Plans for a new rail service in Wiltshire and Somerset could derail, unless crucial funding can be found in the coming weeks.

Go-op Co-operative have plans to "compete with Great Western Railway" and offer more stops at stations such as Taunton, Weston-super-Mare, Westbury, Swindon and Frome through use of diesel rolling stock.

The company needs to raise £3.6m by May 2026 to make their plans a reality - but have been unable to reach their target.

An astonishing 31 out of 36 have had a valid ticket refused by an automated gate - which suggests to me that there are questions about whether the gates are fit for purpose

1 buyer
South Western Railway
London
Description
South Western Railway Limited (SWRL) is planning to install at seat power for customers within standard and first-class accommodation within its Class 158 and 159 fleet as part of the wider ongoing project to refurbish this fleet.  The purpose of this modification is to make at seat power within first class more accessible along with the addition of USB-C charging and to introduce USB-C charging facilities for the first time to standard class and a minimum of one USB-C outlet for the non-driving side of each cab.  This is a Supply of Goods requirement. The headline requirements are as follows:  A minimum of one USB-C outlet per seat for both standard and first class;  A minimum of one USB-C outlet for the non-driving side of each cab;  The wheelchair bays shall have both USB-C and 230V outlets.  No minimum order quantity for spares.  As a business we have decided to bring the Works element of installation in house but still require the goods to be procured.

CPV Codes
30237132 - Universal Serial Bus (USB) Interfaces

Shelled prawns on a train   - 32 (9.2%)
Joined a train at Pilning station   - 28 (8.1%)
Used Tygwyn Station   - 27 (7.8%)
Called the Network Rail emergency number   - 25 (7.2%)
Eaten a curry on a train   - 25 (7.2%)
Used Melksham Station   - 23 (6.6%)
Used a train ferry   - 21 (6.1%)
Been in a train accident   - 21 (6.1%)
Missed the last train   - 16 (4.6%)
Fallen asleep on a train and missed my Station   - 16 (4.6%)
Travelled to extreme westerly/easterly/southerly/northerly station   - 11 (3.2%)
Had a train call at a request stop for me   - 10 (2.9%)
Used a ranger, rover, Interrail, Eurail or freedom ticket   - 10 (2.9%)
Left something on a train by mistake   - 10 (2.9%)
Travelled on Eurostar   - 10 (2.9%)
Travelled on a sleeper train   - 8 (2.3%)
Been confused by ticket validity   - 8 (2.3%)
Asked someone to move their luggage so you can sit down   - 7 (2%)
Used split tickets   - 7 (2%)
Used a rail replacement bus   - 6 (1.7%)
Got money back through delay/repay   - 5 (1.4%)
Walked between two stations   - 5 (1.4%)
Had a valid ticket refused by an automated gate   - 5 (1.4%)
Caught the wrong train   - 5 (1.4%)
Helped others at the station / on a train   - 3 (0.9%)

36 voters - and 2 say they have done all of these things.

The timetables are online now too. Not even the x39/39 is safe with pretty large cuts and gaps in frequency (including a 45 min gap between buses leaving bath before 9am which is bonkers).

Hope to be there but cant promise as mobility still a bit impaired.
I hope that the meeting venue is on the ground floor, or is served by a lift.
TANSTAAFL.

I would like to go back to the USA, but not while the current administration is in place

17:05 Didcot Parkway to Evesham due 18:24 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

18:51 Evesham to Oxford due 19:50 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

If fully signalled with shunt signals the points would be mechanically locked and presumably electronically locked and you would not be able to change the points on the main line.
On the undergound as some who might have to do it we were taught to say scotched and clipped as the scotch goes in first in case the points move as you try to put the clip on. The trainer would also say don't put the clip on over the rail. It's been done!

Not for the first time a completely unnecessary death which is entirely down to the actions of the deceased is followed by calls, and in some cases such as this instructions, to the rail industry to somehow rectify the perceived problem.

Whatever happened to common sense and personal responsibility?

The substitution of a through service with one involving a change has long been deployed as a way to put the brakes on passenger flows. It always puts me in mind of the time when capacity on the trains took a sharp nosedive and it was used to reduce summer passenger numbers heading for Weymouth.

Mark

All fully signalled with shunt signals. No need for anything to be clipped and scotched.

The return service was - err - full and standing on occasions!   After the withdrawal of the SWR service from Bristol as far as Westbury, a GWR train was put in in its place (great saving that!) with a connection at Westbury into the SWR coming up from Yeovil.  The connection hasn't always been held at Westbury ...

Indeed, the USA considers it's a good year when the homicide rate is under 6 per 100,000. In  Europe it averages 2.1, about 1.1 in the UK.

Don't think you are safe on the roads either.  The USA has a fatal accident rate of 14.2 per 100,000. In the UK it's 2.4.