Recent Public Posts - [guest]
| MOVED: Injured at Huntington, cannot travel, airfare refund refused In "Fare's Fair" [367959/31073/4] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 21:23, 9th November 2025 |      |
This topic has been moved to The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom and merged with an existing topic there. Apologies, grahame.
https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=29076.msg367957#msg367957
| Re: Injured at Huntington, cannot travel, airfare refund refused In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [367958/29076/51] Posted by ChrisB at 21:16, 9th November 2025 | |
That's *exactly* why you do take out travel insurance. It wasn't Ryanair's fault....
| Injured at Huntington, cannot travel, airfare refund refused In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [367957/29076/51] Posted by grahame at 21:14, 9th November 2025 | |
From ]The Metro
Ryanair has refused to refund man unable to fly out to Austria to watch a football match after sustaining injuries in the Huntingdon train stabbing.
The famously uncompromising Irish low cost airline told 61-year-old Stephen Crean he should’ve taken out insurance to be reimbursed for his flight.
Mr Crean was one of 11 passengers on an LNER train to London taken to hospital after he was stabbed seven times while trying to confront the knifeman.
He was forced to cancel an awaited trip to see his side Nottingham Forest take on Austrian team Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday.
The famously uncompromising Irish low cost airline told 61-year-old Stephen Crean he should’ve taken out insurance to be reimbursed for his flight.
Mr Crean was one of 11 passengers on an LNER train to London taken to hospital after he was stabbed seven times while trying to confront the knifeman.
He was forced to cancel an awaited trip to see his side Nottingham Forest take on Austrian team Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday.
| On-demand LinkUp bus service in Lichfield extended to 2026 In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [367956/31071/51] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 21:12, 9th November 2025 | |
From the BBC:
A popular on-demand bus service in Lichfield has been extended into 2026.
LinkUp launched in December 2024 across the Lichfield District, offering flexible transport for £3 per journey on its distinct pink vehicles.
Lichfield District Council said it had been a valued travel option for residents in rural areas, who had limited or no traditional bus services.
The extension, to March next year, has been made possible due to ongoing support from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
"I'm delighted that we have been able to extend the Link Up bus service well into next year," said councillor Janice Silvester-Hall, cabinet member for economy, ecology and climate change.
"It has been of real benefit to people living in rural communities across Lichfield District who don't have access to a car or public transport. The LinkUp bus helps us to continue delivering on our commitment to improve transport links and reduce social isolation."
| Trees near roads felled to combat ash dieback in Cumbria - November 2025 In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [367955/31070/51] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 20:14, 9th November 2025 | |
From the BBC:
Trees growing near roads are to be cut down in response to the spread of ash dieback.
Cumberland Council has found several areas where ash trees have been infected with the disease and need maintenance or removal.
Ash dieback poses a safety risk to drivers as it causes the trees to become brittle, meaning they can fall or shatter without warning.
The council said felling trees was a "last resort" and it only removed those which were "dead, dying, diseased or dangerous".
Ash dieback has been described as the worst tree disease since the Dutch elm outbreak in the 1970s and it is predicted about 90% of ash trees in the UK will be infected within the next decade.
Ash trees are a dominant species along roadsides in Cumbria, meaning the council has had to survey its network of A, B and C roads to check they are safe.
Those living in areas where infected trees need to be removed will receive letters detailing how the removal will be carried out.
Last year, National Highways announced it was planning to cut down between 12,000 and 15,000 trees to protect motorists.
This work included felling around the M6 and the A590 in Cumbria.
| Re: Recycling rubbish - something of a minefield? In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [367953/30854/31] Posted by ChrisB at 19:44, 9th November 2025 | |
Cherwell is my local council - they have always claimed H&S difficulties for their crews around broken glass, forcing us to bottle banks.
