- Christian Wolmar
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Christian Wolmar 
Nationality British Alma mater Warwick University Occupation journalist, author, and railway historian Known for Transport commentary Website www.christianwolmar.co.uk Christian Wolmar is a British journalist, author, and railway historian of Swedish and Russian descent.[1] He is best known for his books and commentary on transport, especially as a pundit on Britain's railway network, and was named Transport Journalist of the Year in the National Transport Awards in 2007. He is also an advocate for cycling as a means of transport.
Following his graduation from Warwick University in 1971,[1] Wolmar worked for Marketing, Retail Newsagent, the New Statesman, and the London Daily News. He was formerly on the staff of The Independent (1989–97)[1] and their transport correspondent for four years from 1992, covering the Privatisation of British Rail by the Major government. He has also contributed to The Observer.
Wolmar's books and columns mainly analyse the current state of the British railway industry. He has become known as one of the most vociferous media critics of rail privatisation, in terms of the upheaval which was caused following the Hatfield train crash, the current structure of the industry and the cost to taxpayers.
His latest books are The Subterranean Railway: a history of the London Underground, published in 2005, and Fire and Steam, the first major new history of the railways in Britain for 30 years. Most recently, Blood, Iron and Gold, a history of how the railways changed the world, was published in October 2009 and Engines Of War, on how the railways transformed modern warfare was published in late 2010. All have attracted many favourable reviews. He continues to produce regular columns for RAIL magazine and Transport Times.
He has also written a book on the abuse scandals in children's homes, Forgotten Children, published in 2000, and has written extensively about housing issues and local government.
Christian is a keen cricketer and distance runner, and plays tennis. He is a diehard football fan, having supported Queens Park Rangers for over 50 years.[1]
He is also known to be against the construction of HS2, a high speed railway between London and Birmingham.
References
- ^ a b c d Biography page, Christian Wolmar's website.
Bibliography
- Stagecoach: A Classic Rags-to-Riches Tale from the Frontiers of Capitalism (rev. ed., 1999), ISBN 0-7528-3088-0
- Broken Rails: How Privatisation Wrecked Britain's Railways (2001), ISBN 1-85410-8573
- Down the Tube: The Battle for London's Underground (2002), ISBN 1-85410-872-7
- The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How It Changed the City Forever (2004), ISBN 1-84354-022-3
- On the Wrong Line: How Ideology and Incompetence Wrecked Britain's Railways (rev. ed. 2005), ISBN 1-85410-998-7 (previously published as Broken Rails)
- Fire And Steam: A New History of the Railways in Britain (2007), ISBN 10-0753156849
- Blood, Iron and Gold: How The Railway Changed The World Forever (2009), ISBN 10-1848871708
- Engines Of War: How Wars Were Won & Lost On The Railways (2010), ISBN 978-1-84887-172-4
External links
Categories:- Living people
- Rail transport writers
- British journalists
- British people of Swedish descent
- British people of Russian descent
- Alumni of the University of Warwick
- British writer stubs
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