Rail worker killed after being struck by a train


The incident happened in the Radlett area on Sunday evening

A railway worker has been killed after being struck by a train during work to deal with a sinkhole.

It happened on Sunday evening in the Radlett area in Hertfordshire and involved a train travelling from Sheffield to London St Pancras.

All lines were blocked as emergency services attended and the Network Rail worker was pronounced dead at 21:43 GMT.

British Transport Police (BTP) said it was "working to establish the full circumstances leading up to his death".

It is believed the worker was a controller of site safety and had been looking to put in speed restrictions in relation to a sinkhole at Elstree & Borehamwood railway station - the next stop into London after Radlett.

In a statement, BTP said officers were called to the line near Radlett at about 21:05 following "reports of a casualty on the tracks".

A Network Rail spokesperson confirmed a member of its team died and they said the company's "thoughts are with their family and colleagues at this extremely difficult time".

"We're supporting everyone affected and are working closely with the BTP to understand the full circumstances of what happened," they added.

More weekend disruption at Manchester Piccadilly


The closure will see services cancelled or altered on Sunday

Passengers travelling through Manchester Piccadilly have been warned to expect more disruption when the station shuts to some rail routes on Sunday.

Trains from the south and east of England will be unable to call at the station from the start of services until about 13:00 GMT, with some connections cancelled and others running on altered routes.

The closure will allow "essential" work to be finished as part of a £7.9m upgrade to tracks, points and signalling systems, Network Rail said.

Some trains to Liverpool, Blackpool and Chester will continue to run from platforms 13 and 14 on a reduced timetable.

The latest closure comes after the station shut for a week last month.

It means no services will run from Stockport until 12:30 GMT, from London Euston until 12:55 GMT.

Trams will continue to run from Piccadilly, while Transport for Greater Manchester said valid rail tickets will be accepted on several buses through the wider city region.

Rail replacement buses will run from the station between Stockport and Crewe.

The Bee Network has provided a full list of amended services from operators across the region.

'Weca needs to control its own bus network'


Manchester's mayor Andy Burnham called for an "integrated transport system" in the city

Greater Manchester's mayor has called on West Country transport bosses to take control of their bus network.

Andy Burnham brought Manchester's buses back under public control in 2023 and believes the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), which manages public transport in Bristol and Bath and North East Somerset, could follow a similar transport model.

Burnham now has the power to manage bus routes and fares, which has resulted in a number of changes including the introduction of the "hopper fare", where a single fare is valid on most buses for an hour.

Helen Godwin, Weca mayor, said the authority is "looking carefully at all of the options for how to take greater control of our buses". Unlike Greater Manchester, Weca does not have revenue-raising power through council tax, as that is instead raised by local authorities.

"The revenue is important because once you raise the money to take control, you control the money," Burnham said. He spoke of Liverpool and South Yorkshire, which have recently taken steps to take back control of their own bus networks, something Greater Manchester has already achieved.

He said he wants to support the Weca mayor in doing the same, adding there is "a lot of collaboration that goes on between mayors".

"She (Godwin) is a close friend and she's doing a great job," he said. "I'm going to help Helen all the way on this because I know she wants to get there. I realise it's more difficult here because of the situation she inherits, but honestly I think a city like Bristol needs to be in control of its own transport," he added.

Ideas for a mass transit system have been floated around for years.

Godwin said franchising is "not a quick or cheap fix".

"As Andy knows it takes years and has meant an extra charge on people's council tax bills - which is not something we want to rush into. It's true that what's right for somewhere else may not always be the best model for the West of England, which is much more rural than Greater Manchester.

"More immediately, we're already working to quickly improve our bus network, as we secure more investment and make the most of devolution to catch up with other regions," she added.

'Absolutely buzzing' town voted best in south-west


Malmesbury has been ranked the top place to live in the south-west of England

An "absolutely buzzing" market town has been ranked as the best place to live in the south-west of England.

Judges from the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide picked Malmesbury in Wiltshire due to its range of annual events and lively High Street.

Meanwhile the "culture and charm" of Bristol's Kingsdown and the "community spirit" of Stroud in Gloucestershire helped these two locations be named as runners up.

On Malmesbury, Sunday Times judge Tim Palmer said: "It's a beautiful historic town which has also managed to keep itself bang up to date. At a time when so many town centres and High Streets are struggling, [this] High Street is absolutely buzzing."

Malmesbury was chosen for its variety of things to do, as well as its annual carnival hosted "by the community, for the community". Judges also pointed to the Three Cups pub, wide range of state schools and job opportunities at the Dyson Creative Campus.

Malmesbury can be seen as "the place you pass by on the M4" to outsiders, says resident Jenni Tricklebank, who has lived there 15 years. She hopes the new Sunday Times ranking will bring more visitors to the town. She told BBC Radio Wiltshire: "We rented in Malmesbury to start with thinking we'll move to Bath or Bristol, somewhere with a bit more going on. But we just fell in love with the place. We're so lucky you have everything we need right in the town centre, yet the countryside is right on our doorstep."

David Drake, head of the Malmesbury Town Team and owner of the Caerbladon gallery, said the new ranking was "fantastic" news, but added that challenges have arisen due to the town's rise in residents. "It is a medieval town which wasn't designed with the volume of traffic which we currently experience in mind. We've been working hard to encourage people to cycle or walk. I think the future really is in more sustainable town use that increases the quality of experience for residents and visitors," he added.

Kingsdown in Bristol was praised for the suburb's walkable nature, its range of pubs, cafes and independent shops.

Meanwhile judges in Stroud praised its Saturday morning farmers' market, train links and "a quality lifestyle for everyone".