Strange how a change in councillors plus costs associated with cleaning up rubbish dumped around these banks changes opinions....now they've got to persuade their taxpayers to rinse out jars etc before dumping them in their recycling
| Re: Bath to Cirencester - via Tetbury, Kemble and Stroud - ongoing plans In "Introductions and chat" [367952/30038/1] Posted by johnneyw at 19:35, 9th November 2025 | |
Quite a few familiar scenes amongst the pictures above from my once or twice yearly inspection of restoration progress. I've been a Cotswold Canals Trust member for twenty something years although recently visits have concentrated a little more to the west where all the restoration action is to be found. Definitely sold on a Kemble to Stroud yomp though. Curious that it didn't occur to me before this thread.
| Re: Recycling rubbish - something of a minefield? In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [367951/30854/31] Posted by johnneyw at 19:04, 9th November 2025 | |
I didn't realise that there were still areas in the country that don't collect glass from recycling bins. Can't remember how long it's been since I've had to take bottles to a bottle bank in Bristol alough I think it took a few years longer in the South Hams.
| Re: Recycling rubbish - something of a minefield? In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [367950/30854/31] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 18:19, 9th November 2025 | |
From the BBC:
Cherwell council to introduce kerbside collections for glass recycling
The change will end more than 30 years of residents having to make trips to the bottle bank
Residents in north Oxfordshire will be able to recycle their glass bottles with other waste from next year, after a new kerbside collection was approved.
Cherwell District Council said the change would end more than 30 years of residents taking their glass to bottle banks.
From 1 January next year, householders will instead be able to put it in their blue recycling bin.
The authority said the change would cost between £300,000 and £400,000 due to lost income from bottle banks and higher "gate fees" at waste management facilities.
The change will help the authority comply with the new "Simpler Recycling" law that comes into force in April 2026. It is anticipated the change will improve the district's overall recycling rate by up to 1.5%.
More than 100 bottle banks around the district will be removed, which the council said would help prevent fly-tipping.
Councillor Ian Middleton, portfolio holder for neighbourhood services, said: "The collection of glass from the kerbside is one of the most requested changes to our recycling service, and we have been listening. This change will make it faster and more convenient for residents to recycle whilst reducing the problems associated with bottle banks. The reality is that these have attracted litter and fly-tipping, with the taxpayer having to pick up the costs of the clear-up."
Glass collected in blue bins in Cherwell will be separated from other dry recycling by machines at a sorting centre. Large pieces will be sorted for further processing, while smaller pieces will be used for road aggregate or shot blasting material, which is used to strengthen surfaces.
The change will end more than 30 years of residents having to make trips to the bottle bank
Residents in north Oxfordshire will be able to recycle their glass bottles with other waste from next year, after a new kerbside collection was approved.
Cherwell District Council said the change would end more than 30 years of residents taking their glass to bottle banks.
From 1 January next year, householders will instead be able to put it in their blue recycling bin.
The authority said the change would cost between £300,000 and £400,000 due to lost income from bottle banks and higher "gate fees" at waste management facilities.
The change will help the authority comply with the new "Simpler Recycling" law that comes into force in April 2026. It is anticipated the change will improve the district's overall recycling rate by up to 1.5%.
More than 100 bottle banks around the district will be removed, which the council said would help prevent fly-tipping.
Councillor Ian Middleton, portfolio holder for neighbourhood services, said: "The collection of glass from the kerbside is one of the most requested changes to our recycling service, and we have been listening. This change will make it faster and more convenient for residents to recycle whilst reducing the problems associated with bottle banks. The reality is that these have attracted litter and fly-tipping, with the taxpayer having to pick up the costs of the clear-up."
