Not on it today, but I can see the 5:11 Gloucester - Southampton Central has a problem, after leaving Kemble 2 mins late. 'Information unavailable' for Swindon (scheduled 6:06), and 'delayed' for all stops after that (Chippenham 6:23, Melksham 6:32)...

Although if such shops are run by a League of Friends or similar charitable/benevolent organisation then it's perhaps a little more agreeable if their prices are higher than the 'outside'. Run by volunteers, who often provide a bedside service too, their profits are used to provide the goods, help and assistance to inpatients that aren't provided by the NHS. My last time as an inpatient, an emergency admission, I had no money on me for toiletries. The LoF provided me with complimentary items.

In hospitals where there is a choice between a brand outlet, such as an M&S Food or WHSmith, and a League of Friends, then I'll choose the latter wherever possible.

What!?! ‘and the meeting being held in Taunton’. Please don’t shatter my illusions Chris, that one of the things that makes the TWSW meeting so special for you was that it’s held in Taunton!

Totally get the Voyager bit.

Finally, I remember being at Edinburgh Waverley station a few years back and doing a double take when looking at the arrivals board seeing Bath Spa listed before remembering there was the early morning departure from Bath.

A preliminary report into last month's funicular crash in Lisbon that killed 16 people including three British nationals has detailed a litany of failings.

Portugal's Air and Rail Accident Investigations Bureau said an underground cable - which acted as a counterweight between two carriages and broke, prompting the crash - was defective and had never been certified for passenger transportation.  It said the cable was not technically suitable and was acquired in 2022 by the company that runs Lisbon's public transport, Carris.  The 140-year-old Glória funicular, popular with tourists, derailed and crashed into a building on 3 September.  There were 11 foreigners among those killed, including the three British nationals, while another 20 people were injured.

The supervision and maintenance of the funicular by a company outsourced by Carris also did not work properly, apparently giving the Glória funicular the all-clear on the morning of the disaster - though it is not certain if the check actually took place that day.  In addition, the state body that looks after all of Lisbon's funiculars did not cover the Glória one, as it should have done, the report said.

The emergency brake system, which the driver correctly tried to apply when the cable snapped, did not function properly and was never tested in advance, it says.

...

Despite the Voyager, and the meeting being held in Taunton, we've been friends ever since.

Duo raise £1m for women's urinals start-up


Hazel McShane (left) and Amber Probyn co-founded the firm Peequal

Two businesswomen who co-founded a women's urinals company hope to go global after raising nearly £1m in investment.

Amber Probyn, 27, and Hazel McShane, 29, say the urinals made by Peequal, for use at festivals, are three times quicker to use than portable toilets.

The Bristol University graduates will use the funding to manufacture the next-generation urinals, which they hope to send to events in Europe, the US and Australia.

Ms McShane said they have had interest from event organisers around the world. "Like us, they want women spending less time in queues and more time enjoying the events they love," she said.

The pair, who graduated in 2020, came up with the idea after spending many summers working at music festivals in the UK.

"We knew women would welcome any innovation that meant they didn't have to queue for hours," said Ms Probyn. "What we didn't expect was how much love the urinals would receive, and we've been blown away by the support women give us at events."

Manufactured in Somerset, Peequal's urinals are made from sugar cane and plastic recovered from the ocean.


The latest design allows the women's urinals to be flat-packed and stacked

The urinals are designed to minimise splashback and allow for clothing to come down at the front. Users squat, while holding onto handles.

The latest design allows the urinals to be flat-packed and stacked. The founders estimate that a lorry carrying 21 portable toilets could instead carry 56 of their urinals.

The urinals have been used at 25 events already this year, including Glastonbury Festival and the London Marathon.


Ms McShane says event organisers around the world are keen to use Peequal

The Peequal founders raised £925,000 in their latest round of funding, bringing the total raised during three funding rounds to £1.4m.

Julia Davies, impact investor at We Have The Power, is a key backer. She first came across the urinals while running the London Marathon. "It's always satisfying to invest in a service you've used and admired," said Ms Davies. "What I really love is its potential for a huge sustainability impact by reducing toxic waste generation at events."

Like many in their mid-20s, Tia Costell feels young people are being priced out of finding their own place to live.

"It's hard enough for people to rent in London, let alone get on the property ladder. Properties are so expensive and hard to come by - if you can't get there on the same day, you can't even get a viewing."

This is a familiar story across the country, and particularly in London. But has the capital's flagship infrastructure project - the Elizabeth line - made renting even more expensive?

The Elizabeth line opened in May 2022, and has become the UK's busiest railway line, carrying one in six train journeys in the whole country, according to Transport for London (TfL).

Figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest there has been a disproportionate rise in rents along its route.

(BBC article continues)

Doubt over future of the West of England's dial-a-ride Westlink minibus service


Government funding for the dial-a-ride Westlink minibus service is set to expire in March 2026

There are doubts about the future of a bookable minibus service after it emerged trips have been costing up to £50 a passenger.

Westlink was introduced in 2023 by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) after several regular bus routes were lost in the area.

The scheme has government funding until March, but will have to pay for itself for it to continue after that.

WECA mayor, Helen Godwin, said her team are "evaluating how best to keep people connected, improve these demand-responsive services, and ensure value for money".


David Redgewell said some have been taking advantage of the service, using it like "their own personal taxi service"

Passengers book trips on an app and are taken to existing bus routes for a £2 fare.

The service was set-up to run in areas of Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset in 2023. However it has carried very few passengers and at points it has cost £40-£50 per passenger per trip to operate the service.

David Redgewell is a member of the South West Transport Network that campaigns for transport users in the region. He has used the bus service and said often he is one of the only two people on the minibus. He said the service has come down in cost and now works out at about "£14 per passenger, [which is] still a lot of money".

Roger French, who writes a bus and train blog, said the minibus service is "completely financially unsustainable".

Mayor Godwin said the contracted buses predated her time as mayor but she appreciates the "challenges of trying to fill the gaps in the commercial network".