The full list of south-west locations is:

 * Malmesbury, Wiltshire

 * Bridport, Dorset

 * Bristol: Kingsdown

 * Dartmoor, Devon

 * Exmouth, Devon

 * Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall

 * Stroud, Gloucestershire

 * Wimborne Minster, Dorset

Two Black Country towns have welcomed trains for the first time in 60 years following the opening of new stations.

The Willenhall and Darlaston stations are part of a £185m project to reinstate rail links across the West Midlands not used in decades.

The stations have been added to the Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street service via Wolverhampton.

Lucy Elwell, who lives close to the new Willenhall station, said she planned to use it straight away, adding: "I literally live a few doors down so it's going to be quite helpful to just hop on the train whenever."

UK set for temperature rollercoaster as chilly nights follow warm days

High pressure lying over the UK means that above average temperatures and spring sunshine will continue for the next few days.

All four UK nations have seen their warmest weather of 2026 so far over the past two days, with Friday set to bring another warm day - possibly the warmest yet this year for Scotland and Northern Ireland. But the clear skies that bring the sunshine and warm conditions also mean that overnight temperatures can drop significantly.

Some locations in the Midlands and southern England experienced a day/night temperature difference of around 21C following Wednesday's warmth which was followed by a sharp frost Thursday morning.

Clear skies and light winds this time of year can mean that the Sun warms the ground quickly by day, pushing temperatures up in the strengthening spring sunshine. However, with a lack of cloud overnight, this also means that radiation escapes quickly once the sun sets.

During spring, we still have relatively long nights, and cool surface temperatures, meaning the variation in temperatures over a 24 hours period can be particularly stark.

South Newington in Oxfordshire reached 19C on Wednesday, then plummeted to -2.4C overnight. Meanwhile, Woburn in Bedfordshire reached 19.4C before tumbling to -1.6C.

These huge swings are known as the diurnal temperature range. Put simply, it's the difference between the highest and lowest temperature of the day.

Afternoons are normally the warmest part of the day because the sun has had time to warm the ground and surrounding air, whilst the coldest time is usually dawn as the ground has lost heat throughout the night.

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175111 arrived at Wolverton 9th October, so has taken 5.5 months.

If another unit arriving today from Ely takes the same duration, will reappear in September

“Such an innovative approach to widening access to rail travel.” - Riona McMorrow, judge

Should be 175111 with another two 3-cars pencilled in for April.

There’s also a move in the system for Ely to Wolverton so potentially another 175 to attempt to get working! 

Possibly also because (as I understand it) we've lost some of the Electrostar fleet to other routes. To be fair (but see concluding comment below) a lot of this was because there were a lot of 8-car Electrostar trains running very lightly loaded off-peak between Paddington and Didcot.

BUT... had we got the electrification all the way to Oxford and on the Thames Valley branches as I believe was anticipated when they were ordered, those trains (and the ones refitted for Heathrow Express use) might have been more fully used.

If you were a driver, would you sign up with this outfit? Do you think you'll get paid/a longterm job?

Betting on the Delay: BahnBet Turns Deutsche Bahn Frustration into a Game

Anyone who has travelled regularly on the German rail network will be familiar with the experience: checking the departure board, watching the minutes tick up, and wondering just how late the train will be this time. BahnBet is a tongue-in-cheek website that turns that familiar frustration into a playful social experiment.

The platform invites users to “bet” on the delay of long-distance trains, from ICE services to IC and EC departures. The twist is that no real money is involved. Every participant begins with €1,000 of entirely fictional “caßh”, which can be staked on predictions about how late a particular train will arrive. Using a simple slider, users guess the delay – anywhere from zero to 90 minutes – and then wait to see how close they were once the train finally reaches its destination.

Not sure how much to claim though - the next service from Chippenham to Melksham is the 19:07 to Salisbury, over an hour later than the cancelled service (due 17:59). However if I didn't have the bus option I would have taken the train from Bristol to Trowbridge instead of Chippenham, then the 18:43 from there to arrive in Melksham at 18:53, less than an hour late.

King opens world's longest coastal path around England


2,689 miles and 18 years in the making, King Charles III opens his namesake coastal path

King Charles has inaugurated a new footpath stretching around the entire coast of England.

At 2,689 miles long, it is the longest managed coastal walking route in the world, according to Natural England, the government body which created it.

Its name is quite a trek too - King Charles III England Coast Path - but for the first time it creates a continuous trail, allowing walkers to explore England's shoreline step by step.

Along the way, it passes through some of the country's most beautiful and varied landscapes, from salt marshes and sandy beaches to cliffs, dunes and historic coastal towns.



Among the highlights is the iconic chalk downland of the Seven Sisters in East Sussex, which also forms part of a newly designated National Nature Reserve being announced by Natural England.

The King inaugurated the coastal path and the new nature reserve at a reception hosted by the South Downs National Park Authority. He later walked a section of the newly completed path at Seven Sisters, joined by Natural England Chair Tony Juniper and Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds.

Juniper said the path "is a testament to how public enjoyment, conservation, heritage, history and community can come together, helping make life better for millions of people."

Much of the new coastal route already existed, but more than 1,000 miles of new paths have been created, and many other sections upgraded. Paths have been resurfaced, stiles removed, boardwalks built and bridges installed.


A new boardwalk over salt flats near Portsmouth has been built for the path

The project was initiated during Gordon Brown's government, and it has taken 18 years and seven prime ministers to get to this stage.

About 80% of the route is now open and most of the rest of the path is due to be completed by the end of the year.

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Possibly also because (as I understand it) we've lost some of the Electrostar fleet to other routes.

Anyone care to explain logic of why if passengers are growing, GWR shorten the average number of carriages per train please

DfT» cost saving

16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:06
17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19

17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

Anyone care to explain logic of why if passengers are growing, GWR shorten the average number of carriages per train please