Recent Public Posts - [guest]
| Re: Free things to see and do - day trip to London In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [366683/30879/31] Posted by Phil at 09:17, 9th October 2025 Already liked by Ralph Ayres |      |
Postman's park. Not just a haven of peace and beauty, but it also houses the humbling, beautiful G.F. Watts Memorial to heroic deeds of ordinary men, women and children which is worth a visit in it’s own right
https://www.london-walking-tours.co.uk/postmans-park/introduction.htm
| Re: Free things to see and do - day trip to London In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [366682/30879/31] Posted by grahame at 09:07, 9th October 2025 | |
If it is free..why do they need ticket offices 
Things have changed (and, I agree, sad). Whilst you can go in to many things for free, you are encouraged to make a donation, and made to feel [mean / pretty rotten] if you don't.
| Re: Free things to see and do - day trip to London In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [366681/30879/31] Posted by chuffed at 08:44, 9th October 2025 | |
The Science museum has been ruined for me. On a previous visit 10 years ago I was absolutely stunned by the Power Hall with all those static steam engines as far as the eye could see. On my last visit there was a line of ticket offices stretching across the width of the hall that completely takes away the 'wow' moment that I experienced before. Talk about an own goal/shooting yourself in the foot! If it is free..why do they need ticket offices
| Re: 175s to GWR In "Across the West" [366680/28982/26] Posted by John D at 08:39, 9th October 2025 | |
Been reported elsewhere that units 175 111 and 175 115 are currently being hauled from storage at Ely to Wolverton works by locos 93006 and 93002
| Re: North Cotswold line delays and cancellations - 2025 In "London to the Cotswolds" [366679/29711/14] Posted by Worcester_Passenger at 06:57, 9th October 2025 Already liked by Mark A, Witham Bobby | |
Thursday October 9
A nice complementary pair this morning:
Facilities on the 08:18 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 10:25.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 9.
Last Updated:09/10/2025 04:03
Facilities on the 08:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 11:14.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.
Will be formed of 9 coaches instead of 5.
Last Updated:09/10/2025 04:04
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 9.
Last Updated:09/10/2025 04:03
Facilities on the 08:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 11:14.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.
Will be formed of 9 coaches instead of 5.
Last Updated:09/10/2025 04:04
... which means the excuse about "trains needing repair" is rather silly.
| Re: 2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury In "TransWilts line" [366678/29726/18] Posted by TaplowGreen at 06:56, 9th October 2025 | |
06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Salisbury and Warminster.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
| Re: Bus destroyed by fire, A30 Cornwall, 7th October 2025. In "Buses and other ways to travel" [366676/7528/5] Posted by John D at 22:31, 8th October 2025 | |
Euro 6 bus again. The exhaust systems run ridiculously hot to burn off and reduce emissions. They also have tiny engines compared to buses in the past which works extremely hard.
To my knowledge there has been no electric bus fires caused by mechanical. The only one I know of was arson by a passenger upstairs!
To my knowledge there has been no electric bus fires caused by mechanical. The only one I know of was arson by a passenger upstairs!
Yes but, reported as an Alexander Dennis Enviro400. Enviro means electric dont it. 400 means really scary
Replaced the Alexander ALX400 and Plaxton President, as ADL had merged by then via Transbus
The 400 is double deck 2 axle version, they used same numbers as ALX series except the long single deck ALX300 just became a long Enviro200
There have been diesel, hybrid, compressed gas, and electric versions
| Re: Buses and coaches bursting into flames - why are they apparently so combustible? (merged topic) In "Buses and other ways to travel" [366675/7528/5] Posted by broadgage at 22:09, 8th October 2025 Already liked by Ralph Ayres | |
My remarks were intended to be light-hearted, and to be reflection of the views held by the hard of thinking.
| Re: Bus destroyed by fire, A30 Cornwall, 7th October 2025. In "Buses and other ways to travel" [366671/7528/5] Posted by JayMac at 19:36, 8th October 2025 Already liked by Chris from Nailsea | |
Yes but, reported as an Alexander Dennis Enviro400. Enviro means electric dont it. 400 means really scary
Enviro doesn't mean electric. Alexander Dennis (and predecessor TransBus) have been making buses called Enviro since 2001.
Once again. The bus involved in this fire was a diesel engined 2015 Enviro400.
| Re: Twyford parking rules could change as Elizabeth Line route opens In "London to Reading" [366670/26895/7] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 19:10, 8th October 2025 | |
Whether there are other silly little things that might make it more complicated, who knows!
Newts, just for example.
| Re: Bus destroyed by fire, A30 Cornwall, 7th October 2025. In "Buses and other ways to travel" [366669/7528/5] Posted by FarWestJohn at 18:56, 8th October 2025 | |
ENVIRO400EV is the electric version
| Re: Twyford parking rules could change as Elizabeth Line route opens In "London to Reading" [366668/26895/7] Posted by IndustryInsider at 18:55, 8th October 2025 | |
A petition has been opened by somebody called David Sleight to support additional parking at Twyford:
It should in theory be a reasonably easy place to add more parking as the current park is large enough to support a second or third deck with very minimal intrution to the views of neighbouring properties, the nearest ones being the other side of the Henley branch line.
