3: Gatwick

6: Southend Central?

Why would you run an ECS to Blackpool North if all you do is run it back ECS?

Danger to life and flood warning as heavy rain hits again


The Afon Glaslyn has risen close to the top of the wall surrounding this house in Beddgelert, Gwynedd

Heavy rain could cause "disruption and probable flooding" on Monday with an amber weather warning in place for south Wales.

The Met Office said heavy rain was expected over south Wales from late Sunday and throughout Monday, with 20-40mm (0.78-1.58in) expected across the wider region and 100-120mm (3.9-4.7in) in a few places on higher ground.

A yellow warning of rain is also in place for mid and north Wales on Monday, with the Afon Glaslyn in Beddgelert, Gwynedd, nearly broaching the garden wall of a house nearby.

The weather alerts come two weeks after danger to life flood warnings were issued and homes and businesses in Monmouth and elsewhere hit after rivers burst their banks.

(BBC news item continues)

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be terminated at Warminster.
It will no longer call at Salisbury.
It is being delayed between Chippenham and Melksham.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

Very good news if they are looking at seat cushion redesign. Don’t remember seeing the Train Manager actually.

Alright, let's get this one out of the way:

5.  Taunton.

CfN 

From the BBC:


Regulator backtracks on 'ghost train' plan

OBR head resigns over Budget leak


Chair of the OBR Richard Hughes said he took "full responsibility" for the shortcomings identified in the report

The chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has resigned following the Budget day error which saw a key document published early.

Richard Hughes said in his resignation letter he took "full responsibility" for the issues that were identified in the OBR's investigation into the error.

That investigation found the early publication of the OBR's forecasts was the worst failure in the organisation's 15-year history.

The UK's official forecaster confirmed the market-sensitive report was accessed 43 times from 32 different devices in the hour before the chancellor's speech.

In a letter sent to both the chancellor and the chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Dame Meg Hillier, Mr Hughes said he believed the OBR could "quickly regain and restore the confidence and esteem" it had earned by implementing the report's recommendations.

"But I also need to play my part in enabling the organisation that I have loved leading for the past five years to quickly move on from this regrettable incident," he continued. "I have, therefore, decided it is in the best interest of the OBR for me to resign as its Chair and take full responsibility to the shortcomings identified in the report."

Mr Hughes had been due to face questions from the Treasury Select Committee on Tuesday about the Budget and the OBR's economic forecasts, but Dame Meg confirmed that he would no longer attend.

In response to his resignation, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: "I want to thank Richard Hughes for his public service and for leading the Office for Budget Responsibility over the past five years and for his many years of public service."

But Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused the chancellor of "trying to use the chair of the OBR as her human shield".

Paul Johnson, the former director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and provost at Queen's College, Oxford said he was not surprised Mr Hughes had resigned. "That was a really bad mistake," he told BBC News, but added that Mr Hughes had been a "very effective and very robust" head of the OBR. "I think it's a shame for Richard Hughes and a shame for the OBR."

Mr Hughes had only recently started his second five-year term as OBR chairman, after being renominated by the chancellor in May. He first took up the job during the Covid pandemic in October 2020. Prior to that, he had been director of fiscal policy at the Treasury, and earlier he was the division chief of the International Monetary Fund's fiscal affairs department for eight years.

Following the Budget day leak, Mr Hughes called in a leading cyber-security expert to investigate how the crucial document was put on its website too early.

On Monday the report into the mishap concluded it had "inflicted heavy damage on the OBR's reputation", but added that it was inadvertent. The "ultimate responsibility" for the circumstances which meant people could access the report early lay with the OBR's leadership, the report added.

"It is the worst failure in the 15-year history of the OBR," the report said. "It was seriously disruptive to the chancellor, who had every right to expect that the EFO (economic and fiscal outlook) would not be publicly available until she sat down at the end of her Budget speech, when it should, as is usual, have been published alongside the Treasury's explanatory Red Book."

Monday's report also found that somebody gained early access to the equivalent financial forecasts in March while Reeves was delivering her Spring Statement, though they did not act on the information.

The Chancellor's Budget was thrown into chaos when the OBR's forecast was discovered online.

