Not the best of starts from Bath as the 07:43 was cancelled at 15 minutes notice -trespassers on the line at... Chippenham. Predictions for the 8:13 are a bit rocky... 

Mark

Air travel will be cut by up to 10% at 40 major airports, resulting in thousands of cancelled flights, in the coming days if the US government shutdown continues, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced.

The decision, which will impact domestic flights only, was made because air traffic controllers had been reporting fatigue, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

Some 1.4 million federal workers, from air traffic controllers to park wardens, are working without pay - or are on forced leave - because the US Congress has not agreed to a funding budget.

Major airports in Atlanta, New York and Washington DC will be affected by the reduction in service.

"Our number one job is safety. This isn't about politics – it's about assessing the data and alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue to work without pay," Duffy said in a statement.

Unions say many employees are becoming ill with stress or are being forced into taking second jobs.

On Wednesday, the federal government funding impasse became the longest shutdown in US history.

"It is unusual," said FAA chief Bryan Bedford of the planned flight reductions, "just as the shutdown is unusual, just as the fact that our controllers haven't been paid for a month is unusual."

The flight reductions will be gradual, starting at 4% of domestic flights on Friday. It will rise to 6% by 11 November and 8% by 13 November, before hitting a full 10% by 14 November.

... If I make Stroud on that quick connection, I'm planning to take a brief look around the town there too - part of my "in an hour" photo series.

Many years ago, my wife bought me a DVD from the W C & P Railway Group, as a Christmas present: "Somerset's Lost Railway - the story of the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway".  It's 90 minutes of fascinating material, much of it in colour.

You're welcome to borrow it: I'll post it to you. CfN.

Regional airline Eastern Airways goes into administration



UK regional airline Eastern Airways has entered administration after the majority of its 330 staff were made redundant last week.

The airline had operated across the UK, Ireland and Europe, and ran services supported by the Scottish government for people in the northernmost point of mainland UK. However, after a contract to operate services for Dutch airline KLM was ended, the carrier had been left with a cost base that was "too high to be sustainable", the administrators said.

Jamie Miller from RSM UK Restructuring Advisory, who has been appointed joint administrator, said sufficient staff had been retained to maintain the fleet while they sought to rescue some or all of Eastern's operations. He added: "We would welcome any interest from potential alternative operators, or those who may have an interest in the underlying assets."

RSM said Eastern Airways had been operating four aircraft for KLM Cityhopper in Europe, but, when this contract was terminated, it had left Eastern with "high fixed overheads and a staff base that has ultimately proved too high to be sustainable".

The company had filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator on 27 October after the Civil Aviation Authority announced all of its flights had been cancelled.

Launched in 1997, Eastern is one of the UK's last remaining regional airlines and is based at Humberside Airport in North Lincolnshire. But the airline has faced financial challenges since the Covid pandemic, in part due to falling passenger numbers.

It also operates out of East Midlands, Jersey, Manchester, Newcastle, Newquay and Southampton, as well as Esbjerg in Denmark. It has been an operator in the North Sea offshore oil and gas industry, flying between UK cities with a significant presence in the sector such as Aberdeen, Humberside, Teesside and Wick. It has run a weekday service between Wick John O'Groats Airport and Aberdeen, which is seen as vital for people living in the most northerly point on mainland UK.

The busiest railway station in the north-west of England is set to close for nine days for a "major overhaul" which aims to "significantly reduce disruption" on trains.

Manchester Piccadilly will shut on 14 February next year for upgrades to tracks, points and signalling systems, with work due for completion on 22 February. During the works, services normally running to and from the station will terminate at other stations, including Stockport.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) said investment in rail infrastructure was crucial to deliver a "reliable and resilient railway" for passengers.

TfGM's Simon Elliott, said: "While unfortunately there will be some short-term disruption, we're committed to working with rail industry colleagues to ensure people can still move easily across Greater Manchester while these essential upgrades take place."

No trains from the south and east of the city will run into Manchester Piccadilly. Some trains from across the north of the city will also be affected, as well as direct connections to Manchester Airport.

Network Rail, who are investing £7.9m in the upgrade, said it was a "critical stretch of the track", adding: "Any issues with the ageing infrastructure can disrupt all trains running in and out of Manchester."

Julien Dehornoy from Network Rail said the "long-awaited" work would "significantly reduce" disruption. "Once the job is done, we will have a better, more reliable railway," he said. "The major overhaul over six railway lines can only take place during a full railway closure and we are working closely with train operators, TfGM and Manchester City Council on alternative travel plans to keep people on the move, the full details on which will be published in mid-November."

And as sure as eggs follow chickens

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:06

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:06 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Plans to pedestrianise a key route leading to a city's train station have been backed by some residents and businesses.

Almost half of the people responding to a council survey said they supported plans to ban vehicles from Feeder Road near Temple Meads in Bristol.

