Well - hopefully both the PAC and vast number of UK-knockers might take some comfort from this take from DW (Germany's answer to BBC) -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlDChSmyf-0

Seems like it's a universal problem!

Pakistan's army says it has freed more than 300 hostages from a passenger train seized by militants in Balochistan province on Tuesday.

The military spokesperson said 33 militants were killed during the operation.

Twenty-one civilian hostages and four military personnel were killed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) before the operation began, the military spokesperson said. These numbers have not been verified by the BBC.

The military continues its search operation in the area to rule out any remaining threats.



There were approximately 440 passengers on board the train when it was attacked, according to the army's spokesperson.

Security officials have been quoted as saying some of the militants may have left the train, taking an unknown number of passengers with them into the surrounding mountainous area.  The military is working to find the passengers who escaped and fled into the surrounding area during the attack, the spokesperson said. It is not clear how many passengers are unaccounted for.

The Pakistani authorities - as well as several Western countries, including the UK and US - have designated the BLA as a terrorist organisation.

The BLA is one of the rebel groups demanding either greater autonomy or independence for Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province.  They accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province's rich mineral resources while also neglecting it. In the past, they have attacked military camps, railway stations and trains - but this is the first time they have hijacked a train.

At least 100 of those on the train were members of the security forces, officials have said.

The militants had threatened to kill hostages if authorities did not release Baloch political prisoners within 48 hours, according to local reports.  During the attack, the militants blew up a section of the tracks and opened fire on the train near a mountain tunnel.

Eyewitnesses described the "doomsday scenes" on board the train as the attack unfolded, with passenger Ishaq Noor telling the BBC: "We held our breath throughout the firing, not knowing what would happen next."

Officials had difficulty communicating with passengers at the time of the attack, because the remote area has no internet or mobile coverage.

Some passengers who managed to disembark from the train late on Tuesday evening walked for nearly four hours to reach the next railway station.  Among them was Muhammad Ashraf, who had been travelling from Quetta to Lahore to visit his family.  "We reached the station with great difficulty, because we were tired and there were children and women with us," he told the BBC.

Helicopters and hundreds of troops were deployed to rescue the hostages. More than 100 passengers had been freed by Wednesday morning.

The hijacking lasted more than 30 hours. Information relating to the attack and subsequent rescue operation has been tightly controlled throughout.  A spokesperson for the military said anyone involved in the attack would be brought to justice.

Having lots of locos standing idle at depots is obviously an expensive and bad thing But one or two Thunderbird locos strategically located would be very useful.

I suppose with most passenger trains now being powered by more than a single power unit, the general thought is that even the failure of a couple of its engines would not mean a train cannot limp on

For failures in Cornwall, is there a way to seek assistant locos from the remaining loco pool for the clay traffic?

Seven years ago!


and a picture from the publicity video at the time. Came up "on this day"



[snip]

Some airlines are offering combined air-rail tickets which that allow passengers to explore Europe on one booking.

An increasing number of airlines are now letting travellers add a train ticket to their booking, to save them the hassle of trying to work out travel plans. Air-rail tickets allow travellers to arrive at an airport and head straight to a train for their connection. In addition, when booked all together, airlines protect the passenger in case a flight delay means they miss their train.

I would argue that there is a much greater need for longer trains on lines like the Kyle line. My reasoning is that on what are essentially 'tourist lines' the demand to have a window seat will be much greater than on a commuter line. It can be frustrating to travel up to somewhere scenic, and find you can't get near a window to get the best view possible.

Many services run long trains to stations with platforms that are not long enough for all doors to open, so I don't see why longer platforms per se are necessary before longer trains are introduced.

Tube union threatens strike unless e-bikes are banned from London Underground after platform blaze

The fire at Rayners Lane station sent toxic fumes billowing across the station and caused temporary disruption to the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines

Small rise in crime at Melksham Station

New data has revealed the number of crimes reported at train stations across the UK, showing a small increase in the already low figures reported at Melksham Station.

Melksham Station, which has services to Westbury and Swindon, has seen a slight rise in its already low crime figures. There were four crime reports to the British Transport Police (BTP) between 2024-2025 compared to one crime reported in the 2023-2024 period. This means the rate of all crime incidents per 100,000 passengers has increased from 3.3 to 13.18, although authorities say it is important to view this rise in a wider context.

The BTP emphasised that “every offence is one too many” in relation to the new statistics.

A BTP spokesperson said, “The chance of becoming a victim of crime on the railway remains extremely low, and reports of high harm crime such as robbery and violence remain low at 2.2 incidents per million passenger journeys. It is important to not sensationalise these statistics and view them within their context. For example, at Westbury station, which has around 270,000 passengers per year, there were 23 reported incidents last year.”

Crimes reported at Melksham Station, where the BTP say there are 30,000 passengers a year, in the 2024-2025 period included one bicycle theft and three criminal damage and arson incidents.

Commuters say their last shreds of ‘joy’ were taken away after London Underground station book exchanges suddenly closed.

Tube stations across London were dotted with community bookswaps, where people can drop off and pick up something to read for free.

However, the Tube station bookswaps now face the end of the road after London Fire Brigade told them to close due to safety concerns the ‘combustible material’ poses.

Book lover Ryan Seller, from Clapham, was left confused when he found the shelves stripped empty with a note saying all book exchanges have been ‘forced to close’ with ‘immediate effect.’

The rescue was carried out by a 4 coach Castle set! Wonder what they will use once the Castle class is retired?

16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:05
17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19

17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Watching on OTT the rescue loco was 1Z99 which took the sleeper back to Plymouth, then on to Laira.
I'm wondering what the rescue loco would have been? In the past they have used 2 back-to-back HST power cars.

Last night's down sleeper has failed at Menheniot and is awaiting rescue.

BPW lost Newport Hereford Malvern Wells in May 2022, all ECS moves from Stoke Gifford going via Charfield.

No idea whether it is DaFT or GWR behind it, or possibly both?

Other losses of route knowledge including BTM HSS saying goodbye to Lydney and Kemble. It has been predicted, the tunnel will shut after a London service has left Newport and when the BTM driver is asked to go the scenic way it will be a "Sorry but no. I could have last week but railway politics trumps common sense".

Gosh...............any steam locos down there - the famous Strategic Steam Reserve !

So.....aren't the early trains that start at HFD driven by drivers from BPW? If not, how do they get from Hitachi to their starting point? At least one starts at Hitachi....

And 'who' is doing the forcing? GWR? DfT?