Recent Public Posts
| Allan Maclean: obituary Posted by Mark A at 22:09, 30th January 2025 |      |
'The Scotsman' newspaper.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/scotsman-obituaries-allan-mclean-scottish-journalist-who-became-a-respected-voice-in-defence-of-britains-rail-network-4966712
| The last train to Callington, Cornwall - from YouTube Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 22:06, 30th January 2025 | |
| Re: Elizabeth line train speeding 20mph over limit left passengers shaken Posted by Trowres at 22:02, 30th January 2025 | |
The RAIB report does not state the speed limit on the main (non-diverging) line, but it does say that the train's speed (45mph) was within the limit, so we can conclude that the non-diverging route's limit was at least 45mph.
The RAIB report also states that the speed restriction sign (see photo above in the thread) should have had a left-hand arrow (to indicate that the 25 applied to the diverging route).
Without the arrow, the 25mph would mean that the restriction applied to both routes, would it not? In which case, I'm surprised that the RAIB report makes no mention of this. How many trains passed the sign at 45+mph (drivers' route knowledge of the speed restriction on the main route ) and how many were surprised by the 25 sign. How many did or didn't report the anomaly?
| Re: Children going on holiday during school term time Posted by ChrisB at 21:29, 30th January 2025 | |
Holidays are cheaper in term time because they don't sell anywhere near as many.
So if they start to do ao, what will happen? Yup, they'll cost what they already do at busy times & the weeks that are quieter will be cheaper. It's a win-win for the holiday companies, as the holiday season will even off numbers-wise and every week will then cost the same (higher than the cheap ones do now)
| Re: Children going on holiday during school term time Posted by johnneyw at 21:01, 30th January 2025 | |
I share a number of the experiences and opinions of Hafren in the above post.
The end of summer term in what we called Infant and Junior School in those days was indeed rather less academically focussed than the rest of the year (although as a schoolchild I rather enjoyed it and would not have liked missing it).
I think there could be room for head of schools to grant (or decline) leave from school if the parents can satisfactorily demonstrate that the experience will provide an educationally beneficial experience for the pupil....as for example, foreign travel can......but I can also see how this could open a whole can of worms.
Supply and demand will always cause price variations so shuffling holidays will still cause peaks and troughs but at least it might slightly reduce the extreme highs.
| Re: Heathrow Airport - plans for expansion: ongoing discussion, merged posts Posted by TonyK at 20:46, 30th January 2025 | |
It seems obvious to me, given that any developments at Heathrow are unlikely to happen for quite some time, that bringing the second runway at Gatwick, which I understand is currently used in emergencies only, into live use would be the best quick fix for the stated lack of capacity issues. There appears to be plenty of room for upgraded and/or new terminal facilities.
The main runway at Gatwick (08R/26L) is over 3,300 metres long and therefore long enough for almost any existing passenger aircraft to use, the most prominent exception being an extended range Boeing 777. The second runway(08L/26R) is over 2500 metres long, some 25% longer than the runway at Bristol Airport. The two Gatwick runways are too close together to be used concurrently or alternately. The airport's plan put forward in 2013 was for a new runway of over 3000 metres, situated around a kilometre to the south of the current runways and airport perimeter. That remains an active consideration, but not very active.
Separately, in 2020 Gatwick was given permission by the CAA to move forward with a plan to actually use the second runway. International Civil Aviation Organisation rules stipulate that the centrelines of parallel runways must be 210 metres apart at a minimum, and at Gatwick, they were 198 metres apart. The plan is to move the runway 12 metres to the north, build new taxiways, and use it for departures only. It was approved by the planning inspectorate in 2023, but I think the DCO application is still somewhere in the long grass. The proposal is opposed by those concerned about bats, newts, the continued existence of life on Earth, etc, and faces temporary opposition by such local politicians seeking re-election at any level. This would not stop the longer term possibility of a third, fully separated and longer, runway to the south of the present perimeter.
I'd be surprised if the timing of the change in planning laws, particularly restricting the ability to escalate and prolong objections is a coincidence in this context.
I'd be surprised if you weren't, TG.
| Re: Children going on holiday during school term time Posted by Hafren at 20:26, 30th January 2025 | |
If prices are higher at peak times, is it because the holiday locations are at capacity and therefore reducing prices would just cause first-come-first-served booking chaos? Or perhaps there is spare capacity but the market will bear the higher price so they charge it.
This is one reason why I'm not convinced by proposals for shorter summer holidays and redistribution of holiday periods through the year.