The OBR assesses the health of the UK's economy. It is independent of the government but works closely with the Treasury. Its reports are released alongside big government events such as the Budget, details of which are supposed to be kept under wraps until the chancellor announces them in the House of Commons.

The OBR's early publication effectively confirmed a number of new measures, including a pay-per-mile charge on electric vehicles, and a three-year freeze on income tax and National Insurance thresholds, before the chancellor announced them. The OBR quickly removed the forecast document from its website and apologised for the release, which it blamed on a "technical error".

The OBR brought in Ciaran Martin, the former chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, to lead the investigation into how the forecasts were accessed early. However, the OBR concluded there was no reason to suspect the involvement of foreign actors or cyber-criminals, or of "connivance by anyone working for the OBR".

Prof Martin's technical account was that the OBR analysis was available at a hidden url for 38 minutes between 11:30 and 12:08 on the morning of the Budget.

An attempt was made to access the URL as early as 05:16. The review did not seek to trace who accessed or attempted to access the document.

Prof Martin concluded this was a pre-existing weakness in the OBR publication system because of the premature access to March's forecasts. Prof Martin said that breach, half an hour before when it should have been published, could have been accidental, but it led him to conclude the issue was not new. On the reason for the early publication, Prof Martin said it was related to the software the OBR chose to publish to its website, which was more suitable for a small or medium company than a major publication of critical market-sensitive data.

While OBR staff thought they had applied safeguards to prevent early publication, there were two errors in the way in which they were set up on the publishing platform WordPress that effectively bypassed these controls. WordPress is a content management system, and is said to be the most popular tool of its kind for creating and designing web pages.

One error was to do with a plug-in (an optional extra) the OBR had installed in WordPress, which had the unintended effect of bypassing the need to log in to access documents intended for future publication. And the second was the directory in which the file was put ahead of publication allowed anyone to download a file directly.

The OBR got an exemption in 2013 from using a more secure government publishing platform for independent authorities in order to help with its autonomy. In other IT security areas, such as secure email, the OBR had adopted the secure Treasury systems.

A Treasury spokesperson thanked the OBR for its report and said a minister would respond "in due course".

From the BBC:

Regulator backtracks on 'ghost train' plan

Plans to ban passengers from a peak train service between Manchester and London have been abandoned after a U-turn by the government's rail safety regulator.

The Office of Road and Rail (ORR) reversed its decision to run the 07:00 GMT Avanti West Coast service from Manchester Piccadilly to London without passengers after a public backlash.

On Sunday the ORR announced only staff would be on board as of mid-December - citing concerns that allowing passengers to get on would "harm the overall performance" of the line.

But just over 24 hours later a ORR spokesperson said after listening to feedback it would give Network Rail and Avanti permission to continue running the service with passengers.

"On the basis of the information we have, we believe the running of this 7am service could have a negative impact on reliability and punctuality of services on the West Coast Main Line, but we recognise its importance and popularity and will support its continued operation," the ORR spokesperson continued.

The ORR has confirmed this U-turn only relates to the 07:00 GMT Manchester Piccadilly to Euston service and says four other services will run without passengers later this month.

They are:
- 12:52 GMT: Blackpool North – London Euston (Monday to Friday)
- 09:39 GMT: London Euston – Blackpool North (Monday to Friday)
- 19:32 GMT: Chester – London Euston (Monday to Friday)
- 17:53 GMT: Holyhead – London Euston terminates at Crewe (Sunday)

Weather warnings issued as heavy rain hits the UK with flooding expected

Heavy rain is expected to bring flooding and disruption across large parts of the UK on Monday.

An amber Met Office severe weather warning for rain is in force across south Wales, while multiple yellow warnings are in force for many western areas of the UK.

Nearly a month's worth of rain could fall onto already very saturated ground after above average rainfall throughout November across England and Wales. There will also be some gusty winds, especially around coastal areas.

Winter - meteorologically speaking - has started on a very wet note with rain across much of the UK. That trend is likely to continue for most of Monday and turn particularly heavy at times. Rainfall totals will build quite widely but with very saturated ground there are numerous yellow Met Office warnings in force.

