
4/9 Wales’s rail vision plus Michael Portillo’s outlook
From Calling All Stations - The Transport Podcast by Christian Wolmar & Cogitamus Ltd
March 4, 2026 · 43 min · Episode 79
About this episode
The episode discusses Wales's rail vision with Ken Skates and features an interview with Michael Portillo about his views on railways and politics.
As the Welsh Government publishes 'Today, Tomorrow, Together - A vision for rail across Wales and Borders', Christian speaks exclusively to Ken Skates MS, Cabinet Secretary for Transport & North Wales, about how train services are being envisioned as well as covering Welsh bus reform and the controversial 20mph speed limit policy for local roads [2:36]. Christian discusses with broadcaster and former minister Michael Portillo his love of railways, finding a surprising twist on his current political outlook [29:43]. In his final thought from the departure lounge, Christian examines progress in the pedestrianisation of London's Oxford Street [39:38]. Find 'Calling All Stations - the transport podcast' on social media channels here: X (formerly Twitter) - https://x.com/AllStationsPod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/Calling_all_Stations_podcast/ Threads - https://www.threads.net/@calling_all_stations_podcast Facebook - https://m.facebook.com/p/Calling-All-Stations-The-Transport-Podcast-61551736964201/ Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/callingallstations.bsky.social
People in this episode
Host: Christian Wolmar
Guests: Ken Skates MS, Michael Portillo
Topics covered
- Wales rail vision
- transport policy
- bus reform
- speed limit policy
- railways
- pedestrianisation
Keywords
- Wales
- rail vision
- Ken Skates
- Michael Portillo
- transport policy
- Oxford Street
- pedestrianisation
- bus reform
- 20mph speed limit
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Welsh Government
Places: Wales, London, Oxford Street
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