Whether there are other silly little things that might make it more complicated, who knows!
| Re: Twyford parking rules could change as Elizabeth Line route opens In "London to Reading" [366667/26895/7] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 18:41, 8th October 2025 | |
This doesn't affect me at all, personally, but I do support their intention and agenda.
| Re: Bus destroyed by fire, A30 Cornwall, 7th October 2025. In "Buses and other ways to travel" [366666/7528/5] Posted by broadgage at 18:35, 8th October 2025 | |
Euro 6 bus again. The exhaust systems run ridiculously hot to burn off and reduce emissions. They also have tiny engines compared to buses in the past which works extremely hard.
To my knowledge there has been no electric bus fires caused by mechanical. The only one I know of was arson by a passenger upstairs!
To my knowledge there has been no electric bus fires caused by mechanical. The only one I know of was arson by a passenger upstairs!
Yes but, reported as an Alexander Dennis Enviro400. Enviro means electric dont it. 400 means really scary
| Re: Twyford parking rules could change as Elizabeth Line route opens In "London to Reading" [366665/26895/7] Posted by BBM at 16:21, 8th October 2025 | |
A petition has been opened by somebody called David Sleight to support additional parking at Twyford:
https://www.change.org/p/support-additional-parking-at-twyford-station
The Issue
Twyford Station is a vital lifeline for thousands of commuters across Wokingham Borough. With fast GWR services to London Paddington and convenient Elizabeth Line connections, it’s the Borough’s gateway for work, education, and leisure.
But there’s a major problem: parking is a nightmare.
· Around 400 spaces—usually full by 7:15 AM.
· No clear plan from the Borough Council or GWR to fix it.
· More yellow lines being proposed for local roads, making things worse.
If you’ve ever struggled to park, missed your train, had to walk miles just to catch your commute, or rely on others to drop you off due to the lack of parking — this affects you.
We’re calling on Wokingham Borough Council to:
1. Work with GWR to assess current and future parking demand.
2. Explore proper solutions to expand parking near the station.
3. Act now, not in the “medium term.”
4. Improve connections with buses and cycling options.
Please support this campaign and sign the petition.
Twyford Station is a vital lifeline for thousands of commuters across Wokingham Borough. With fast GWR services to London Paddington and convenient Elizabeth Line connections, it’s the Borough’s gateway for work, education, and leisure.
But there’s a major problem: parking is a nightmare.
· Around 400 spaces—usually full by 7:15 AM.
· No clear plan from the Borough Council or GWR to fix it.
· More yellow lines being proposed for local roads, making things worse.
If you’ve ever struggled to park, missed your train, had to walk miles just to catch your commute, or rely on others to drop you off due to the lack of parking — this affects you.
We’re calling on Wokingham Borough Council to:
1. Work with GWR to assess current and future parking demand.
2. Explore proper solutions to expand parking near the station.
3. Act now, not in the “medium term.”
4. Improve connections with buses and cycling options.
Please support this campaign and sign the petition.
| Re: 2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury In "TransWilts line" [366664/29726/18] Posted by grahame at 15:15, 8th October 2025 Already liked by Mark A | |
FWIW I've submitted another complaint to GWR via their online form.
Not that their web software is antiquated or anything but you can't even put brackets or semicolons in the complaint text - "We are unable to submit your form with some of the special characters you’ve used entered" EDIT: and I've just noticed how that (copy/pasted) sentence ends!
Could be a precaution against this sort of thing:
https://xkcd.com/327/
Mark
I love little Johnny ...
We had a member sign up to the forum with the user name NULL at one time, and I'm certainly aware of special characters and injection attack issues (which I will not describe here!). Some sympathy with GWR though simple enough coding wise to filter and change - "cook" - special characters.
| Re: 2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury In "TransWilts line" [366663/29726/18] Posted by matth1j at 15:11, 8th October 2025 Already liked by Mark A | |
EDIT: and I've just noticed how that (copy/pasted) sentence ends!
Could be a precaution against this sort of thing:https://xkcd.com/327/
| Re: 2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury In "TransWilts line" [366662/29726/18] Posted by Mark A at 15:04, 8th October 2025 | |
FWIW I've submitted another complaint to GWR via their online form.
Not that their web software is antiquated or anything but you can't even put brackets or semicolons in the complaint text - "We are unable to submit your form with some of the special characters you’ve used entered" EDIT: and I've just noticed how that (copy/pasted) sentence ends!
Could be a precaution against this sort of thing:
https://xkcd.com/327/
Mark
| Re: Free things to see and do - day trip to London In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [366661/30879/31] Posted by JayMac at 14:54, 8th October 2025 Already liked by Chris from Nailsea | |
Science Museum
| Re: 2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury In "TransWilts line" [366660/29726/18] Posted by grahame at 14:40, 8th October 2025 | |
Our aim is to get to the bottom of why delays occur and work out how to prevent them. Our focus is also on the things we can directly control, like:
· our timetable,
· how many trains we have and how reliable they are,
· and our train crew and their availability
· our timetable,
· how many trains we have and how reliable they are,
· and our train crew and their availability
For sure, a form letter - and so quickly-out that it had to be.
