Matt Harrison
@mattpharrison.bsky.social
I do public transport comms, marketing & design. And the occasional bit of blogging. Mancunian. European.
transportdesigned.com
transportdesigned.com
Copilot is undoubtedly the dumbest 'AI' I've ever encountered. That said, most Microsoft products these days are lowest common denominator junk, which is why I avoid like the plague.
Talking to Windows’ Copilot AI makes a computer feel incompetent
Talking to Windows’ Copilot AI makes a computer feel incompetent
Hey Copilot, are you useful yet?
buff.ly
November 18, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Copilot is undoubtedly the dumbest 'AI' I've ever encountered. That said, most Microsoft products these days are lowest common denominator junk, which is why I avoid like the plague.
On your marks…get set…race!
November 5, 2025 at 2:30 PM
On your marks…get set…race!
First time spotting Rail Clock in the flesh!
November 5, 2025 at 10:07 AM
First time spotting Rail Clock in the flesh!
It’s ironic. The city that Donald Trump covets above all others, roundly despises his existence and kicks him squarely into the dirt at every opportunity.
Congrats @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social!
Congrats @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social!
November 5, 2025 at 7:17 AM
It’s ironic. The city that Donald Trump covets above all others, roundly despises his existence and kicks him squarely into the dirt at every opportunity.
Congrats @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social!
Congrats @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social!
There's a new timepiece in town! Rail Clock is a masterclass in meaningful simplicity.
It's not every day the railway gets a new clock - this is something very special.
I've penned a few quick thoughts about it for @transportdesigned.com:
transportdesigned.com/theres-a-new...
It's not every day the railway gets a new clock - this is something very special.
I've penned a few quick thoughts about it for @transportdesigned.com:
transportdesigned.com/theres-a-new...
October 16, 2025 at 8:15 PM
There's a new timepiece in town! Rail Clock is a masterclass in meaningful simplicity.
It's not every day the railway gets a new clock - this is something very special.
I've penned a few quick thoughts about it for @transportdesigned.com:
transportdesigned.com/theres-a-new...
It's not every day the railway gets a new clock - this is something very special.
I've penned a few quick thoughts about it for @transportdesigned.com:
transportdesigned.com/theres-a-new...
Reposted by Matt Harrison
On my way back north after attending the unveiling of the new rail clock at London Bridge; the timepiece is all at once disarmingly simple and delightfully ingenious…
October 16, 2025 at 12:44 PM
On my way back north after attending the unveiling of the new rail clock at London Bridge; the timepiece is all at once disarmingly simple and delightfully ingenious…
Now appearing at stations all over the North - these lovely new leaflets promoting destinations across the network.
Pick one up from a station near you!
Pick one up from a station near you!
October 8, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Now appearing at stations all over the North - these lovely new leaflets promoting destinations across the network.
Pick one up from a station near you!
Pick one up from a station near you!
Reposted by Matt Harrison
Now this is Content
September 26, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Now this is Content
I’ve lived with iOS26 for over a week now and can honestly say it’s just the absolute worst.
How could Apple have shipped such utter crap? Steve Jobs would be spinning in his grave.
How could Apple have shipped such utter crap? Steve Jobs would be spinning in his grave.
September 27, 2025 at 10:12 AM
I’ve lived with iOS26 for over a week now and can honestly say it’s just the absolute worst.
How could Apple have shipped such utter crap? Steve Jobs would be spinning in his grave.
How could Apple have shipped such utter crap? Steve Jobs would be spinning in his grave.
Reposted by Matt Harrison
The inside track on the creation of the ever-so-pretty (and substantially more useful) new Northern network map. Fascinating stuff. Designers are so clever.
👋 Introducing Northern’s new network map...
🗺️ Find out how we redesigned Northern's network map with clarity, consistency and connections in mind 👇
transportdesigned.com/introducing-...
🗺️ Find out how we redesigned Northern's network map with clarity, consistency and connections in mind 👇
transportdesigned.com/introducing-...
Introducing Northern's new network map - Transport Designed
Find out how we redesigned Northern's network map with clarity, consistency and connections in mind
transportdesigned.com
September 8, 2025 at 9:58 PM
The inside track on the creation of the ever-so-pretty (and substantially more useful) new Northern network map. Fascinating stuff. Designers are so clever.
🗺️ A month or two ago, Northern quietly launched a new network map.
It started out as my personal pet project, born out of an ever-so-slight frustration that the existing map didn't actually show you where trains went. Which is sort of...fundamental, really.
It started out as my personal pet project, born out of an ever-so-slight frustration that the existing map didn't actually show you where trains went. Which is sort of...fundamental, really.
September 8, 2025 at 7:40 PM
🗺️ A month or two ago, Northern quietly launched a new network map.
It started out as my personal pet project, born out of an ever-so-slight frustration that the existing map didn't actually show you where trains went. Which is sort of...fundamental, really.
It started out as my personal pet project, born out of an ever-so-slight frustration that the existing map didn't actually show you where trains went. Which is sort of...fundamental, really.
This must be relatively rare - don’t think I’ve ever seen an Avanti on P2 at Piccadilly before!
September 4, 2025 at 9:04 AM
This must be relatively rare - don’t think I’ve ever seen an Avanti on P2 at Piccadilly before!
🤔 Well this is new…
TPE and Northern working together to deliver for customers whilst Huddersfield station is closed as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
It means a 6-car Class 185 to Brighouse for me this morning!
