Sadly, my immediate thoughts are that it would be a very tall order to get substantive repairs to the Box Tunnel(s?) portal(s) completed in time for 11th September - just 8 months away.  Where, perhaps, you might have a better chance to provide a celebration of 185 years would be to ask / work with Network Rail to provide a display to help inform attenders about the good work planned for the autumn.

At the risk of explaining things you already know (but feel free to share this with others who don’t have the railway involvement of you and I ) …

Network Rail plans things many years ahead - frustratingly so - and that includes infrastructure repairs.  There are elements of heritage concern in there, but balanced against that at present is a requirement for them to cut 2000 out of 40,000 jobs and at the same time re-organise into Great British Railways that takes over train operation too.  If it’s safe and trains can still reliably run, it probably won’t be a priority to try and move up a potentially major and highly specialised operation for completion in advance of repairs.

Great Western Railway is currently a First Group company contracted to operate trains, with income going to HMG and then money being payed to the company to run the trains as - err - cheaply as they can.   Come this Autumn, it is probable (almost certain) that GWR will be nationalised - the GWR name will remain, but the objective will not be to reach company goals, but to reach Department for Transport subsidiary goals.   Current GWR and First Group direction has no financial interest in developing public conception or future traffic - though the vast majority of the team ARE very interested in what they’ll be doing this time next year.

Box is in the Melksham and Devizes constituency - perhaps that’s a reason you ask me?  The London to Bristol (Great Western) main line passes through Box tunnel. 
* It enters the tunnel to the east in the Chippenham Constituency of Sarah Gibson, who a has strongly picked up the baton of the campaign for a new or re-opened station in Corsham,  and it might happen - some blockers have been removed.  Of anyone, [redacted], you know how long and hard fought this has been, and you know the nature of these things that for many years frustrations will occur but then it might - just might happen. 
* It leaves Box Tunnel through the western portal now in the Melksham Constituency of Brian Mathew. It passed under the A4, above Box Village past the site of Box Mill Lane Halt, and the passes through the second shorter tunnel at Box Middle Hill.  The site of Box Station follows (really in Ashley rather than Box) and then the railway runs along the valley past  Shockerwick
* It passses into the Bath constituency between Bathford and Batheaston before crossing the valley of the River Avon to Bathampton - no longer in Wiltshire and looked after by Wera Hobhouse.   Also a whole new larger authority / local transport authority, WE(M)CA rather than Wiltshire.

You would need to be quick (closes 2nd February) but the final CCIF (Customer and Community Infrastructure Fund) tranche from GWR could be woth an application.   It would be a very long shot - sadly, you don’t in Box have many rails customers.  There’s no station and the likely places for re-openings would be in Sarah’s or Wera’s constituencies;  I have seen the question of a station at Box (Ashley) raised but it quickly raised so many issues that in the current environment it’s a resounding “that won’t happen”.

I would - suggest - working with the Network Rail contacts the team already has planning the autumn repairs for a set of display boards to celebrate the tunnel and to look ahead to the works that would / will help preserve the heritage.   As I recall, the view to the tunnel mouth of the main tunnel is from the main road and there may be a safety issue there with a substantial number of visitors, and there ia park / picnic area (?) off to one side which is an element of an interpretation centre. Something to build on?  Vegetation clearance to get a better view - but is it nesting season?    I do recall walking over the top of Middle Hill tunnel - in fact I found a picture of it just the other day - and there is a nice and distant view form there and perhaps a somewhat safer alternative.

Proposal to build bridge over school prompts safety fears

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Some parents at the school have expressed concerns about the proposal

It is a peaceful outdoor area behind a school where pupils can climb trees, toast marshmallows and take part in forest school activities.

But parents are worried that the space could be left in darkness and overlooked by passers-by, if a bridge is built over the top of it.

Ysgol Plascrug in Aberystwyth raised about £50,000 in grants to turn the muddy patch into a garden for pupils, with one mum describing how her daughter was in tears after learning of the proposal.

Ceredigion council is looking at three options for a replacement bridge linking areas of the town, with one of these stretching directly over the garden. It urged anyone with concerns to respond to a consultation.

The local authority is looking at options to replace the current bridge, which goes over railway tracks and links local schools and leisure facilities, after a storm in 2021 left it partly destroyed with parts being held up by scaffolding. Its replacement must meet modern design standards and be able to handle an expected increase in numbers walking or cycling, a planning document says.

The council said surrounding developments provide challenges, but it has come up with three designs - each with its benefits and drawbacks, it says. These are - rebuilding in the same place, or building a new bridge, either going around three sides of the school with the loss of some of the grounds, or right through the middle.

...

Local MS Elin Jones opened the area in June 2025, and said: "I've no doubt that Plascrug School needs its outdoor play area protected in full. It is already very limited. As such, I've no doubt that the railway bridge replacement should be on the current site, and not on a new site, which would considerably reduce the school's outdoor space. "

Ceredigion Preseli MP Ben Lake said: "Teachers, parents, and pupils of Ysgol Plascrug are understandably concerned that one of the options included in the consultation would see the new footbridge span their grounds and outdoor playing area. I am firmly of the opinion that the footbridge should instead be redeveloped on the footprint of the existing one, which would not only avert any disruption to the school but also command widespread support from the broader community. I shall be reiterating this opinion to the council through this consultation, and would urge all local residents to do likewise."

(BBC news article continues)

Sold-out buses and sky-high flight prices: Spain’s train crash leaves passengers stranded

Southern Spain's high-speed train crash on Sunday 18 January left at least 42 people dead and over 150 injured.

With rail services suspended between Madrid and Andalusia following the Adamuz accident, hundreds more passengers were left stranded.