Glass collected in blue bins in Cherwell will be separated from other dry recycling by machines at a sorting centre. Large pieces will be sorted for further processing, while smaller pieces will be used for road aggregate or shot blasting material, which is used to strengthen surfaces.
| Re: Mystery RAF 1940s aerial photo location In "Railway History and related topics" [367949/31069/55] Posted by bradshaw at 17:33, 9th November 2025 | |
I would agree, RAF Hendon, now Grahame Park
https://municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2024/10/15/grahame-park-barnet-part-i/
| Re: National Trust gets £9m to take over Ironbridge Industrial Revolution museums In "Railway History and related topics" [367948/30928/55] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 17:31, 9th November 2025 | |
A related topic, from the BBC:
Ironbridge volunteers restore replica 1800s Trevithick steam locomotive
Volunteers at Blists Hill Victorian Town in Telford have restored a full-scale working replica of the world's first steam railway locomotive.
The Trevithick was first designed by Richard Trevithick in 1802, with the original built in the Ironbridge Gorge by the Coalbrookdale Company.
After about eight months of repairs, the replica is running again for visitors for the first time in 18 months.
"We're thrilled to bits that we've finally got this engine back on its plateway, it's a pretty unique exhibit," said Trevor Barraclough, steam engineer and volunteer with the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
"We've done quite a lot of work to it, reboring the cylinders… replacing the heat tubes and the boiler, repairing things that have been done to it in the past, and trying to cope with old technology in a new technological environment. It's a very interesting thing to drive, but there's very little on it that's on a steam locomotive you might find on the Severn Valley."
He described it as a "clockwork version" of a steam train. "We believe it's the first steam powered locomotive to work on a track," he told the BBC.
"Trevithick had built many stationary engines, he came here to Coalbrookdale to produce this high pressure engine, in its day it was like nuclear physics - this thing was working at much higher pressure than the Cornish mine engines.
"It was feared, and rightly so, this thing was operating at four, five times the pressure of the contemporary engines and marked the ability to put a lot of energy in a very compact unit that could then be fitted to something reasonably sized on a set of rails."
He said that this engine industrialised the movement of things like coal, iron and clay. "Before this engine was built, if you wanted to move wagons of coal up and down a plateway... you had to do it either by hand… or with horses. People and horses get tired, they need feeding… whereas a steam engine, the idea was it would do the work for you."
The engine is up and running at the Victorian Town and will continue to do so until the first hard frost in December.
Volunteers at Blists Hill Victorian Town in Telford have restored a full-scale working replica of the world's first steam railway locomotive.
The Trevithick was first designed by Richard Trevithick in 1802, with the original built in the Ironbridge Gorge by the Coalbrookdale Company.
After about eight months of repairs, the replica is running again for visitors for the first time in 18 months.
"We're thrilled to bits that we've finally got this engine back on its plateway, it's a pretty unique exhibit," said Trevor Barraclough, steam engineer and volunteer with the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
"We've done quite a lot of work to it, reboring the cylinders… replacing the heat tubes and the boiler, repairing things that have been done to it in the past, and trying to cope with old technology in a new technological environment. It's a very interesting thing to drive, but there's very little on it that's on a steam locomotive you might find on the Severn Valley."
He described it as a "clockwork version" of a steam train. "We believe it's the first steam powered locomotive to work on a track," he told the BBC.
"Trevithick had built many stationary engines, he came here to Coalbrookdale to produce this high pressure engine, in its day it was like nuclear physics - this thing was working at much higher pressure than the Cornish mine engines.
"It was feared, and rightly so, this thing was operating at four, five times the pressure of the contemporary engines and marked the ability to put a lot of energy in a very compact unit that could then be fitted to something reasonably sized on a set of rails."
He said that this engine industrialised the movement of things like coal, iron and clay. "Before this engine was built, if you wanted to move wagons of coal up and down a plateway... you had to do it either by hand… or with horses. People and horses get tired, they need feeding… whereas a steam engine, the idea was it would do the work for you."
