There is (or was) a narrowboat hire fleet called Viking Afloat. On more than one occasion we saw their distinctive yellow craft being crewed by holidaymakers of clearly Scandinavian origin. I have no difficulty at all believing your account...

1. The CCTV recordings don't have to be watched by someone all day, every day: the recording will be available as evidence in court, if required.

2. A clear notice, next to cameras in taxis (other means of transport are available) that 'You are being recorded' should deter most potential offenders.

Image not available to guests
Charles Brohiri arriving at Westminster Magistrates' Court for a previous hearing

One of Britain's most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.

Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket on Govia Thameslink train journeys a total of 112 times, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard. He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.

District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri "could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed".

Brohiri, from Hatfield in Hertfordshire, was dressed in black as he pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday. Each offence was read out to him, with Brohiri quietly and repeatedly replying "Guilty" for around 20 minutes.

It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.

During Thursday's hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri's lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned. They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional. But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been "no abuse of this court's process".

A Govia Thameslink Railway spokesperson welcomed decision to uphold previous 36 convictions.

The 112 charges span from February 2024 to November 2025. They relate to journeys between London and Brighton, and on the Thameslink lines into Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

In addition, Brohiri is also accused of continuing to dodge fares in late November and December last year, and in January, prosecutor Lyndon Harris told the court. The most recent allegation was three days ago - on 12 January, he said.

At a previous hearing in August last year, Brohiri was bailed and told "not to be present on or attempt to gain access to any train owned or operated by Govia Thameslink".

He was bailed on the same conditions as imposed at previous hearings, to return for sentencing on 11 February.

In addition, he is accused of failing to pay fines worth £48,682 from separate prosecutions between August 2019 and April 2025.

I'm hoping it doesn't impact NR's effective 24/7 helpline.
Anecdote not data: being spooked by something, after new year, I had cause to ring that number close to 11pm on a Sunday night and it was answered, by a person, within a few seconds. No interminable sequence of hold music interspersed with an upbeat voice repeating 'Your call is *very* important to us' which is what I heard when at NR's request I also rang the organisation immediately responsible for the structure in question.
Mark

13:18 Hereford to London Paddington due 16:24 will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.
It will no longer call at Hereford, Ledbury, Colwall, Great Malvern, Malvern Link and Worcester Foregate Street.
It will be delayed at Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to a member of on-train staff being taken ill.

14:53 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 17:04 will no longer call at Hanborough, Charlbury, Kingham, Moreton-In-Marsh and Honeybourne.
It has been delayed at London Paddington and is now 17 minutes late.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

I did a rail interview for West Wilts Radio on 13th January 2026. A wonderful opportunity, over some 20 minutes, introduce the listeners to:
   * what has been achieved,
   * where challenges remain,
   * why some things are as they are, and
   * to look forward for a year and perhaps for a decade.
And a chance to answer some of those questions that you may have wondered about, or never thought to ask.

There is (or was) a narrowboat hire fleet called Viking Afloat. On more than one occasion we saw their distinctive yellow craft being crewed by holidaymakers of clearly Scandinavian origin. I have no difficulty at all believing your account...

Yeah ... short term cancellations between Liskeard and Looe ... nothing has run there yet this year, and indeed nothing was expected today of for at least another week.   However, no-one actually entered the medium term cancellations into JourneyCheck feeds, so it's come up as a train planning type "oopsie" this morning.

This is a true story. On one of our family holidays, courtesy of a friend who owned a narrowboat on the Kennet & Avon Canal, we moored somewhere and at about 9:30am went to stroll into the village for fresh bread and milk.  There on the towpath in front of us, next to his narrowboat, was the most inebriated Swede I have ever seen - trying to drive his boat's anchor into the towpath. Image not available to guests

Hmmm. To be effective, someone will need to be watching every stream in real time.

Otherwise 99% of it is never going to be watched, so a tad excessive to do it 'just in case'.
I don't know how you control the GDPR issue to storage limitations or your privacy option....

On balance, I'm against I think.

Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood has told MPs she is open to including mandatory CCTV in new national guidelines for taxis.

The government's review of taxi licensing in England follows Baroness Casey's report on grooming gangs, which identified taxis being used by offenders across the country and recommended tougher rules.

At the moment, taxi drivers can buy a private hire vehicle licence from one council but work as far away as they like, taking advantage of lower standards, cheaper licences, and a lack of enforcement.

This allows them to get around tough rules aimed at protecting children, such as Rotherham's gold standard licensing scheme, which includes CCTV in cabs.

Speaking to the Commons Transport Committee, Greenwood said she did not want to "demonise the trade" but MPs could not be "complacent" about the urgent need to strengthen the law.

It's appeared again. As a symbol, there's something cruel and totalitarian about it.

Mark

It certainly feels like a slow (re)start of the class.  And January and February being the slow time of year, a 2 coach 150 on train from Penzance or 2 St Ives will have adequate capacity whereas come Easter, if the weather in nice, 2x158 or an IET or an HST would have been needed.