I'm wary of "it did me/us no harm" arguments but here's one anyway! In the 1990s it seemed fairly normal for people to take holidays during term-time. This was mainly at primary school. At secondary school it required the head's authorisation, and only happened occasionally. We sometimes had authorised holiday leave for one or two weeks when I was at primary school, and I don't remember it causing major problems. The summer term is often slower-paced anyway! I can see it being more of a problem at secondary school, but the nature of primary-age learning, being less geared to exams etc, was such that a week or two off wasn't the end of the world.
| A journey in the faaar west - Penzance to St Ives - 28th Jan 2025 Posted by grahame at 20:11, 30th January 2025 | |
Once a train or bus service gets to a certain frequency, it becomes "turn up and go - don't worry about the timetable". And so it was on Tuesday on the middle-of-the-day trip from Penzance to St Ives, changing at St Erth along the way. Trains leave Penznce every half hour ... and I'm not exactly sure which we got on. And connections at St Erth run every 30 minutes to St Ives. The rail industry acknowledges this at St Erth by telling you that the "connection" really isn't - that the branch train won't wait, and explains there'll be another along in half an hour.
| Re: Children going on holiday during school term time Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 19:15, 30th January 2025 | |
Further information on this topic, from the BBC.
I won't quote from it here, to avoid distracting from the above poll.
CfN.
| Re: Children going on holiday during school term time Posted by LiskeardRich at 18:55, 30th January 2025 | |
The two primaries and the secondary in my town announced their October half term in 2025/26 school year will now be 2 weeks.
A caravan park holiday for the new second week is £229. For the normal week of October half term the same holiday is in excess of £1000!
| Children going on holiday during school term time Posted by grahame at 18:47, 30th January 2025 | |
Our local news is covering children being taken out of school during term time to go on holiday because the prices are so high during holiday time. What do you think?
| Re: On this day - state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill 30 January 1965 Posted by ChrisB at 18:33, 30th January 2025 | |
Love the typo spelling of hurse. I look forward to reading about hurse drawn horses.....for clarification the spelling of hurse is hearse.
That was my mistake....oops!
| Re: Heathrow Airport - plans for expansion: ongoing discussion, merged posts Posted by TaplowGreen at 17:57, 30th January 2025 | |
It seems obvious to me, given that any developments at Heathrow are unlikely to happen for quite some time, that bringing the second runway at Gatwick, which I understand is currently used in emergencies only, into live use would be the best quick fix for the stated lack of capacity issues. There appears to be plenty of room for upgraded and/or new terminal facilities.
Gatwick/Luton expansion likely to be as well as Heathrow, not instead of.
| Re: On this day - state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill 30 January 1965 Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 17:09, 30th January 2025 | |
| Re: Heathrow Airport - plans for expansion: ongoing discussion, merged posts Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 17:05, 30th January 2025 | |
From the BBC:
Heathrow's third runway can be built in 10 years, Reeves says
Heathrow's third runway can be built and operating in a decade's time, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said.
Reeves told the BBC she wanted to see "spades in the ground" in the current Parliament and planes to start using the runway by 2035.
She also said that Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London who is opposed to Heathrow's expansion, could not stop the new runway.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said the Conservatives were in favour of a third runway at Heathrow "in principle" but "it remains to be seen" whether it can be built in a decade.
The extra runway at Heathrow was one of a number of infrastructure projects announced by the chancellor on Wednesday as part of the government's plans to boost economic growth.
"We think that we can get flights off within a decade," Reeves told the BBC. "I say that because we're not just announcing that we back it, we are changing the way that our planning system works to make it easier to deliver projects like the third runway at Heathrow."
When asked if Sadiq Khan could stop the expansion the chancellor said "no". "There can be judicial reviews but we are confident that this airport expansion will happen, that we will get the third runway built," she said.
Some have argued that it will take much longer than a decade for a third runway at Heathrow to become reality.
A formal planning process has to take place, which could take between 18 months and two years. Any judicial review of the plan could take another year and a half, while actually building the runway could take about seven years.
The airport's expansion is highly controversial - facing opposition from environmental groups, local authorities and nearby residents.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has called the plan "a dead cat. If it ever arrives, it will be about 2040, 2045 or 2050... it will not deliver any growth," he said on Wednesday.
The Green Party has called Heathrow's expansion the "definition of irresponsible", with the party's co-leader, Adrian Ramsay, saying it was a "fantasy" that the projects could be done without environmental damage.