Under the Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration plan, St Philip's Marsh - the island east of Temple Meads - will be transformed from an industrial site into a residential area with hundreds of homes.

Karen Mercer, chief executive of Bristol Temple Quarter LLP, said: "We've now received feedback and we're looking at developing a masterplan which will come forward for consultation in the early part of next year."

The new Temple Quarter will see student flats, a new high school and a University of Bristol campus being built. Public access to the north side of the Feeder Canal will be created, as well as a potential new ferry stop and footbridge.

Councillors at the economy and skills policy committee on Monday were given feedback from the consultation looking at pedestrianising Feeder Road. Councillor Jenny Bartle said: "The purpose of [this] first stage was to get a gist, a direction, rather than anything too specific."

St Philip's Marsh is home to nightclub Motion's new site, as well as the Prospect music venue and the RS Studios rehearsal rooms. The area also includes Avonmeads Shopping Park, Wake the Tiger, car showrooms and Bristol Waste's recycling plant.

Feeder Road is a key route leading to east Bristol, but has a narrow pavement. A quarter of people said Feeder Road should become a new local centre for shops and cafes.

Concerns raised in the survey included how existing businesses would access the area after the regeneration, and whether a community could be established with so many student flats.

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:06

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:06 will be started from Swindon.
It will no longer call at Westbury, Trowbridge, Melksham and Chippenham.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

A Budget for public transport

Hello Shirley

After 14 years of fuel duty freezes and a five-year fuel duty cut, transport costs are still keeping five million people below the poverty line. Doggedly clinging to the cut in fuel duty - which has primary benefitted richer households and fuel retailers - whilst simultaneously prioritising road investment will not change this. That's why we have written to the Chancellor to urge her to use the forthcoming Budget to rebalance transport taxation and prioritise public transport to help hard-pressed households and provide the sustainable economic growth we need.

Ending the fuel duty cut

With the cost of petrol and diesel now much lower than when the "temporary" 5p fuel duty cut was introduced five years ago, allowing the cut to expire would recoup £2.6 billion a year in lost revenue. Reinstating the annual inflation-linked fuel duty rise would raise a further £1.6 billion in the first year alone. The impact on fuel bills for individuals would not be large, and the additional income could be invested in infrastructure improvements and public services to the benefit of millions of households.

Introducing a per-mile charge for electric vehicles

As more people switch to electric vehicles, revenue from fuel duty will plummet. The Chancellor should set out a process and timetable for introducing a simple, per-mile charge for EVs. This would be fair, and avoid a looming budget black hole. The charge should be low, so that it's still cheaper to drive a cleaner car.

Closing the aviation loophole

The Chancellor could also choose to close the loophole that provides airlines with tax-free fuel by introducing a kerosene tax at 33p a litre. Even after excluding 'lifeline flights' (those from remote islands in the UK to the mainland), this new tax would still raise £594 million per annum for the exchequer. Introducing a new ‘super’ rate of Air Passenger Duty – set at ten times the current higher rate – for all private jet passengers and charging VAT on all private jet flights would raise a further £1.5 billion to £2 billion a year.

Prioritising public transport

Public transport investment brings a much higher return than investment in roads. Boosting investment in local bus services and fare concessions would help tackle transport poverty and improve people's life chances. Cancelling the 2026 rail fare increase and speeding up fares and ticketing reforms would make trains more affordable and encourage more people to use them. We also want to see the Government commit to key rail infrastructure improvements.

With every Budget there are hard decisions to be made. The politics of increasing fuel duty are not easy, but nor are any of the other fiscal choices available to the Government. Transport investment is essential to economic growth, but not all transport investment is equal. Prioritising public transport investment will ensure we get sustainable economic growth which doesn't cost the earth.

Goodbye till next time

Silviya Barrett, Director of Policy & Campaigns
Campaign for Better Transport

No alternative offered, and new notifiaction within the last hour. 

I seem to recall a promise that the 17:35 off Swindon was some sort of protected train ... 

If you are at Swindon or Chippenham travelling to Trowbridge or Westbury you should travel on
the 17:57 Bristol Temple Meads service from Swindon (18:08 from Chippenham) and change at
Bath Spa for the 18:37 Portsmouth Harbour service which calls at Trowbridge (18:56) and
Westbury (19:04). However, if you are at Swindon or Chippenham earlier, you may take the first
available service via Bath Spa, via Melksham tickets will be accepted via Bath spa.
-
If you are travelling to Melksham you should change at Chippenham where rail replacement taxis have been arranged to call at Melksham, Trowbridge and Westbury.
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If you are at Melksham we will provide road transport to Trowbridge and Westbury from the station car park.
-

Nothing on JourneyCheck less than 20 minutes from departure but Realtime Trains is reporting 1W29 1453 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street as cancelled due to unknown cause (ZW).

Tempted to walk the first bit and bail out as necessary if that's ok. What are your plans to travel to Stroud please?

Mark

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew

Further Information

If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay
Last Updated:07/11/2025 14:11