This TM^▸ (Train Manager, or Ticket Machine, or Temple Meads (Bristol), depending on context) was also very pro-active on his up working to Exeter once he knew that his train was not going beyond there. I'll try and make sure he gets a mention in the right place when I go in tomorrow

don't worry : SWT^▸ (South West Trains) gave their permission for FGW^▸ (First Great Western) ticket acceptance right at the start. After the initial notification, AXC^» (Arriva Cross Country - about) and ourselves jointly organised 42 buses to shuttle between Exeter and Taunton - all were in operation within 70 minutes and helped move an enormous amount of customers on the 'last Friday before Christmas' rush. By turning London bound trains at Exeter to form 1zxx to Cornwall and West-bound trains at Taunton to form 1zxx back to London, we managed a very good service under the circumstances, using the 42 buses to bridge the gap.
On behalf of Control, I would like to thank the two main stations involved for the way they handled the disruption - and the same to all front-line colleagues on trains affected.
Line was closed exactly 2 hours 13:46 - 15:46

Last Saturday evening after last trains had gone, vandals wrecked the customer areas of Charlbury, Shipton and Heyford station. The lovely fully restored and working red telephone box at Charlbury was badly damaged, and fittings and flower tubs at all three stations were strewn over the tracks and outside the station buildings. The fishpond at Charlbury was left full of station posters and traffic cones.
Friends of the Cotswold Line, and the ever-present FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Line Manager - Teresa Ceesay - have worked tirelessly for years to make the Cotswold Line stations look so well presented. The number of voluntary man-hours that have been used at just these three stations is unbelievable.
The BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) and local police forces are working to find the culprits, who must have had either good knowledge of the Cotswold Line, or just random 'luck' of being undisturbed. Without going into details, I understand that the vandals MAY have travelled on the last down services between stations.
If anyone knows anything - please contact BTP or your local police station.

The TD feeds between Totnes and Tiverton Parkway have not worked for several weeks due to the reasons quoted. Our stations in the area are in 'Time Only' mode which puts all trains on time unless manually altered by the station (not all stations have the equipment to do this) or by us in Swindon Control. It is far from an ideal situation, and we have been frustrated by the length of time that our providers have given for the 'fix'. It is possible that we won't have these CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) screens working normally again until next month.
However, between us and the stations, we have maintained 98% accuracy in the area with train running information. The problem of this week have arisen with the National Rail Enquiries feed from the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) system. There is a glitch in the software that is sending delays to NRE^▸ (National Rail Enquiries) on odd trains leaving Newton Abbot that then replicate at both there, Exeter SD and Tiverton Parkway. NRE are very aware, and will tell you if you phone them not to rely on information on journey running on their site - we have asked again today for them to put a disclaimer on the site itself until the fault is fixed (hopefully by the end of the weekend). Local Radio stations were, until yesterday, using NRE for their travel information broadcasts - they have now been advised to use the FGW website which is reporting correctly.
We were only made aware of the extent of the problem yesterday, and are hoping for a speedy 'fix' by NRE!

switching problems at Reading is not done lightly. Customers there rarely look at the screens. An HST^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) on 5 must be for London; and HST on 4 must be going west (I know there is a choice there), but the Reading users seem to be more creatures of habit than other stations. A few weeks ago, engineering works saw just 8&9 available on a Sunday. Both bi-di of course - the fun that followed was worth seeing!

Apologies to anyone trying to get beyond Cardiff last night - major signal failure between Bridgend and Port Talbot saw no trains in either direction 18:45-21:20. A lot of delays and cancellations, but only two out of the last ten Swansea trains didn't make their final destination. OK some were over two hours late, but they did get there in the end! A long night in Control, but I would also like to thank the local station staff and on-board train managers who were really helpful throughout - even when we did not know how long we were going to be in trouble.

Monday is the new launch day - likely to be in LA60 set which could operate on any of our main line.

This incident occured just as I was about to leave tonight. Some of what Fallen Angel has said is true, but it is more complicated. There will be an investigation. A relief driver came up on 1W09 to work the return 1P90 back from Shrub Hill. Must admit, I did not think about where they laid over the stock, but I will find out tomorrow

John - one of my colleagues will be very interested in this when I tell them tomorrow. This is not what FGW^▸ (First Great Western) is about! If I get any feedback later, I will let you know