Obviously the next problem will be finding enough qualified people to do these eye tests
But every three years seems a long gap for that age

One of my New Year's Day pictures showed diesel fumes - or was it steam - coming out of the pipes on an IET at Chippenham - no doubt just warming up has it come electric as far as Cocklebury Lane, and I mused sadly that it wasn't electric through to Bath, Bristol and beyond.   Seeing the problems that NR / GWR seem to have with the extra complexity of OLE, I wonder if I should be careful what I wish for.

Obviously the next problem will be finding enough qualified people to do these eye tests
But every three years seems a long gap for that age

Saying that though I am just 51 and my eyes have gotten much worse in the past 12 months

How often can I have a free NHS sight test?

If you're eligible for a free NHS sight or eye test, you can have a test every 2 years.

You may be able to have a free NHS sight test more often than every 2 years if your ophthalmic practitioner or optometrist recommends you do.

"Disruption is expected until the end of the day"

Dear Graham,

We're getting in touch to advise about current disruption in West London impacting GWR services operating between London Paddington and Reading, as well as Elizabeth Line services.  This is due to an issue with overhead wires in the Ladbroke Grove area. Network Rail teams are working quickly to repair the overhead wires and as a result, services are likely to be impacted until the end of the day.

Local stopping services between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway/Newbury will only run between Reading and Didcot Parkway/Newbury. Most of our longer distance Intercity services will continue to run between London Paddington and Reading, but may be subject to delay and some services between London Paddington and Cardiff Central will be cancelled.

For the very latest please visit our dedicated webpage at www.gwr.com/check. Delay Repay compensation is available for customers using GWR services who arrive at their destination 15 minutes or more later than scheduled, and can be claimed at www.gwr.com/delayrepay. 

We're very sorry for the disruption to passenger services today and would be grateful if you could share this information with your networks.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Best wishes,

Olivia & Ahmed

Drivers over the age of 70 will have to have their vision checked every three years, under plans to reform driving laws in Britain.
The changes are part of the government's new road safety strategy, which will be published on Wednesday.

Other proposed measures include lowering the drink-driving limit in England to match the limit in Scotland, and giving penalty points for not wearing seatbelts.

These measures were first reported in August and are expected to be confirmed in this week's strategy.

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading

Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between London Paddington and Reading fewer trains are able to run on all lines.

Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 12:00 06/01.

Damage has been found to the OLE in the Ladbroke Grove area. Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) is the name given to the overhead wires and other equipment on electrified railway lines that provides power to the trains.
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What are we doing about it?
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Whilst engineers are fixing the damage, our train service will have to be reduced between London Paddington and Reading.
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The problem affects all of the four lines between London Paddington and Reading, so we are having to reduce the train service through the area to avoid congestion. Local stopping services between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway/Newbury will only run between Reading and Didcot Parkway/Newbury. Most of our longer distance Intercity services will continue to run between London Paddington and Reading, but may be subject to delay and some services between London Paddington and Cardiff Central will not run.

07:45 Westbury to Swindon due 08:34

07:45 Westbury to Swindon due 08:34 has been delayed at Westbury and is now 10 minutes late.
This is due to a points failure.

Direct London trains from Shropshire 'could start in 2026'


Charlotte Foster drives an hour to board a direct train to London

A new train company is hoping its proposals for new daily services from Shropshire to London Euston could begin towards the end of 2026.

Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway (WSMR), which is led by international rail firm Alstom, submitted a new bid at the end of last year to provide four daily trains.

The county has not had a direct train link to the capital since Avanti West Coast stopped its single daily service in 2024 because of low passenger numbers.

The move has been welcomed by regular commuter Charlotte Foster, who lives on the Welsh border. She said a direct service would save her the stress of missing a connection or catching a train elsewhere.

Mrs Foster said: "I have tried going from Gobowen or Shrewsbury but the easiest and simplest option for me has always been to drive an hour to Wolverhampton. I'm not having to worry about any delays on the trains through Shropshire and I'm not at risk of missing a connection. I used to miss trains all the time or be left waiting a long time at Wolverhampton before boarding a train for Shropshire," said the running coach, who has clients in the capital and also volunteers at the London Marathon.


Shropshire is the only county in England without a direct service to London

WSMR is proposing to stop at a minimum of seven locations along the route, including stations in the West Midlands, Warwickshire and Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

Its initial bid for five daily services in each direction was rejected by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in July 2025. The regulator raised concern about added congestion on the West Coast Mainline near London, which would have had "a serious negative impact on the level of train performance that passengers experience".

In the new application, WSMR has reduced the number of daily services to four and included an additional stop at Wellington, Shropshire.

WSMR's Mobilisation Director Darren Horley said about a thousand passengers would board its services each day while boosting Shropshire's economy by about £2.2m a year.

The operator is also jointly behind a proposal to build a Shrewsbury Parkway station near the Preston roundabout on the A5.

"Having connections to London is vital for some of these towns and cities, but equally, they have lots to offer themselves," said Mr Horley, who has worked in the railway industry for 30 years. "They would see a significant chunk of economic growth, the biggest being in Shrewsbury and Walsall. The previous service by Virgin Trains and then Avanti was one service so it wasn't economically viable. But we believe four trains a day will drive growth and demand," he added.

WSMR is hoping it will be granted an "open access" contract by the ORR, which means it would receive no government subsidies or be tied to a government franchise agreements. The ORR is expected to make a decision on the seven year track access agreement in spring 2026.

The water levels have now dropped and Network Rail have been able to inspected the bridges. It has been found that some repair work will need to be carried out before we are able to run trains again. A further update regarding this repair work and when the line is likely to reopen will be given on Wednesday 7th January 2026.

Passed through just now on the way home - those 'pillars' on the platform between the main entry/exit barriers and the track have gone. It now feels very open, with no bottleneck of people going in opposite directions.

Don't know if it was like that this morning; if it was, I was obviously still half asleep