America was made by the railroads. The opening of the Baltimore & Ohio line--the first American railroad--in the 1830s sparked a national revolution in the way that people lived thanks to the speed and convenience of train travel. Promoted by visionaries and built through heroic effort, the American railroad network was bigger in every sense than Europe's, and facilitated everything from long-distance travel to commuting and transporting goods to waging war. It united far-flung parts of the country, boosted economic development, and was the catalyst for America's rise to world-power status.

Every American town, great or small, aspired to be connected to a railroad and by the turn of the century, almost every American lived within easy access of a station. By the early 1900s, the United States was covered in a latticework of more than 200,000 miles of railroad track and a series of magisterial termini, all built and controlled by the biggest corporations in the land. The railroads dominated the American landscape for more than a hundred years but by the middle of the twentieth century, the automobile, the truck, and the airplane had eclipsed the railroads and the nation started to forget them.

In "The Great Railroad Revolution," renowned railroad expert Christian Wolmar tells the extraordinary story of the rise and the fall of the greatest of all American endeavors, and argues that the time has come for America to reclaim and celebrate its often-overlooked rail heritage.

From Britain's most popular railway historian, a concise, authoritative and fast-paced telling of how the railways changed the world. The arrival of the railways in the first half of the nineteenth century and their subsequent spread across every one of the world's continents acted as a spur for economic growth and social change on an extraordinary scale. The 'iron road' stimulated innovation in engineering and architecture, enabled people and goods to move around the world more quickly than ever before, and played a critical role in warfare as well as in the social and economic spheres. Christian Wolmar describes the emergence of modern railways in both Britain and the USA in the 1830s, and elsewhere in the following decade. He charts the surge in railway investment plans in Britain in the early 1840s and the ensuing 'railway mania' (which created the backbone of today's railway network), and the unstoppable spread of the railways across Europe, America and Asia. Above all, he assesses the global impact of a technology that, arguably, had the most transformative impact on human society of any before the coming of the Internet, and which, as it approaches two centuries of existence, continues to play a key role in human society in the twenty-first century. 'A lucid and engaging account of the far-reaching effects that trains have had upon society' The Railway & Canal Historical Society

By 2050, two-thirds of the world's population will live in cities. To thrive, they will need efficient and sustainable forms of transport, but to achieve this, the financial incentives guiding urban transport operation must change - and change rapidly. Urban transport plays a critical role in determining the social, environmental and economic shape of cities. Improving Urban Access: New Approaches to Funding Transport Investment provide innovative ideas on how we might reorganize transport finance to ensure that it is suited to serving the social, environmental and economic principles that must guide future urban living. Continuing the work begun by its predecessor, Urban Access for the 21st Century, the authors assess the complexity of implementing new finance approaches and suggest ways to make positive and radical changes. Although the range of revenue raising options remain limited to users, indirect beneficiaries, and the general public, these can be recast to transform the way transport is paid for and therefore how its services are delivered. New finance models only succeed when they are intrinsically linked to the economic, social, cultural and political forces that create urban life. Together these volumes provide a starting point for the deeper research and policy design needed to successfully create urban transport finance systems that can address the challenges that 21st century cities present.

This book sets out a road map for the provision of urban access for all. For most of the last century cities have followed a path of dependency on car dominated urban transport favouring the middle classes. Urban Access for the 21st Century seeks to change this. Policies need to be more inclusive of the accessibility needs of the urban poor. Change requires redesigning the existing public finance systems that support urban mobility. The aim is to diminish their embedded biases towards automobile-based travel. Through a series of chapters from international contributors, the book brings together expertise from different fields. It shows how small changes can incentivize large positive developments in urban transport and create truly accessible cities.

