The comment about "while preparing the full business case for decision makers." is somewhat worrying. Hopefully that means what dull shade of grey concrete to use at Portishead station rather than binning off the whole project.

I reckon the flying taxis will be flying just before the Bristol Subway and Tram open.

(Maybe the Portishead line will have opened the month before too)

Seems like GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have given up with the emergency timetable today.

The 07:15 to Cardiff and 09:55 return has been cancelled due to the broken down Turbos at Ealing; ironically the new green ones.  I understand the 07:15 was trapped behind.

There were trollies on the Gatwicks until at least 2007/2008.

It's clearly a typo. 

First class is definitely declassified. But get there early as it fills up!

Christ, I know you hate the railways but don't take it out on us. The majority of railway staff would have started their jobs well after any Sunday agreements were made.

Don't tell me if you were in railway employment and had the opportunity to take all or some the Sundays you could work off because it meant you spent more time with your family or friends or to attend events you wouldn't!

FWIW^▸ (for what it's worth), I work my Sundays. But that's my choice.

Edited to fix quotes - bobm

There is no overtime ban.

Sundays are not within the working week for the majority of (if not all) train crew including drivers and guards. Therefore it's possible to make yourself unavailable to work them. Much of it runs on goodwill, and there isn't much about at the moment!

With it now being the school holidays, it will not get any better.

But do you care if there is an onboard presence from a trained member of staff other than the driver? In most circumstances every IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project. This will offer more capacity on routes, save money, give a consistent and safe service and meet customer requirements. Intended to replace HSTs.) will have a "train manager" (be it competent current form guard or a non-competent so called onboard manager ) rostered but in times of disruption (arguably one of the best times to have a TM^▸ (Train Manager, or possibly Ticket Machine, depending on context), especially a decent one) are you happy to travel on a train with upwards of 500 people hurtling through rural countryside without a TM?

What happens if the train hits someone? What happens if the train hits a bridge parapet?  breaks down for hours on end in the middle of nowhere? Gets stranded in flood water? All these things have happened recently.

DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)) works on the tube and on suburban railways etc, don't get me wrong. DOO would not be the usual method of working for the IEPs... but when does "it's okay we're picking up a TM at Reading" become "we're picking up a TM at Taunton"

It's Fathers Day so you may find more members of staff deciding they don't wish to work their Sunday's. Many grades also have the option to opt-out of Sunday work so the company has to rely on people wanting to do them.

Local MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post - a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London, depending on context) getting involved?! There must be an election coming up!

Did they consider submerging the railway under the road or would that cost too much or offend a rare protected strain of soil in the area?

By the way, the railway looks quite open... do people walk along the trackbed? Presumably it is trespassing on the railway still.

She's done an excellent job of skirting around answering that question.

Poor connections to London at Newport? What, like a direct train every half hour?