TPE and Northern working together to deliver for customers whilst Huddersfield station is closed as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
It means a 6-car Class 185 to Brighouse for me this morning!
September 1, 2025 at 7:45 AM
🤔 Well this is new…
TPE and Northern working together to deliver for customers whilst Huddersfield station is closed as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
It means a 6-car Class 185 to Brighouse for me this morning!
TPE and Northern working together to deliver for customers whilst Huddersfield station is closed as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
It means a 6-car Class 185 to Brighouse for me this morning!
This is the kind of content I live for. And I genuinely had no idea that the quirky building in the middle of the roundabout outside Leeds bus station is a former filling station!
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Pump it up! The UK’s most glorious garages – in pictures
From the mock-Tudor fad of the 1920s to drivers refuelling on a roundabout, each era produces its own distinctive petrol stations – as photographer Philip Butler discovered
www.theguardian.com
August 27, 2025 at 8:21 AM
This is the kind of content I live for. And I genuinely had no idea that the quirky building in the middle of the roundabout outside Leeds bus station is a former filling station!
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Signed, sealed and delivered with a Routemaster. Would it really have been a Harrison wedding without a double decker bus?
August 18, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Signed, sealed and delivered with a Routemaster. Would it really have been a Harrison wedding without a double decker bus?
Reposted by Matt Harrison
the Guardian asked me to write about the Elizabeth Line! 193 comments in 90 minutes! that's gotta be good, right? right?
Want to know what’s going right in Britain? Come to the capital, look at the Elizabeth line railway | Jonn Elledge
It’s a ‘can-do’ object lesson for the Treasury. And imagine what such ambition could do for the fortunes of Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds, says author Jonn Elledge
www.theguardian.com
August 11, 2025 at 8:30 AM
the Guardian asked me to write about the Elizabeth Line! 193 comments in 90 minutes! that's gotta be good, right? right?
No prizes for guessing where I am today!
August 1, 2025 at 9:57 AM
No prizes for guessing where I am today!
OK then, The Greatest Gathering...who's around tomorrow?
July 31, 2025 at 9:20 AM
OK then, The Greatest Gathering...who's around tomorrow?
🚂 Head's up! Tickets will go on sale for the Heaton 150 open day at 1pm tomorrow - we expect they will sell out fast 👇
media.northernrailway.co.uk/news/tickets...
media.northernrailway.co.uk/news/tickets...
Tickets to go on sale for Newcastle's Heaton TrainCare Centre open day | Northern News
Train operator Northern has released details of how to get tickets for the 'Heaton 150' open day, taking place in September.
media.northernrailway.co.uk
July 30, 2025 at 9:27 AM
🚂 Head's up! Tickets will go on sale for the Heaton 150 open day at 1pm tomorrow - we expect they will sell out fast 👇
media.northernrailway.co.uk/news/tickets...
media.northernrailway.co.uk/news/tickets...
⛺️ An absolutely stunning little piece of PR courtesy of NS in the Netherlands:
nltimes.nl/2025/07/30/n...
nltimes.nl/2025/07/30/n...
NS opens train station campsite for students who couldn't find living space
NS will set up a campsite at Utrecht Central Station for first-year students who weren’t able to find accommodation in the city in time for the university’s orientation period next month. Twenty first...
nltimes.nl
July 30, 2025 at 8:19 AM
⛺️ An absolutely stunning little piece of PR courtesy of NS in the Netherlands:
nltimes.nl/2025/07/30/n...
nltimes.nl/2025/07/30/n...
🚨 BIG NEWS - we're throwing open the doors to Northern's Heaton TrainCare Centre on 20 & 21 September!
As part of #Railway200 and to celebrate 150 years of the historic depot, we'll be welcoming thousands of visitors to Heaton for a mega-rare look behind the scenes.
As part of #Railway200 and to celebrate 150 years of the historic depot, we'll be welcoming thousands of visitors to Heaton for a mega-rare look behind the scenes.
June 23, 2025 at 10:44 AM
🚨 BIG NEWS - we're throwing open the doors to Northern's Heaton TrainCare Centre on 20 & 21 September!
As part of #Railway200 and to celebrate 150 years of the historic depot, we'll be welcoming thousands of visitors to Heaton for a mega-rare look behind the scenes.
As part of #Railway200 and to celebrate 150 years of the historic depot, we'll be welcoming thousands of visitors to Heaton for a mega-rare look behind the scenes.
I drove a train today.*
* OK, it wasn’t a real train. But it was about the closest thing you can get to a real train.
This is the first of Northern’s incredible, state of the art, mind-blowingly realistic Class 195/331 simulators which are quite simply - a game changer.
* OK, it wasn’t a real train. But it was about the closest thing you can get to a real train.
This is the first of Northern’s incredible, state of the art, mind-blowingly realistic Class 195/331 simulators which are quite simply - a game changer.
April 23, 2025 at 3:58 PM
I drove a train today.*
* OK, it wasn’t a real train. But it was about the closest thing you can get to a real train.
This is the first of Northern’s incredible, state of the art, mind-blowingly realistic Class 195/331 simulators which are quite simply - a game changer.
* OK, it wasn’t a real train. But it was about the closest thing you can get to a real train.
This is the first of Northern’s incredible, state of the art, mind-blowingly realistic Class 195/331 simulators which are quite simply - a game changer.