Azucena Esteban and Carlos Hidalgo, a married couple from Madrid who had planned to travel to Seville on a Renfe night train on Sunday, have now managed to reach their destination after a 48-hour journey.

Southern Spain's high-speed train crash on Sunday 18 January left at least 42 people dead and over 150 injured.

With rail services suspended between Madrid and Andalusia following the Adamuz accident, hundreds more passengers were left stranded.

Azucena Esteban and Carlos Hidalgo, a married couple from Madrid who had planned to travel to Seville on a Renfe night train on Sunday, have now managed to reach their destination after a 48-hour journey.

Stranded train passengers faced with astronomical flight prices

"There was no option," Esteban recalls when asked about the transport options they considered at the time. They first spoke to Euronews Travel on the morning of Monday 19 January at Madrid Atocha station, where they were waiting for Renfe to provide a viable travel alternative.

When they realised that even the shuttle bus they had been promised to take them to Méndez Álvaro station would not arrive, they opted to hire a car at Barajas airport, as this service was not available at Atocha.

Flights between Madrid and Seville had climbed to €300, well above their usual price, Azucena recounted the following day by phone and from the Andalusian capital.

"I looked at all the airlines, but Malaga-Madrid was unviable, at least on Monday," explains Alberto García Chaparro, another affected resident in the capital.

"Buses were sold out and rental cars were unviable. Plane fares ranged from €180 to €500. In fact, I tried to buy an Iberia flight for €128, but when I paid [through a flight comparator], it was full and wouldn't let me buy it. When I went back in, it was already worth €300."

Car rental companies hiked prices following train crash

As García Chaparro points out, rental car companies also applied price increases after the accident that blocked all train travel between Madrid and Andalusia, Spain's first and third most populated regions, for 24 hours.

"The cars were at €80 - we looked the day before," says Azucena Esteban, who paid more than €200 to make the journey south. She adds that other users, who had approached the airport with the same intention, received quotes of €1,000 from other car companies.

Due to the system of variable prices depending on supply and demand in these companies, it is impossible to verify this fact: the current figures for a trip similar to the one they took, at the time of writing this article, range between €125 and €250.

Other affected passengers who Euronews Travel spoke with on Monday at Atocha station did manage to purchase bus tickets to Andalusia.

But testimonies gathered during the morning after the accident claimed that there was only one night bus left when consulted: "We were able to catch it at 10pm, but there were no others left." Two women interviewed also testified that air fares were "very expensive".

This is another of those news stories which don't fit neatly into any of the established definitions for the intended content of boards on the Coffee Shop forum - so I'll post it here.

From the BBC:

A sinkhole has been discovered on the section between Parsons Tunnel and Teignmouth with possible voiding. 

You can almost see the thought bubble above his helmet...

'Rescued men still owe hotel bill three weeks later'

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It took volunteers seven hours to bring the two walkers back to safety

A mountain rescue team has issued a plea for two walkers it rescued to send money they promised to pay a hotel that took them in late at night.

Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team said it was called to an "avoidable" seven-hour rescue of two young men on Scafell Pike in the Lake District on 29 December, in "treacherous" conditions.

Once off the mountain, a manager at nearby Wasdale Head Inn offered to provide the walkers with snacks and let them stay in a room with a 35% discount, the team said.

Three weeks later the bill remains unpaid and the two made no contact. Despite the hotel waiving the fee for the team, they said they felt "obliged to reimburse" them to be able to rely on their support in the future.

A spokesman for the Wasdale team said: "We avoid judging those we rescue but struggle to understand when the rescued take advantage of hospitality provided by our supporters in the valley." They added the walkers claimed they had left their money in a tent, which was left near Green Gable when they were rescued, but had agreed to send the £130 later.

The rescue team said: "Disappointingly, in the morning they offered no thanks for the efforts of the hotel, asked for further reductions to the cost, pushed hard for a breakfast and asked if they could arrange transport to get them out of the valley." A phone number they left with the hotel did not work.

The team said the pair also failed to return headtorches lent to them by volunteers when descending the mountain. "We have tried contacting the two walkers to encourage them to settle their debt with the hotel but also to return the head torches," a team spokesman said. "We also would like to return their hospital crutch left in our vehicle that one of them with a previous leg injury had used on the ascent but again, sadly no replies to date."

Well, reopening of the line through Dawlish may have taken a big knock. 

A sinkhole has been discovered on the section between Parsons Tunnel and Teignmouth with possible voiding. 

Oh, and spare a thought for this Network Rail worker:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HASxXofpJ/

The BBC news article has now been updated again.

With my thanks to the BBC, I will quote here a few items:

You can almost see the thought bubble above his helmet:

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"Oh, for flip's sake ... "  [Image from here is not available to guests]

Will it ever reopen?  If this happens more frequently will it just become too expensive to keep open?

3-coach Turbo on a Cotswold Line diagram today. Full and standing after Charlbury and it looked like fitting everyone on at Oxford was going to be entertaining…

I wonder if we'd have been talking about 2014 levels of damage had the resiliance works not been undertaken?

Now "end of the day" on 26/1/26

Great Western Railway (GWR) said the sea wall at Dawlish would be inspected once the storm had passed and services would be suspended until at least 18:00 GMT.

Rail services have also been cancelled between Par and Newquay and Liskeard and Looe due to flooding.

GWR spokesman James Davis said: "There's been a significant amount of debris that the sea has thrown onto the track that will need to be cleared before we can run trains safely.

"The line remains closed and we have a limited bus replacement service operating.

"Clearly, if the same number of people choose to travel as normal you're going to find yourself waiting quite some time."