A more severe amber Met Office warning is in force for south Wales until 21:00 GMT. Between 20 and 40mm (0.8 and 1.6in) of rain is expected to fall widely here, with some south-western facing hills seeing nearer to 120mm (4.7in).

The average rainfall for south Wales and south-west England for the whole of December is 152mm (6in)

Extensive flooding is possible along with disruption on the road and rail network, loss of power and communities potentially cut off.

The Met Office has also warned that fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible, causing a danger to life.



Additionally, yellow Met Office weather warnings are in force for:
- South-west Scotland until 21:00 on Monday
- North-west England and parts of the West Midlands until 23:59 on Monday
- Most of Wales and south-west England until 21:00 on Monday

Again, between 20 and 40mm of rain is forecast to fall quite widely but some areas, such as the higher ground of the Cumbrian Fells and Eyri, could see between 80 and 120mm (3 and 4.7in).

This too could bring some localised flooding and transport disruption.

Parts of East Yorkshire were flooded on Monday morning with fire crews needing to pump water away from properties.

Flood warnings have been issued by the Environment Agency (EA) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW). An EA spokesperson has said "We urge people not to drive though flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm (1ft) of flowing water is enough to float your car."

Strong winds will also accompany the heavy rain, with gales possible around coasts and over high ground.

November has been very wet overall, especially across England and Wales.

Data released from the Met Office Hadley Centre shows that it has been the wettest month of 2025 so far, recording rainfall that was 31% above average. In parts of eastern England, some weather stations have recorded their highest November rainfall on record.

Bridlington, Yorkshire for example has had nearly three times the normal rainfall with 180mm recorded compared to an average of 66mm - a new record for November. Other parts of East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have received more than double their normal rainfall with the wettest November on record.

Autumn has been the only season this year to record above-average rainfall. The UK as a whole saw 20% more than the long-term meteorological average, with Northern Ireland and Wales seeing significantly more.

Autumn has continued the run of above-average temperatures in 2025. But with a mean temperature of 0.4C above seasonal average, no records have been broken.

11:52 London Paddington to Hereford due 14:44 has been delayed at Didcot Parkway and is now 8 minutes late.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.
Last Updated:01/12/2025 13:27

Concerns over 'life line' bus after firm leaves

Residents in a rural village say they are concerned about a "life line" bus service after its operator said it would withdraw its 14 services.

First Bus announced plans last month to withdraw from its five depots at Camborne, Falmouth, Penzance, Summercourt and Truro due to rising costs and falling passenger numbers.

Bus operator Go Cornwall said it would step in as a replacement by the middle of February 2026 when First Bus would stop operating. Managing director for Go Cornwall Richard Stevens said no community "will be left unserved".

Margaret Deans, who has lived at Praa Sands since 1993, said she used the First Bus service which runs from Falmouth to Penzance to visit her friend and attend hospital appointments. She said: "I'm very concerned [that Go Cornwall won't] cover the route to the standard that we have got at the moment, which is an hourly bus service coming right through the village." She added: "That's what we need...I don't want to lose it. I'm visually impaired. My mobility is restricted. I need to get to places and see people. I certainly need to get to the hospital and the bus is how I do it."

Heidi Mellor, owner of cafe SiSu, said it was a "great shame" First Bus had withdrawn. "I think it will impact a lot of, particularly in this village, our older customers who use the buses on a regular basis," she said.

Sue Holman has lived in Praa Sands for 49 years. If the bus services changed, Ms Holman said she would be concerned residents would be "unable to get into town".

The managing director for Go Cornwall added: "We want people to know that any area currently served by these routes will continue to have access to bus services. While the network will not be replicated like-for-like, we will ensure alternative or amended services are in place. Our priority is to keep Cornwall connected."

Dan Rogerson, the transport portfolio holder on Cornwall Council, said officers were looking through Go Cornwall's proposed routes and timetables. "Obviously, people will be feeling that people rely on these bus services to get around with young people, older people, people trying to get to employment opportunities," Mr Rogerson said. "Go Cornwall have said that they will serve all the communities currently served. The devil will be in the detail about frequency and times and those sorts of things, and that's the stuff that our officers will now be going through in terms of what Go Cornwall is submitting."

Go Cornwall said further information would be provided once planning was complete and discussions with Cornwall Council have concluded.