Friday November 7


I do like "trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines".

It makes sense ... and the article goes on very positive. I would agree with the case for a second train in the hour from Swindon via Stroud - not new. And for a fourth train in the hour from Cheltenham Spa into Birmingham.  Big senses to join them up too.  There is also a case for Swindon to Oxford every hour, and for Swindon to Westbury every hour, and with all of these services to be properly resourced - enough trains and staff to run them.

There was a plan a few years ago for Virgin Cross Country to run cut down 5 coach HST's from Birmingham New Street to London Paddington via Cheltenham and Swindon and as part of this plan Swindon - Gloucester/Cheltenham services were transferred to Virgin XC but after the transfer it was discovered that there were insufficient paths into the London Terminus so the service was transferred back. I am sure there was a thread on this perhaps the moderators can post a link to that thread.

A long-lost direct rail route between Swindon and Birmingham could soon be on track for a return.

The proposed service, which last ran in the early 2000s, could be reinstated through the Midlands Rail Hub project - a £1.75 billion investment aimed at improving rail connections across the Midlands, South West, and South Wales.

The proposed route would run via Stroud and Stonehouse, creating more than two million additional seats per year between Swindon and Birmingham.

The last direct service between the two towns ended more than 20 years ago, forcing passengers to change trains in Cheltenham, Gloucester, or Reading.

Swindon North MP Will Stone met with Midlands Connect and rail leaders at Swindon railway station to discuss the scheme’s potential to deliver up to 130 extra trains per week between Swindon and Birmingham.

He was joined by Councillor Chris Watts, Cabinet Member for Transport; Councillor Fay Howard, Mayor of Swindon; Tom Lydon, Head of Public Affairs at Great Western Railway and Adam King, Head of Policy and Partnerships from England's Economic Heartland.

Delays to services between Worcestershire Parkway Hl and Evesham
Due to a speed restriction between Worcestershire Parkway Hl and Evesham trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines.
Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 20 minutes. Disruption is expected until 10:30 07/11.
Customer Advice
-
What has happened?
-
One of our train services have reported an issue in this area that will need to be investigated.
-
What are we doing about it?
-
Engineers are being mobilised to go to site. Until the issue is looked into trains in this area will need to run at a reduced speed.
-
What are my options?
-
We are sorry for the delay to your journey today. Below are the current options available to you:
-
Option 1: Use the National Rail Enquiries real-time journey planner to check if a journey by rail is currently possible. If you are at a station please check the Live Departure Boards or speak to a member of our station team.
-
Option 2: Replacement transport provided by us such as a buses, coaches or taxis, have not been requested at this time. We will continue to monitor the need for this as the situation develops and provide updates here.
-
Option 3: Travel at a later time. You might want to consider postponing your journey until our service returns to normal.
-
Last Updated:07/11/2025 07:33

Can someone explain the logic behind this?

A bit cheaper than some of the other examples.

The Portsmouth Direct line Guildford to Havant is being engineered this week end. So I go to the National Rail site for tickets/prices with rail card:
Reading - Havant, Cross Country via Southampton Central £45.35
Reading - Havant, South Western via Eastleigh  £24.00

Reading - Portsmouth Harbour, Cross Country via Southampton Central £25.20
Reading - Portsmouth Harbour, South Western via Eastleigh  £25.20

Can someone explain the logic behind this?

That statement sounded more than disappointing, it was heartbreaking.  I'm trying to restrain myself but what sort of indifferent bureaucracy can do this?

Poorly I believe

No-one was on the bus at the time of the crash, TfL said

A bus has crashed into a shop close to a train station in east London.

Emergency services were called to Station Road near Manor Park Station at about 09:00 GMT where they found the double decker bus crashed into a shop.

Transport for London (TfL) said no passengers were on the bus at the time of the crash. No life-threatening or life changing injuries were reported however one person, who was in the shop at the time, was taken to hospital for treatment.

An investigation has been launched into the circumstances, the Met Police confirmed.

Ninoshan Jeyaseelan, who owns the shop the bus crashed into, described the incident as "just insane". He told BBC London: "We just had a big bang sort of thing and the person who was driving (the bus), she was under shock herself."

Mr Jeyaseelan said his shop had minor damage. "I don't know how long it's gonna take to recover from it." He added: "No one's majorly injured you know - thank God."

A TfL spokesperson said: "We're very sorry for the damage and disruption caused when a route 474 bus collided with a shop building on Station Road. Thankfully, there were no passengers onboard the bus, however a customer in the shop at the time has sustained a minor injury and the bus driver was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. We have support available for anyone affected by this incident. We are supporting Go-Ahead, the operator, as they investigate what happened."

I experienced the last great smog http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/6/newsid_3251000/3251001.stm in London in the winter of 1962. You could not see more than a couple of yards, it was dark at midday and it smelt as if the doors to Hell had been opened with the levels of sulphur present. What occurs now is merely apprentice muck! (Which does not mean to say that efforts should not continue to be made to reduce the levels).

My father took a job in London; in 1960 the family moved from Liverpool. At the time, the classic Portland stone buildings, where they had not been destroyed in the Blitz, were black. In my childhood, I took this as their natural colour but it wasn't. It was a layer of soot from coal burning which had culminated in the great smog of 1952. That, it is estimated, killed 12,000. As late as 1962, there was further smog which killed another 700.

Environmental issues are not new. Care for the environment such as the end of coal burning and the adoption of other modern technologies has made such a difference and can make so much more. It needs to as we seek ever more prosperous futures within sustainably planetary resources. Grand words; how can that translate locally in Melksham?

[continues]

Police revisit scene of coach crash that killed boy


The A396 was closed on Wednesday while police carried out a partial reconstruction of a fatal coach crash

Police investigating a fatal school coach crash have conducted a partial reconstruction to help them work out the circumstances which led to the incident.

Oliver Price, 10, died of a head injury when a coach carrying Minehead Middle School pupils left the A396 near Wheddon Cross in Somerset and slid down a 6m (20ft) slope on 17 July.

Avon and Somerset Police requested a temporary road closure on Wednesday to carry out investigation work at the scene. They said the reconstruction involved the "driving of a similar coach" along the route. "We informed Oliver's family in advance of this reconstruction and continue to support them throughout our enquiries," the police said.

In a statement, the force said the necessary road closure and reconstruction would mean investigators were "better equipped to obtain clear answers and provide clarity of all parties affected" by the crash. "This step is a part of the investigative process, and is a common practice in many serious collisions, aimed at accurately determining a sequence of events and factors involved in the collision," they said.

The coach was carrying up to 70 people back from a school trip to Exmoor Zoo when it overturned. A huge emergency services presence descended on the area, including a number of air ambulances to transport those most seriously injured. In total, 21 people were taken to hospital afterwards, police said.

A full inquest is set to take place on 14 January to look into how Oliver died. The inquest is due to hear from Oliver's family, adult passengers on the coach, witnesses, the coach driver, emergency service workers and a pathologist.

Although it doesn't really explain why the software isn't programmed to allocate coach/seat numbers that are common to both configurations and leave the seat layout that are different as the unreserved seats.

Also not clear why reservations are binary, reservations or none, as in has to be whole train that becomes unreserved, rather than just part with different configuration.

I think it's because the standard / first varies in which carriages its in between the five and nine car sets, so it also varies the numbers of seats and layout.

Will be formed of 9 coaches instead of 10. There are no reservations on this service.

Eh?
Reservations not transferrable (software issues?)?

Thank you Phil, but surely a class 57 would have a higher top speed than 27mph!

57303