Reeves was questioned over her previous opposition to the expansion of Leeds-Bradford airport over air and noise pollution grounds. "If Leeds-Bradford came back with plans to expand I would support these because I think things have changed significantly in the past few years," she said.
She said there were now more efficient plane engines and the use of sustainable aviation fuel was a "game changer". However, supplies of this fuel are currently very low. According to the European regulator EASA, they made up just 0.05% of the fuel used in the EU in 2020. It also costs much more than regular jet fuel.
The UK government has introduced a Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate, which stipulates that 2% of all jet fuel supplied this year must be SAF, increasing to 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2040.
The director-general of the International Air Transport Association, Willie Walsh, has cast doubt on how quickly this can be achieved. "Sustainable fuel is a real thing, but we need it in significantly greater volumes than are available today," he told LBC on Wednesday. "Mandating airlines to use a fuel source that doesn't exist today doesn't make an awful lot of sense."
Stride said that while the Conservatives backed the third runway in principle, "it will take some considerable time. If the government keeps pushing on this it will be maybe the 2040s or the 2050s or who knows before it comes off."
Despite broadly backing plans to boost the UK's infrastructure, the Conservatives have argued tax rises in the Budget and planned changes to employment rights will damage growth. "The biggest barriers to growth in this country are Rachel Reeves, Keir Starmer and their job-destroying Budget," Stride said.
As well as announcing backing for a third runway at Heathrow, the chancellor also said on Wednesday that other projects would be supported to try to boost growth in the economy. Expansions at Luton and Gatwick airports are being backed, as well as a "growth corridor" between Oxford and Cambridge, which she claimed could be "Europe's Silicon Valley". Reeves also told the BBC that when it came to planning and decision making over infrastructure projects "we need to do things differently".
It emerged last year that the HS2 rail line was spending £100m on a shield to protect bats in ancient woodland in Buckinghamshire. The chancellor said: "There are trade-offs and the balance has gone too far in the direction of always protecting every bat and every newt."
The government is setting up a fund, which builders can pay into to help nature restoration, "but not necessarily in the place the development is happening", Reeves said. "So builders can get on and build, and that money can be used for nature restoration projects elsewhere."
Separately, a leading economic think tank has warned that higher borrowing costs for the government may mean tax rises or spending cuts if it wants to stick to its own self-imposed rules. According to a report from the Resolution Foundation, the government is spending £7bn a year more paying interest on its debt than it was at the time of the Budget. As a result, the think tank said higher tax or cuts "may be needed" if the government wants to keep its promise not to spend more day-to-day than it brings in through tax.
A Treasury spokesperson told the BBC its commitment to its fiscal rules is "non-negotiable".
Heathrow's third runway can be built and operating in a decade's time, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said.
Reeves told the BBC she wanted to see "spades in the ground" in the current Parliament and planes to start using the runway by 2035.
She also said that Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London who is opposed to Heathrow's expansion, could not stop the new runway.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said the Conservatives were in favour of a third runway at Heathrow "in principle" but "it remains to be seen" whether it can be built in a decade.
The extra runway at Heathrow was one of a number of infrastructure projects announced by the chancellor on Wednesday as part of the government's plans to boost economic growth.
"We think that we can get flights off within a decade," Reeves told the BBC. "I say that because we're not just announcing that we back it, we are changing the way that our planning system works to make it easier to deliver projects like the third runway at Heathrow."
When asked if Sadiq Khan could stop the expansion the chancellor said "no". "There can be judicial reviews but we are confident that this airport expansion will happen, that we will get the third runway built," she said.
Some have argued that it will take much longer than a decade for a third runway at Heathrow to become reality.
A formal planning process has to take place, which could take between 18 months and two years. Any judicial review of the plan could take another year and a half, while actually building the runway could take about seven years.
The airport's expansion is highly controversial - facing opposition from environmental groups, local authorities and nearby residents.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has called the plan "a dead cat. If it ever arrives, it will be about 2040, 2045 or 2050... it will not deliver any growth," he said on Wednesday.
The Green Party has called Heathrow's expansion the "definition of irresponsible", with the party's co-leader, Adrian Ramsay, saying it was a "fantasy" that the projects could be done without environmental damage.
Reeves was questioned over her previous opposition to the expansion of Leeds-Bradford airport over air and noise pollution grounds. "If Leeds-Bradford came back with plans to expand I would support these because I think things have changed significantly in the past few years," she said.