If the three big issues on the service through Melksham were sorted ...
* Crew availability
* Train availability
* Timetabling for robustness
were worked out and then the steps taken to implement the solutions, much much happier days. It is excellent to see GWR's confirmation that "these are things we can directly control"
| Re: 2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury In "TransWilts line" [366659/29726/18] Posted by matth1j at 14:15, 8th October 2025 Already liked by Mark A | |
FWIW I've submitted another complaint to GWR via their online form.
Today's (prompt!) reply below. Note that it misses the fact that the service was also cancelled today, which is what prompted my complaint; I thought they'd have gathered that from the journey details I had to provide. I've emailed a follow up pointing that out. I'm looking forward to when they start using IETs for the TransWilts services Dear John
Thank you for getting in touch with us.
I’m sorry to hear you were caught up in the disruption on your journey on Monday – and that this isn’t the first time it’s happened. We work hard to run our trains to schedule, but we know we do have problems with delays and cancellations sometimes and it’s disappointing you feel we’ve let you down. I appreciate it must be especially frustrating due to the low volume of services that operate on this route.
Our aim is to get to the bottom of why delays occur and work out how to prevent them. Our focus is also on the things we can directly control, like:
· our timetable,
· how many trains we have and how reliable they are,
· and our train crew and their availability
Good performance also comes from working proactively and collaboratively with our industry partners, and we are we are working with Network Rail (who are responsible for the railway signals, the track, and traffic management) and their Performance Improvement Team to make sure that we continue to drive down delays. We are engaging in an Every Second Counts campaign to focus all our teams on the importance of an on-time railway as we know that is really important to our customers.
Our fleet of Intercity Express Trains deliver improved performance and increased reliability. Coupled with the extensive track improvement and electrification programme undertaken by Network Rail we are confident we can provide a service that is not subject to regular delay, and again, I’m sorry that hasn’t been your recent experience.
Thank you again for getting in touch, and I’m sorry you’ve been disappointed. I hope I’ve reassured you that performance and reliability are really important to us, and that we’re committed to delivering a better service.
Thank you for getting in touch with us.
I’m sorry to hear you were caught up in the disruption on your journey on Monday – and that this isn’t the first time it’s happened. We work hard to run our trains to schedule, but we know we do have problems with delays and cancellations sometimes and it’s disappointing you feel we’ve let you down. I appreciate it must be especially frustrating due to the low volume of services that operate on this route.
Our aim is to get to the bottom of why delays occur and work out how to prevent them. Our focus is also on the things we can directly control, like:
· our timetable,
· how many trains we have and how reliable they are,
· and our train crew and their availability
Good performance also comes from working proactively and collaboratively with our industry partners, and we are we are working with Network Rail (who are responsible for the railway signals, the track, and traffic management) and their Performance Improvement Team to make sure that we continue to drive down delays. We are engaging in an Every Second Counts campaign to focus all our teams on the importance of an on-time railway as we know that is really important to our customers.
Our fleet of Intercity Express Trains deliver improved performance and increased reliability. Coupled with the extensive track improvement and electrification programme undertaken by Network Rail we are confident we can provide a service that is not subject to regular delay, and again, I’m sorry that hasn’t been your recent experience.
Thank you again for getting in touch, and I’m sorry you’ve been disappointed. I hope I’ve reassured you that performance and reliability are really important to us, and that we’re committed to delivering a better service.
| Re: Bus destroyed by fire, A30 Cornwall, 7th October 2025. In "Buses and other ways to travel" [366657/7528/5] Posted by LiskeardRich at 12:19, 8th October 2025 Already liked by Mark A | |
Euro 6 bus again. The exhaust systems run ridiculously hot to burn off and reduce emissions. They also have tiny engines compared to buses in the past which works extremely hard.
To my knowledge there has been no electric bus fires caused by mechanical. The only one I know of was arson by a passenger upstairs!
| Re: 2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury In "TransWilts line" [366656/29726/18] Posted by grahame at 12:07, 8th October 2025 | |
17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06
17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be terminated at Swindon.
It will no longer call at Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge, Westbury, Dilton Marsh, Warminster and Salisbury.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be terminated at Swindon.
It will no longer call at Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge, Westbury, Dilton Marsh, Warminster and Salisbury.
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.
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.
Is that a shortage of crew in general, or a shortage of crew who know the line? Couldn't the 17:50 from Gloucester run to Westbury at least - arriving 19:26, then form the 20:06 back to Cheltenham Spa? That leaves time for the personal needs breaks of the train crew at Westbury.
Rumour has it that Gloucester staff are no longer able to work south of Swindon. Crew changes at Swindon may work on perfect days when no-one is sick and enough people want overtime, but it feels dangerous to rely on days being perfect. I did ask about timetabling and staffing, and their interaction, at last Friday's GWR briefing. We were reminded of the confidential nature of what GWR told us at that meeting, but then as they told us nothing that seemed to address the question, I think I can share that fact.
