.

Whilst one article’s dragging I’ve a 6-pager on HS2 out in the latest copy of RAIL magazine which hit the news stands yesterday. In it I describe my visit to Long Itchington to be shown around the inside of a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) and also my guided tour of HS2 mitigation sites in the company of Penny McGregor, a local farmer who showed me what’s happening at various locations along the route, including Cubbington woods and the site of the famous 250 year old Cubbington pear tree which opponents of the line tried to turn into a cause célèbre in order to stop the railway being built. It’s a great copy of the magazine, packed full of news and information and well worth a read if you’re interested in what’s happening on the UK’s railways. You can buy it in all good newsagents – and no doubt a few disreputable ones too!

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is another from the series of shots I took in London the other month. Several of these appear in the latest edition of RAIL. I’m so very lucky in that my job gives me access to places that most people never get access to or see. On the 7th March I was on a press trip to Crossrail (or the Elizabeth Line if you prefer) which is the new multi-billion pound railway that runs West to East under central London. It’s due to open in the next few months and passengers will be able to enjoy fast trains and superb stations. But, what they won’t be seeing is this – a driver’s eye view from the cab. Here’s what they see behind those screened platforms…

I’ve a favour to ask…
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