The engine is up and running at the Victorian Town and will continue to do so until the first hard frost in December.
| Re: Multiple stabbings on a London bound train in Cambridgeshire - 01 Nov 25 In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [367947/31017/51] Posted by grahame at 17:28, 9th November 2025 Already liked by Mark A, Chris from Nailsea, Oxonhutch, johnneyw, eightonedee | |
Cambridge Live reports
The railway worker who bravely tackled an attacker during the Huntingdon train stabbing last Saturday (November 1) has regained consciousness following his coma.
The staff member was left in a critical condition and fighting for his life after tackling the attacker. Samir, also known as Sam, is now in a stable condition and has been able to speak with his wife for the first time since the incident, reports Birmingham Live.
The hero regained consciousness on Thursday (November 6) and has been making significant progress on his road to recovery. Colleague Gemma Royce shared the update on a GoFundMe page set up following the stabbing incident, reports the Mirror.
On the page, which has raised more than £38,000, she wrote: "Sam's family continue to be deeply grateful for all of your kind messages, generosity, and support. His wife has shared the wonderful news that Sam woke up briefly yesterday, and she was able to speak with him for a short time.
"This is a truly positive step forward, though there is still a long journey ahead in his recovery. Thank you all for continuing to keep Sam and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Your kindness means the world to them."
The staff member was left in a critical condition and fighting for his life after tackling the attacker. Samir, also known as Sam, is now in a stable condition and has been able to speak with his wife for the first time since the incident, reports Birmingham Live.
The hero regained consciousness on Thursday (November 6) and has been making significant progress on his road to recovery. Colleague Gemma Royce shared the update on a GoFundMe page set up following the stabbing incident, reports the Mirror.
On the page, which has raised more than £38,000, she wrote: "Sam's family continue to be deeply grateful for all of your kind messages, generosity, and support. His wife has shared the wonderful news that Sam woke up briefly yesterday, and she was able to speak with him for a short time.
"This is a truly positive step forward, though there is still a long journey ahead in his recovery. Thank you all for continuing to keep Sam and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Your kindness means the world to them."
| Re: Mystery RAF 1940s aerial photo location In "Railway History and related topics" [367946/31069/55] Posted by John D at 14:45, 9th November 2025 Already liked by Mark A | |
Does anyone recognise where this is?
Mark
https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/aerial-photos/record/raf_hla_499_v_6006
Mark
https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/aerial-photos/record/raf_hla_499_v_6006
Hendon
There is similar photo of Hendon in this article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendon_Aerodrome
Interesting the trackbed of the Mill Hill East -Edgware line that was being converted to double track and scheduled to become part of the northern line as part of Northern heights, but was abandoned after the war is clearly visible as light colour.
The photo has North at about the 7:30 (on a clock) and the road going off to the left (halfway on the left) is Watford Way (which almost runs due north here)
| Re: Direct trains to Birmingham could return to Stroud, Stonehouse and Swindon In "Campaigns for new and improved services" [367945/31059/28] Posted by grahame at 14:39, 9th November 2025 Already liked by eightonedee | |
It was interesting to read the piece on this in the Swindon Advertiser too (I think we have another thread going on that?) and see how public comment was "it's all very well about the midlands - but what about south from here?". And indeed the Swindon MPs might like do well in the popularity stakes to sort out in-county travel to places like Trowbridge and Salisbury - get it reliable and hourly - before they head off on a brand new project of trains to Birmingham.
| Mystery RAF 1940s aerial photo location In "Railway History and related topics" [367944/31069/55] Posted by Mark A at 14:25, 9th November 2025 | |
Does anyone recognise where this is?
Mark
https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/aerial-photos/record/raf_hla_499_v_6006
| Re: Suggestions from Campaign for Better Transport for the budget In "Looking forward - the next 2, 5, 10 and 20 years" [367943/31049/40] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 13:35, 9th November 2025 | |
| Re: Bath to Cirencester - via Tetbury, Kemble and Stroud - ongoing plans In "Introductions and chat" [367942/30038/1] Posted by Mark A at 13:18, 9th November 2025 | |
Yes, that Stroud building, a very positive step with a tale to it?
https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/19033111.20-years-since-strouds-hill-paul-saved-demolition/
The Cotswold Canal Trust has recently put a new web site together, good, visually appealing, information-rich too.