The authoritative and fascinating history of the rise and fall of the state-owned British Rail 'Wolmar's book is impeccably organised and makes a fast, enjoyable read' THE TIMES Literary Supplement________ British Rail wasn't how we're asked to remember it . . . From ancient rolling stock to patchy service, stale sandwiches to the wrong kind of snow, British Rail - our last great state-owned organisation to be privatised - has received a terrible press. But after its controversial 1948 creation, British Rail was actually an innovative powerhouse that over five decades transformed the UK, creating one of the fastest regular rail services in the world. Award-winning journalist Christian Wolmar takes us from promise to punchline, exploring British Rail's birth into post-war austerity, the many battles and struggles to evolve what many considered to be a dinosaur, and how, at the height of its success, the service was misunderstood and unfairly maligned, ruthlessly broken up and privatised._______ Praise for Christian Wolmar 'Wolmar is the high priest of railway studies' Literary Review 'The greatest expert on British trains' Guardian 'Our most eminent transport journalist' Spectator 'If the world's railways have a laureate, it is surely Christian Wolmar' Boston Globe 'Christian Wolmar is in love with the railways. He writes constantly and passionately about them. He is their wisest, most detailed historian and a constant prophet of their rebirth . . . if you love the hum of the wheels and of history, then Christian Wolmar is your man' Observer

The authoritative and fascinating history of the rise and fall of the state-owned British Rail 'Wolmar's book is impeccably organized and makes a fast, enjoyable read' THE TIMES Literary Supplement ________ You think you know British Rail. But you don't know the whole story. From its creation after the Second World War, through its fifty-year lifetime, British Rail was an innovative powerhouse that transformed our transport system. Uniting disparate lines into a highly competent organisation - heralding 'The Age of the Train' - and, for a time, providing one of the fastest regular rail services in the world. Born into post-war austerity, traumatised, impoverished and exploited by a hostile press, the state-owned railway was dismissed as a dinosaur unable to evolve, and swept away by a government hellbent on selling it off. Now, award-winning writer Christian Wolmar provides a new perspective on national loss in a time of privatisation. British Rail is ripe for a new history. _______ Praise for Christian Wolmar 'Wolmar is the high priest of railway studies' Literary Review 'The greatest expert on British trains' Guardian 'Our most eminent transport journalist' Spectator 'If the world's railways have a laureate, it is surely Christian Wolmar' Boston Globe 'Christian Wolmar is in love with the railways. He writes constantly and passionately about them. He is their wisest, most detailed historian and a constant prophet of their rebirth . . . if you love the hum of the wheels and of history, then Christian Wolmar is your man' Observer

By 2050, two-thirds of the world's population will live in cities. To thrive, they will need efficient and sustainable forms of transport, but to achieve this, the financial incentives guiding urban transport operation must change - and change rapidly. Urban transport plays a critical role in determining the social, environmental and economic shape of cities. Improving Urban Access: New Approaches to Funding Transport Investment provide innovative ideas on how we might reorganize transport finance to ensure that it is suited to serving the social, environmental and economic principles that must guide future urban living. Continuing the work begun by its predecessor, Urban Access for the 21st Century, the authors assess the complexity of implementing new finance approaches and suggest ways to make positive and radical changes. Although the range of revenue raising options remain limited to users, indirect beneficiaries, and the general public, these can be recast to transform the way transport is paid for and therefore how its services are delivered. New finance models only succeed when they are intrinsically linked to the economic, social, cultural and political forces that create urban life. Together these volumes provide a starting point for the deeper research and policy design needed to successfully create urban transport finance systems that can address the challenges that 21st century cities present.

This book sets out a road map for the provision of urban access for all. For most of the last century cities have followed a path of dependency on car dominated urban transport favouring the middle classes. Urban Access for the 21st Century seeks to change this. Policies need to be more inclusive of the accessibility needs of the urban poor. Change requires redesigning the existing public finance systems that support urban mobility. The aim is to diminish their embedded biases towards automobile-based travel. Through a series of chapters from international contributors, the book brings together expertise from different fields. It shows how small changes can incentivize large positive developments in urban transport and create truly accessible cities.

The story of an engineering marvel of the twenty-first century, from Britain's bestselling railway writer.

In autumn 2019, Europe's biggest infrastructure project – a state-of-the-art cross-London railway – will finally come to fruition. From Reading and Heathrow in the west, the Elizabeth line will extend to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, including 42 kilometres of new tunnels dug under central London.

Crossrail, first conceived just after the Second World War in the era of Attlee and Churchill, has cost more than £15bn and is expected to serve 200 million passengers annually. The author sets out the complex and highly political reasons for Crossrail's lengthy gestation, tracing the troubled progress of the concept from the rejection of the first Crossrail bill in the 1990s through the tortuous parliamentary processes that led to the passing of the Crossrail Act of 2008. He also recounts in detail the construction of this astonishing new railway, describing how immense tunnel boring machines cut through a subterranean world of rock and mud with unparalleled accuracy that ensured none of the buildings overhead were affected.