She said there were now more efficient plane engines and the use of sustainable aviation fuel was a "game changer". However, supplies of this fuel are currently very low. According to the European regulator EASA, they made up just 0.05% of the fuel used in the EU in 2020. It also costs much more than regular jet fuel.
The UK government has introduced a Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate, which stipulates that 2% of all jet fuel supplied this year must be SAF, increasing to 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2040.
The director-general of the International Air Transport Association, Willie Walsh, has cast doubt on how quickly this can be achieved. "Sustainable fuel is a real thing, but we need it in significantly greater volumes than are available today," he told LBC on Wednesday. "Mandating airlines to use a fuel source that doesn't exist today doesn't make an awful lot of sense."
Stride said that while the Conservatives backed the third runway in principle, "it will take some considerable time. If the government keeps pushing on this it will be maybe the 2040s or the 2050s or who knows before it comes off."
Despite broadly backing plans to boost the UK's infrastructure, the Conservatives have argued tax rises in the Budget and planned changes to employment rights will damage growth. "The biggest barriers to growth in this country are Rachel Reeves, Keir Starmer and their job-destroying Budget," Stride said.
As well as announcing backing for a third runway at Heathrow, the chancellor also said on Wednesday that other projects would be supported to try to boost growth in the economy. Expansions at Luton and Gatwick airports are being backed, as well as a "growth corridor" between Oxford and Cambridge, which she claimed could be "Europe's Silicon Valley". Reeves also told the BBC that when it came to planning and decision making over infrastructure projects "we need to do things differently".
It emerged last year that the HS2 rail line was spending £100m on a shield to protect bats in ancient woodland in Buckinghamshire. The chancellor said: "There are trade-offs and the balance has gone too far in the direction of always protecting every bat and every newt."
The government is setting up a fund, which builders can pay into to help nature restoration, "but not necessarily in the place the development is happening", Reeves said. "So builders can get on and build, and that money can be used for nature restoration projects elsewhere."
Separately, a leading economic think tank has warned that higher borrowing costs for the government may mean tax rises or spending cuts if it wants to stick to its own self-imposed rules. According to a report from the Resolution Foundation, the government is spending £7bn a year more paying interest on its debt than it was at the time of the Budget. As a result, the think tank said higher tax or cuts "may be needed" if the government wants to keep its promise not to spend more day-to-day than it brings in through tax.
A Treasury spokesperson told the BBC its commitment to its fiscal rules is "non-negotiable".
| Re: Plans for faster trains and 30 new stations Posted by Red Squirrel at 16:42, 30th January 2025 | |
Sadly, in light of recent apparent comments by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, I cannot see much (any?) of this being funded before the next General Election.
To add some comment in confusion - this is the Western Gateway Partnership rather that the Western Gateway subNational Transport Body . The Partnership includes South Wales and Swindon but does not include Dorset or BPC ... the STB includes BPC and Dorset but not South Wales nor Swindon. Neither should be confused with WECA which is a member of both, Wessex which overlaps again in a different way, or Western Peninsular which is the sticky out bit that again has some overlaps.
Also worth pointing out that the future of the WG Partnership is... uncertain.
| Re: IEP seats in 2025 Posted by Red Squirrel at 16:38, 30th January 2025 | |
Thanks for raising this, Mark A.
For what it's worth, I find that I can just about tolerate these appalling seats for the time it takes to get from Bristol to London. The bar you refer to directly aligns with what I believe are referred to as my 'sit bones' - the part of the hip that carries the weight - and it is hard to imagine how anything that claims to be a 'seat' could be less comfortable.
A couple of weeks ago I had the misfortune to travel from St Erth to Bristol on an IET. I had a very thick jumper with me, and by sitting on this and moving it around from time to time I was able to stay in my seat until somewhere around Tiverton Parkway, at which point the discomfort was too much to bear and I had to stand up.
It is plainly possible to make seats which are comfortable and meet safety requirements. Someone made a terrible design choice here. I will be watching this topic with interest!
| Re: On this day - state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill 30 January 1965 Posted by chuffed at 15:41, 30th January 2025 | |
Love the typo spelling of hurse. I look forward to reading about hurse drawn horses.....for clarification the spelling of hurse is hearse.
| Re: IEP seats in 2025 Posted by ChrisB at 13:51, 30th January 2025 | |
Keep us up to date with your progress please?
| Re: IEP seats in 2025 Posted by Mark A at 13:50, 30th January 2025 | |
Hi Chris. 'Uncomfortable' in relation to seating becomes a passenger safety issue when 'Discomfort' crosses a threshold and the sitter experiences pain, which is the body's way of signalling that it's being damaged, reversibly or irreversibly.