Mark
https://www.cotswoldcanals.org/
| Re: Suggestions from Campaign for Better Transport for the budget In "Looking forward - the next 2, 5, 10 and 20 years" [367941/31049/40] Posted by ChrisB at 12:37, 9th November 2025 | |
I meant that you wouldn't have called a male Chancellor of the Exchequer 'Bob from accounts'.....
| Re: IEP seats in 2025 In "Across the West" [367940/29826/26] Posted by ChrisB at 12:31, 9th November 2025 | |
Ahhh....of course. The toilet would need swapping for an(other) accessible one if you were to add a third position on a 5car too.
| Re: IEP seats in 2025 In "Across the West" [367939/29826/26] Posted by IndustryInsider at 12:29, 9th November 2025 | |
I’ll also add a standard class wheelchair space on the 5-car units to the wishlist. Just the one as that would give three in total.
I missed II's request previously. As a wheelchair user, I find the two current spaces on a 5car ample, as I've only met one other wheelchair on a service in over 2 years that I've been in one - & I'm on IETs at least 4 times a week (2 returns at least, across their network) - never mind two others.
Also - these current spaces are both in 1st class, where I'm sure most wheelchair users are quite happy, thank you. THe wheelchair space in the Standard coach A on a 9car is nowhere as nice
[/quote]
Yes indeed...it would be the lowest priority from my wishlist. Though it would give a bit of flexibility should the Universal Access Toilet be out of use in the first class section, and on the rare occasion a station platform is too short to have the doors on the first class carriage avaiable. But it is very useful having the spaces in first class as that's where there are more staff on hand to help board and alight.
| Re: Direct trains to Birmingham could return to Stroud, Stonehouse and Swindon In "Campaigns for new and improved services" [367938/31059/28] Posted by ChrisB at 12:29, 9th November 2025 | |
From the Stroud News and Journal
Direct trains to Birmingham could return to Stroud and Stonehouse
The plans are part of the £1.75 billion Midlands Rail Hub scheme, which aims to boost rail services across the region by adding up to 260 additional weekly services through Stroud and Stonehouse.
Direct trains to Birmingham could return to Stroud and Stonehouse
The plans are part of the £1.75 billion Midlands Rail Hub scheme, which aims to boost rail services across the region by adding up to 260 additional weekly services through Stroud and Stonehouse.
From the Swindon Advertiser
Swindon to Birmingham train line return to bring 12,750 jobs
An extract
Swindon to Birmingham train line return to bring 12,750 jobs
An extract
Swindon North MP Will Stone met with Midlands Connect and rail leaders at Swindon railway station to discuss the scheme’s potential, which could introduce up to 130 extra trains per week between Swindon and Birmingham.
Hmmm.......making it all up again.....we'll see.
| Re: Suggestions from Campaign for Better Transport for the budget In "Looking forward - the next 2, 5, 10 and 20 years" [367937/31049/40] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 12:24, 9th November 2025 | |
Not from me.
I think Rachel Reeves is in an unenviable position, with the press and pressure groups writing her Budget speech for her, before she has a chance to reply.
| Re: IEP seats in 2025 In "Across the West" [367936/29826/26] Posted by ChrisB at 12:19, 9th November 2025 | |
That'll be the refurb date half-way through it's lifespan, if at all. It would likely mean a seat redesign & refit, and they're owned by Hitachi, nota ROSCO or the DfT. Lots of dosh.
I’ll also add a standard class wheelchair space on the 5-car units to the wishlist. Just the one as that would give three in total.
