I was on the 1750 Chippenham to Melksham yesterday evening, which stopped for no obvious reason on the main line before turning off into the single track section. The train manager announced that we were waiting for another train, but the only one that came past was an IET on its way to Paddington, which AFAIK shouldn't have held us up. We departed Chippenham one minute late, but were 11 minutes late arriving at Melksham.

Graham - I saw you on the platform at Melksham and assumed you'd also been on board; any ideas? (Sorry, had to dash off - band rehearsal in Bristol on Monday evenings and it's already a bit tight without an 11 minute delay.)

06:43 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 08:44 will be cancelled.
This is due to the train driver being taken ill.
Last Updated:18/11/2025 06:19

Busses use Adblu these days.
Does that help reduce the wax up problem, and do diesel trains use the same/similar?

A decent cold snap & the diesel fuel will wax up....

Correct. Talk to your MP.

Sympathy for GWR. Their budget is still shrinking year-on-year

Sunday was a terrible day for service, the 1850 was cancelled due to a smell of biting at the Paddington End , when it
 Was about to depart, however there were 2 hour gaps in the afternoon, and I was wondering based on Monday , if Agility Trains are again failing to get enough trains out .

Quite so. These tired cliches should be shunted into a siding.

I'm all for giving that sort of stuff the red light.

Learners lose £164k as driving school shuts down


Documents show NxtGen Driving Academy, which was based in Stowmarket but taught students across the region, owes hundreds of thousands of pounds

Hundreds of learner drivers have been left more than £164,000 out of pocket after a driving school closed down and are "unlikely" to get their money back, an insolvency firm has said.

NxtGen Driving Academy, part of NG Driving Group Ltd, taught students across the East of England but ceased trading on 3 November. Documents seen by the BBC show that, before the firm was shut down, 399 customers had paid the company for driving lessons that will not be fulfilled.

A spokesperson for NxtGen already apologised for "any inconvenience and loss" customers might experience but said it "had no choice" but to close. NxtGen appointed the liquidator, AMS Business Recovery Limited, which expects the company to formally be put into liquidation on Thursday.

In a letter sent to creditors, which has also been seen by the BBC, the liquidator warned that students would likely be left out of pocket. "Any funds recovered from the company's assets will be distributed in accordance with UK insolvency law," the firm said. "Based on present information, unsecured creditors, such as customers who have paid deposits for lessons, are unlikely to receive a distribution."

(Personal stories appear here, which I have chosen not to quote in detail, but they are included in the BBC article)

NxtGen Driving Academy described itself as "one of the fastest growing driving schools in East Anglia". Instructors were based in Suffolk, Norfolk, Staffordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Sussex, North Wales and Cheshire.

Some of the instructors were employed directly by the company, while others ran their own franchises. In addition to learners, HMRC is also owed in the region of £180,000, suppliers and service providers more than £45,000, and the firm's 19 employees more than £33,000, according to the company's statement of affairs.

One of the firm's employees, who did not wish to be named, told the BBC she had turned down a new job at a different employer weeks before NxtGen shut down. "I felt betrayed because I was loyal to that company and I think the way this has been handled is absolutely disgusting," she said. "We've got families but eight weeks before Christmas they have done a toilet on us from a great height, so it is devastating."

Why is it that whenever commenting on railway plans, people can't resist using metaphors like "wheels in motion", "full steam ahead", "hits the buffers", "runs out of steam", "back on track" etc?
 

16:58 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 19:25 has been cancelled.
This is due to a broken windscreen on the train.
Last Updated:17/11/2025 17:10

19:45 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 22:24 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken windscreen on the train.
Last Updated:17/11/2025 17:10

Now until next Monday

We have been informed that a collapsing badger set has been identified under the railway in the Hayle area.