Thursday October 16

Stock allocation is an issue this week, with this evening's departures not looking good:


The 5-car sets on the 19:53 and 21:53 do not bode well for Friday.

Nor does

I am noting this thread as a "service update and amendment log".   Yes, it makes total sense to keep the disruption reports that we post in one place, but yet at the same time I am concerned that on a line with so many services that it's going to be impractical for us / members to maintain as a complete log.

Would it be more practical for this thread to be "Service updates and amendments" without the term "log" which suggests that every change might be noted?

Thought / comments / inputs sought, please?

The 17:00 Bristol Paddington is missing out Bath and Chippenham (my destination) due to trespassers near Chippenham I think they said.

Announcement made at about 17:00, hence a bit of a panic, and I'm now on a packed Weymouth 17:06 service to catch the 17:45 bus at Bath (to get to Melksham, home).

17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19

17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19 will be starting late from Swindon.
This is due to trespassers on the railway.

Train services in part of Devon were disrupted after a sheep died when it was struck on the line.

The livestock were reported on the track between Crediton and Okehampton on the Dartmoor Line just after 12:00 BST.

Network Rail said one of the sheep had been struck and killed before engineers had been made aware the animals were on the single-track line.

Great Western Railway said services Exeter Central and Okehampton via Exeter St Davids were being cancelled, delayed or revised while the incident was dealt with. It added the line was clear by 14:30.

Recommended walking distances
The figures in the following table are average recommendations - there is much variation between individuals. Gradients, weather conditions, whether there are handrails and other factors will also affect the distances people are able to walk.

                              Recommended distance limit
                              without a rest

Wheelchair users             150 metres

Vision impaired people         150 metres

Walking stick and cane users      50 metres

Mobility impaired people without a
walking stick                    100 metres

The cantilevers come down at Swindon?

"...remote places like Newquay, Tenby, Bedwyn, Bristol Temple Meads and Oxford ..."

OK, I'm thinking it.

Mark

"Lessons need to be learned" over the stalled construction of a new railway station in West Yorkshire, the county's mayor has said.

Contractors walked off the White Rose Station site, between Cottingley and Morley, in March 2024 after costs rose above the £26m budget.

Mayor Tracy Brabin said there was no update on when work would resume on the project, jointly funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), which provided £22m, and Munroe K, owner of the nearby White Rose Office Park, which contributed £4m. Ms Brabin said: "It was an ambitious project and we wouldn't necessarily do it in the same way again, so we we've learned a lot. We're really working very hard to push to a resolution."

About 70% of the work on the station has been completed, including two waiting shelters and the installation of a lift shaft. However, the building site around the stop on the line between Leeds and Huddersfield has become overgrown since worked ceased.

In May, WYCA signed off extra cash for the scheme, but the authority did not give details of the new budget.

One local business owner who said he would benefit from having a station close to his premises described the situation as "frustrating and farcical".

Iain Clasper, who employs 60 staff at printing company FaberExposize, said: "We were really excited about it, we were talking to people, we were interviewing for jobs and saying you don't have to worry about relying on the buses - there will be a new train station. We've now lost staff who used to commute in from Huddersfield because they got fed up of the M62. A station immediately behind the industrial estate would make it easier for existing staff and help us attract new staff, which is really difficult at the moment."

Councillor Alan Lamb, leader of the Conservative group on Leeds City Council and a WYCA board member, said stakeholders remained "in the dark" about the lack of progress on the station. He also voiced concerns about WYCA's ability to deliver big infrastructure projects on time and on budget. "They're taking on bus franchising and mass transit and so far they can't even deliver one railway station. The complete silence is frustrating and disappointing."

When the White Rose Station project was given the go-ahead in summer 2021, it was supposed to set an example of how infrastructure could be built quicker. It was one of Network Rail's "Project SPEED" schemes - which stands for "swift, pragmatic, efficient, enhancement and delivery".

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: "We continue to liaise with West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Munroe K. When work restarts we will be happy to offer further support and expertise."

Landowner Munroe K, which owns and operates the business park, has been approached for comment.

The IETs that run on diesel between Chippenham and Bristol leave Paddington as electric? You learn something new every day

The cantilevers come down at Swindon?

Love 'em or hate 'em ... rather that the diesel fumes at Paddington, all bar 4 departures per day are now under electric power ...

The Class 800 trains came into service on the Great Western Main Line on 16 October 2017, while the first examples on the East Coast Main Line were put into service on 15 May 2019.

Has the change in the law / Highway Code to give an increased priority to pedestrians encouraged a more carefree attitude from walkers?

Been using realtime trains to look at new timetable from mid December in my local area Bradford on Avon (and also applies to Trowbridge).   [snip]

The off peak timetable is horribly spaced

11:40 Gloucester-Westbury
11:47 Cardiff-Portsmouth

Is it just me, or does anyone else think WECA is wasting money providing a third train each hour, if the timetable is so uneven with gaps of up to 32min.  Those gaps are worse than a half hourly service.