Watched the article on this evening’s Points West and was alarmed to hear David say that people were using it as their own personal taxi service to travel to Bristol Airport or for a day out to Weston-super-Mare!

Sad when things like this happen and it ends up getting cut for those who really do need it to travel locally, though the article also stated few were using it.

WESTlink changes are coming soon to help focus the service on supporting people who don't have access to a regular bus service, as well as make the best use of reduced government funding.

From Sunday (5 April) WESTlink will  run  from Monday to Friday, 9am to 2pm, with no service on weekends or bank holidays.

Tickets will cost £3 per trip or, if you need to travel onwards, you can get an AvonRider multi operator ticket for £7 which allows unlimited travel on registered bus services across the whole West of England area.

Concessionary bus pass holders will still be able to travel for free.

There'll also be new travel zones to make journeys simpler and help connect people to their nearest bus stop or rail station, and journeys will be limited to a maximum distance of five miles - this it to improve efficiency and allow more people to use the service each day

Book WESTlink by downloading the app - just search for WESTlink in your usual app store - through the web booking system or call 0117 457 8561.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/walking-between-stations-map.pdf

The yet in "yet to be achieved" is the key word...

My GWR contact has apologised for how long he has taken to get back to me on this (I heard on 26th), but only explained (no apology) for the database error.  He tells me the database was corrected on 19th, but as of 25th when I was last at the station, the change has not percolated through.   

Hello Graham,
 
I have had it confirmed by my retail colleagues that the Melksham TVM should now be updated with an amended set of fares on the front screen.  Hopefully this should mean that all of the outstanding issues are resolved, but please do get in touch if not.
 
Thanks,
Peter

Thanks Graham,
 
I take this away and see what more can be done.  It may simply need another day or two to be fully distributed to the machine.
 
Thanks,
Peter

Not quite got my head around on whether this concerns the entirety of TfW or just cross-border services.

Core Valley Lines (CVL) interface and simplification- A shared ambition to reduce unnecessary regulatory complexity on CVL, and a commitment to develop jointly agreed interface arrangements that support smooth operation of CVL and the rest of the rail network.

Please don't - you'll set member broadgage off on yet another one! 

08:18 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 10:26
Facilities on the 08:18 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 10:26.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 9. There are no reservations on this service.

From "Interrailing for the Older Crowd"


Err ... I thought the move towards nationalisation was in part about the removal of differences.

Passengers travelling between Covent Garden and Leicester Square—two consecutive stations on the Piccadilly line in central London—are charged a full Zone 1 fare of £3.10 during peak hours, despite the journey covering just 260 to 270 metres.

The short trip has long been described as one of the most expensive Tube journeys per metre, with the £3.10 fare translating to a staggering per-mile cost.

According to 2015 data reported by The Daily Telegraph, around 490 people make the trip each day, with most of them believed to be tourists.

Just a note about reservations in the UK using GWR

It seems they no longer book other companies trains. See reply I received this morning

Ah yes - this is the very reason that I started the .pdf archive - to maintain the integrity of our resource on the meaty textual side.  This fade or are removed, free hosting sites are monitorised once they have you, firewalls are added, etc.

Last week I saw the impact of this for myself. I caught that 0740 from Westbury at 0800 and it was about 70% full on arrival at Westbury (3 cars). I think that was because there is such a long gap that people from stations south of westbury are leaving earlier than they need to. Needless to say by the time we got to Bristol there wasn’t room for a hamster

Bananas galore in Orkney after store orders 38,000 by mistake


An error meant 380 wholesale boxes of bananas were delivered to Tesco in Kirkwall. Stock image.

A supermarket in Orkney has been giving away bananas after accidentally ordering an estimated 38,000 of them - almost double the entire population of the islands.

Tesco in Kirkwall had intended to order 380kg (750lbs) of the fruit but a slip-up meant it ordered 380 wholesale boxes, each containing about 100 bananas. The surplus boxes, which arrived at the weekend, would normally have been returned to the mainland but high winds and subsequent ferry disruption meant this was not possible.

A Tesco spokesperson said the superstore has now been giving the boxes away to community groups and schools across the area. An appeal was posted by Paula Clarke, Tesco's community champion, on social media, with toddler groups, football clubs and local organisations showing up at the supermarket to collect boxes.

In the comments, islanders suggested different ways for the groups to use up the fruit before it goes bad. Some proposed baking banana bread, while others considered peeling, chopping and freezing the fruit. Other comments came from school teachers sharing that they had already popped along to the supermarket to pick up a box or two.

Tesco has also arranged to send bananas out to Orkney's outer isles.

It is not the first time there has been an order blunder in Orkney in recent years. Two years ago a small independent shop in Sanday - one of Orkney's north isles - inadvertently ordered 720 Easter Eggs, rather than the 80 the owner wanted. That led to a fundraising campaign raising money for charity - but with a shorter shelf life, the Orkney banana glut will require a swifter solution.

I have become aware that at least a couple of my images posted here in the past on this particular topic (and probably others) are 'no longer available'.

This is apparently due to my placing them on 'Imgur' and linking to them here from there. However - from Imgur:

[snip]