An issue with discomfort progressing to 'Pain when sitting', is that the vulnerable systems involve nerves and also blood circulation, so this gets into 'Deep vein thrombosis' territory among other things. Certain individuals are more vulnerable than others and this is not necessarily related to age.
The IEP seats, once the filling has suffered inelastic deformation, become uncomfortable, but when this has progressed enough to result in the passenger being supported by other structures within the seat that are ill-designed for that purpose, that's become a safety issue.
An aspect of this is that the effect can be cumulative (on the passenger). That's not necessarily good news for someone who uses these trains on a daily basis.
Having received a quick response from GWR on this, the current perception from them is that this is a 'Comfort' issue rather than involving passenger safety, and I'll respond.
Mark
| Re: Heathrow Airport - plans for expansion: ongoing discussion, merged posts Posted by Bob_Blakey at 13:45, 30th January 2025 | |
It seems obvious to me, given that any developments at Heathrow are unlikely to happen for quite some time, that bringing the second runway at Gatwick, which I understand is currently used in emergencies only, into live use would be the best quick fix for the stated lack of capacity issues. There appears to be plenty of room for upgraded and/or new terminal facilities.
| Re: Melksham to Penzance, 28th January 2025 Posted by grahame at 13:29, 30th January 2025 | |
As to my spur of the moment decision, an on the day anytime return Bath Spa to Penzance is £79.25. Many people used to peak time travel to London would expect that to be far more expensive as it will be more than twice the distance.
With my destination undecided, from the ticket office I bought an anytime return to Taunton, ...
That is with a railcard. The whole ticketing business is crazy. But a lot of people (I think) still pay a peak fare when only a tiny part of their journey - in the morning - is in what is defined as a peak period.
From the departure board at Bath Spa while we waited, I noted that the 08:13 to Paddington is "Peak Tickets valid ONLY" which strikes me as odd -my understanding is that there are "Anyime", "Off Peak" and "Super Off Peak" tickets available - and that there is no such thing as a peak ticket that it suggests you must have!
If I was being super-pedant, I would question whether the word "Only" would be better on the start. As written, doesn't it suggest that this is the only train on which the mysterious "peak tickets" are valid?
| Re: Plans for faster trains and 30 new stations Posted by Bob_Blakey at 13:14, 30th January 2025 | |
.....Now if you want the South West only to apply to Devon and Cornwall what region will Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Bristol be in?.....
I don't. Dorset & Somerset I very definitely regard as part of South West England. Since the government have recognised East Of England as a region would it not make sense to put Wilshire, Gloucestershire and Bristol into a new corresponding West Of England area.
| Re: IEP seats in 2025 Posted by ChrisB at 12:28, 30th January 2025 | |
Where does "uncomfortable" = "safety issue"?
| Re: IEP seats in 2025 Posted by Mark A at 12:11, 30th January 2025 | |
More seriously, suspecting that seat comfort is classed as 'Convenience', it would be good if GWR were moved to address this particular defect as the passenger safety issue it surely is.
If anyone has ideas on how to raise this defect's status from 'Inconvenience' to 'Passenger safety issue', I'm all ears.
Mark
| Re: IEP seats in 2025 Posted by Mark A at 12:07, 30th January 2025 | |
:-)
Mark
| Re: Melksham to Penzance, 28th January 2025 Posted by Mark A at 12:06, 30th January 2025 | |
**snip** Friend and fellow Coffee Shop moderator Mark joined me ("last minute decision") at Bath, for the day **snip**
An aside on ticketing. Graham was travelling on very good value advance single tickets from Melksham through to Penzance and back.
As to my spur of the moment decision, an on the day anytime return Bath Spa to Penzance is £79.25. Many people used to peak time travel to London would expect that to be far more expensive as it will be more than twice the distance.
With my destination undecided, from the ticket office I bought an anytime return to Taunton, and then the train manager was happy to sell me an anytime day return from Taunton to Exeter, ~£11. Then, the GWR app sold me an Exeter-Plymouth day return for another ~£11 and as the Penzance train terminated at Plymouth, the booking office there sold me a Cornwall day ranger which allows travel from Plymouth to all destinations in Cornwall and for good measure, the Gunnislake branch. In my case it covered the leg to Penzance and then back to St Erth and to St Ives. So, £54ish in all for the day's rail travel.
Does anyone on the forum collect railway tickets by the way?
Mark