I missed II's request previously. As a wheelchair user, I find the two current spaces on a 5car ample, as I've only met one other wheelchair on a service in over 2 years that I've been in one - & I'm on IETs at least 4 times a week (2 returns at least, across their network) - never mind two others.
Also - these current spaces are both in 1st class, where I'm sure most wheelchair users are quite happy, thank you. THe wheelchair space in the Standard coach A on a 9car is nowhere as nice
| Re: IEP seats in 2025 In "Across the West" [367935/29826/26] Posted by Mark A at 11:54, 9th November 2025 Already liked by johnneyw | |
Travelling on three class 80x's yesterday, on 2 out of the 3, many of the seats visibly had the DVT-inducing defect. I'm moved to follow up the enquiry to GWR and see if there's a timescale to address this. On a 20 minute journey this is merely going to be uncomfortable. Paddington to Cornwall, for passengers vulnerable to this, must push it into risk territory
Mark
| Re: Direct trains to Birmingham could return to Stroud, Stonehouse and Swindon In "Campaigns for new and improved services" [367934/31059/28] Posted by ellendune at 11:50, 9th November 2025 | |
From the Swindon Advertiser
Swindon to Birmingham train line return to bring 12,750 jobs
An extract
The £1.75 billion investment aims to improve rail connections across the Midlands, South West, and South Wales.
The first phase of the Midlands Rail Hub is expected to create more than 12,750 jobs and deliver benefits for travellers in the region.
Swindon North MP Will Stone met with Midlands Connect and rail leaders at Swindon railway station to discuss the scheme’s potential, which could introduce up to 130 extra trains per week between Swindon and Birmingham.
The MP said he will be working to ensure Swindon benefits not just from the rail connection but also ensure companies in the town are involved in the supply chain jobs and provide apprenticeships for young people in our town.
Mr Stone said: "It’s fantastic that Swindon could be benefiting from the Midlands Rail hub expansion.
"We’re a town built on connection via the railways, and so it’s great to see Swindon getting an hourly service between a fellow industrial town like Birmingham."
The first phase of the Midlands Rail Hub is expected to create more than 12,750 jobs and deliver benefits for travellers in the region.
Swindon North MP Will Stone met with Midlands Connect and rail leaders at Swindon railway station to discuss the scheme’s potential, which could introduce up to 130 extra trains per week between Swindon and Birmingham.
The MP said he will be working to ensure Swindon benefits not just from the rail connection but also ensure companies in the town are involved in the supply chain jobs and provide apprenticeships for young people in our town.
Mr Stone said: "It’s fantastic that Swindon could be benefiting from the Midlands Rail hub expansion.
"We’re a town built on connection via the railways, and so it’s great to see Swindon getting an hourly service between a fellow industrial town like Birmingham."
| Re: Suggestions from Campaign for Better Transport for the budget In "Looking forward - the next 2, 5, 10 and 20 years" [367933/31049/40] Posted by ChrisB at 11:46, 9th November 2025 | |
Slightly misogynistic?
| Re: Direct trains to Birmingham could return to Stroud, Stonehouse and Swindon In "Campaigns for new and improved services" [367932/31059/28] Posted by ellendune at 11:44, 9th November 2025 | |
Would this West Midlands money be better spent on bringing over heads wires to Bristol temple meads for the Bristol to Manchester services?
This is a false comparison as the electrification is capital investment and a new service is revenue.
Just think how much more pollution would be removed from Birmingham new street train station.
OK but this service would transform journeys from Swindon to the midlands and the north as the change at Cheltenham can be somewhat of a lottery adding up to an hour to the journey time. Think how much pollution this would remove from our roads.
| Swindon to Melksham - a lesson in options for the 25 mile journey In "Buses and other ways to travel" [367931/31068/5] Posted by grahame at 10:46, 9th November 2025 Already liked by Timmer | |
Swindon to Melksham - 25 miles via the A3102. Google estimates around 45 minutes, with 5 minutes to be saved if I were to go a longer but quicker way via the M4.
