08:00.

I’m off on a journey I’ve not done for ages but once did almost weekly, taking Grand Central’s service from Halifax to London. GC started running this route in the same year that I moved from London to Halifax – 2010. It was a godsend in those days as it allowed me to commute to the capital for work.

A lot’s changed in 17 years. Nowadays I’m semi-retired so the pressures aren’t the same. The railways have changed too. I’ve just traversed the section of line from Mirfield to Wakefied which is being rebuilt as part of the Trans-Pennine route upgrade. The recent blockade’s seen a lot of progress with civils work and the appearence of overhead electric masts.

Now we’ve swung off onto the route to Doncaster via ‘Pontycarlo’ (as Pontefract is often known). A line once thriving with coal traffic that’s a shadow of its former self. Knottingly depot’s a great example of this. Once it was an important base for freight locos that boasted a modern 2-storey office building and shed that housed a fleet of locos. The office building’s been demolished, many staff ‘let go’ and the tracks see more weeds than locos.

Unfortunately, the wifi on this GC Class 221 isn’t working, so I’m reduced to blogging via my Smartphone which is a bit of a bugger. Never mind…

09:20.

I’m speeding through the Cambridgeshire countryside on a train that’s been packed since Doncaster. A bright side is that the passenger who booked the airline seat next to mine from Mirfield to Lobdon was a ‘no show’.

The fields North of Peterborough are full of cereal crops that like ripe for harvesting. The golden glow of wheat spreads for miles around. Very different to the grasslands of the Pennines.

17:00.

Well, that was fun! This year’s Siemens press lunch was held in Wood Lane in West London at a venue called the Broadcaster, which is right outside the old BBC television centre where many programmes from my childhood were made (including ‘Blue Peter’). These events are an informal chance to chat with Senior leaders of Siemens over lunch. We always cover a wide range of subjects. Today, that was widened to include the performance of the German football team in the World Cup match last night!

Heading back in to Central London I stopped off at Euston station which is not having a happy time due to cattle on the West Coast Main Line near Lichfield earlier. You couldn’t moo-ve on the concourse!