A shrewdly incisive observer of postwar transport policy, Wolmar pays due credit to the remarkable achievement of Crossrail, while analysing in clear-eyed fashion the many setbacks it encountered en route to completion.

'Fascinating' 'Books of the Year', Financial Times 'London's twelve great rail termini are the epic survivors of the Victorian age... Wolmar brings them to life with the knowledge of an expert and the panache of a connoisseur.' Simon Jenkins 'A wonderful tour, full of vivid incident and surprising detail.' Simon Bradley London hosts twelve major railway stations, more than any other city in the world. They range from the grand and palatial, such as King's Cross and Paddington, to the modest and lesser known, such as Fenchurch Street and Cannon Street. These monuments to the age of the train are the hub of London's transport system and their development, decline and recent renewal have determined the history of the capital in many ways. Built between 1836 and 1899 by competing private train companies seeking to outdo one another, the construction of these terminuses caused tremendous upheaval and had a widespread impact on their local surroundings. What were once called 'slums' were demolished, green spaces and cemeteries were concreted over, and vast marshalling yards, engine sheds and carriage depots sprung up in their place. In a compelling and dramatic narrative, Christian Wolmar traces the development of these magnificent cathedrals of steam, provides unique insights into their history, with many entertaining anecdotes, and celebrates the recent transformation of several of these stations into wonderful blends of the old and the new.

Driverless cars are the future - just around the corner. That is what the tech giants, the auto industry and even the government want us to think. But closer inspection reveals that we are much further from that driverless utopia than we are led to believe by newspaper headlines and by the hype from firms with vested interests. In a post-Covid-19 economic environment motor manufacturers now face bigger problems. Christian Wolmar argues that autonomous cars are the wrong solution to the wrong problem. Even if the many technical difficulties that stand in the way of achieving a driverless future can be surmounted, autonomous cars are not the best way to address the problems of congestion and pollution caused by our long obsession with the private car. This entertaining polemic sets out the many technical, legal and moral problems that obstruct the path to a driverless future, and debunks many of the myths around that future's purported benefits.

Christian Wolmar expertly tells the story of the Trans-Siberian railway from its conception and construction under Tsar Alexander III, to the northern extension ordered by Brezhnev and its current success as a vital artery. He also explores the crucial role the line played in both the Russian Civil War -Trotsky famously used an armoured carriage as his command post - and the Second World War, during which the railway saved the country from certain defeat. Like the author's previous railway histories, it focuses on the personalities, as well as the political and economic events, that lay behind one of the most extraordinary engineering triumphs of the nineteenth century.

The opening of the pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 marked the beginning of the railways' vital role in changing the face of Britain. Fire and Steam celebrates the vision and determination of the ambitious Victorian pioneers who developed this revolutionary transport system and the navvies who cut through the land to enable a country-wide network to emerge. From the early days of steam to electrification, via the railways' magnificent contribution in two world wars, the chequered history of British Rail, and the buoyant future of the train, Fire and Steam examines the social and economical importance of the railway and how it helped to form the Britain of today.

We all use some form of transport almost every day of our lives. It is one of the most important factors in determining the economic wellbeing of a town or city. And it is also one of the major sources of environmental damage to our planet. Yet, Britain has never had a coherent transport policy. Transport ministers are regarded as insignificant compared with their colleagues in other ministries. Successive governments have failed to get to grips with the twin challenge of getting people around cheaply and safely while safeguarding the environment. In this entertaining polemic, Christian Wolmar, a former national newspaper journalist who has written about transport for over two decades, explains why politicians have never got to grips with the issue, sets out the problems this has caused and points to a few rational solutions.