Swindon is one of the major employment and business hubs in our area - how good is it to get there by public transport from my home town which has a population of around 25,000 and growing? How easy is it to find out your options?
Home to Swindon
Yesterday morning, I left home at 07:38, walked to the station and caught the 08:02 train which should have arrived in Swindon at 08:28. 50 minutes door to door (my destination was a long distance train). However, the train left Melksham on time but arrived in Swindon 26 mimutes late - long after my connection had gone.
Swindon to Home
Coming home, my return train arrived in Swindon at 16:02, at platform 1. Having been out walking for the day and unsure of my pace and what I would find, that was not a time I had predicted earliers in the day, so I arrived and then had the question "how do I get home"?
* The next train to Melksham was not until 17:35 - so that would have been 18:00 into Melksham, 18:22 at my front door. 140 minutes door to door. From Platform 2, Westbury train
* There was a train at 16:26 as far as Chippenham which would have left a wait at Chippenham for the 17:35 bus (last bus of the day) - 18:02 into Melksham Market Place, 18:07 home. 125 minutes door to door. From Platform 4, Weston-super-mare train
* I walked up to the Fleming Way bus boulevard. I had visited Stop "Y" first to look up Devizes bus times, and as I got to Stop "H" I saw the 55 to Chippenham pulling out (16:10) - probably a good job I missed it as it had a 3 minute connection in Chippenham into the last x34 of the day to Melksham. 125 minutes if lucky, 140 minutes if not (train from Chippenham).
* I visited Stop "E" where the 99 service by Coachstyle also runs to Chippenham, but there was no service until 17:05. Had I waited for that, I would have arrived at Chippenham at 18:36 ... after the last onward bus, after the direct train (option above) leaving me to fall back to the train at about 20:00 which - oops - was cancelled last night to it would have been a rail replacement taxi, estimated time 250 minutes from arriving in Swindon to being home.
* I took the service at 16:30 from Stop "Y" on route 49 to Devizes. Around 15 minutes there to change to the 17:55 from the same stop (at The Pelican) onto the 273 Bath bus as far Spa Road (Cowslip Mews) from where there is a five minute walk home. Home at 18:15 - 133 minutes after my arrival into Swindon.
* Considered the direct National Express coach to Melksham but ruled it out as a ludicrous option as it doesn't leave until 21:25 on a Saturday - from Stop "N1" or "N2" on Fleming Way and would have been 350 minutes from my arrival in Swindon!
* I had also considered taking the 49, on which alternate buses extend to Trowbridge, and which stops at Semington 2 miles from my home. On a nice summer's eveing with it still light (and had I not already been out walking) this would have been an attractive option
Lessons to be learned
1. The train service needs to be hourly
2. Buses on route x34 should run into the eveining
3. Should there be better maps / guidance for passengers arriving into Swindon for destinations such as Melksham and Cirencester (train to Kemble or bus all the way?) and Calne (train to Chippenham and bus, or bus all the way?) . There is no central enquiry point - not even a map showing all the direct routes ... let alone connections
4. Should there be a central smart display at the midpoint of the bus boulevard, perhaps dupicated at the railway station, allowing people to enter destination (town, attracttion, area, postcode) for a real time display of your immediate options and where they start from?
5. Should there be guidance on this lot with regard to fares and ticket interchangability for those of us on return fares?
Starting point
Arrival point in Swindon
Baffling choice of not-brilliant starting points for the return
| The roman empire's road system, mapped In "Railway History and related topics" [367930/31067/55] Posted by Mark A at 10:32, 9th November 2025 Already liked by Oxonhutch, Chris from Nailsea | |
Article in 'Nature' and a link to the map itself. Turning to the UK, it's curious to think of those engineers and planners addressing the same topography (and some of the same settlements and transport needs) as did the railway pioneers of the nineteenth century.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03626-z
https://itiner-e.org/