To the Edge of the World is an adventure in travel--full of extraordinary personalities, more than a century of explosive political, economic, and cultural events, and almost inconceivable feats of engineering. Christian Wolmar passionately recounts the improbable origins of the Trans-Siberian railroad, the vital artery for Russian expansion that spans almost 6,000 miles and seven time zones from Moscow to Vladivostok. The world's longest train route took a decade to build--in the face of punishing climates, rampant disease, scarcity of funds and materials, and widespread corruption. The line sprawls over a treacherous landmass that was previously populated only by disparate tribes and convicts serving out their terms in labor camps--where men were regularly starved, tortured, or mutilated for minor offenses. Once built, it led to the establishment of new cities and transformed the region's history. Exceeding all expectations, it became, according to Wolmar, "the best thing that ever happened to Siberia." It was not all good news, however. The railroad was the cause of the 1904--1905 Russo-Japanese War, and played a vital--and at times bloody--role in the Russian Revolution and the subsequent Civil War. More positively, the Russians were able to resist the Nazi invasion during the Second World War as new routes enabled whole industries to be sent east. Siberia, previously a lost and distant region, became an inextricable part of Russia's cultural identity. And what began as one meandering, single-track line is now, arguably, the world's most important railroad.

Reissued in a new paperback package to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the London Underground. 'I can think of few better ways to while away those elastic periods awaiting the arrival of the next eastbound Circle Line train than by reading [this book].' Tom Fort, Sunday Telegraph Since the Victorian era, London's Underground has played a vital role in the daily life of generations of Londoners. In The Subterranean Railway, Christian Wolmar celebrates the vision and determination of the nineteenth-century pioneers who made the world's first, and still the largest, underground passenger railway: one of the most impressive engineering achievements in history. From the early days of steam to electrification, via the Underground's contribution to twentieth-century industrial design and its role during two world wars, the story comes right up to the present with its sleek, driverless trains and the wrangles over the future of the system. The Subterranean Railway reveals London's hidden wonder in all its glory and shows how the railway beneath the streets helped create the city we know today.

The birth of the railways and their rapid spread across the world triggered economic growth and social change on an unprecedented scale. From Panama to the Punjab, Tasmania to Turin, Blood, Iron and Gold describes the vision and determination of the pioneers who developed railways that would link cities that had hitherto been isolated, and would one day span continents. Christian Wolmar reveals how the rise of the train stimulating daring feats of engineering, architectural innovation and the rapid movement of people and goods around the world. He shows how cultures were enriched - and destroyed - by the unrelenting construction and how the railways played a vital role in civil conflict, as well as in two world wars.

Revised and updated edition of Christian Wolmar's classic history of the London Underground, with a new chapter on Crossrail. 'I can think of few better ways to while away those elastic periods awaiting the arrival of the next eastbound Circle Line train than by reading [this book].' Tom Fort, Sunday Telegraph Since the Victorian era, London's Underground has played a vital role in the daily life of generations of Londoners. In The Subterranean Railway, Christian Wolmar celebrates the vision and determination of the nineteenth-century pioneers who made the world's first, and still the largest, underground passenger railway: one of the most impressive engineering achievements in history. From the early days of steam to electrification, via the Underground's contribution to twentieth-century industrial design and its role during two world wars, the story comes right up to the present with a new chapter on the sleek and futuristic Crossrail line. The Subterranean Railway reveals London's hidden wonder in all its glory and shows how the railway beneath the streets helped create the city we know today.

India was the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, an Empire that needed a rail network to facilitate its exploitation and reflect its ambition. But, by building India's railways, Britain radically changed the nation and unwittingly planted the seed of independence. As Indians were made to travel in poor conditions and were barred from the better paid railway jobs a stirring of resentment and nationalist sentiment grew. The Indian Railways network remains one of the largest in the world, serving over 25 million passengers each day. In this expertly told history, Christian Wolmar reveals the full story, from the railway's beginnings to the present day, and examines the chequered role this institution has played in Indian history and the creation of today's modern state.

The opening of the world's first railroad in Britain and America in 1830 marked the dawn of a new age. Within the course of a decade, tracks were being laid as far afield as Australia and Cuba, and by the outbreak of World War I, the United States alone boasted over a quarter of a million miles. With unrelenting determination, architectural innovation, and under gruesome labor conditions, a global railroad network was built that forever changed the way people lived. From Panama to Punjab, from Tasmania to Turin, Christian Wolmar shows how cultures were enriched, and destroyed, by one of the greatest global transport revolutions of our time, and celebrates the visionaries and laborers responsible for its creation.