We've now been upgraded to Met Office red warnings for Wednesday(40)/Thursday(39) in Melksham.

 

Thanks for the image, it's useful.

Mark

 
An easy win would be to close Monkton Hill to other vehicles, then, sign and reconfigure it, giving it segregated routes for people on cycles and on foot. Meeting people who didn't know the town the other month, it's not even signed as a route from the station (possibly because the current mix of traffic it carries is rather unhealthy).

Also, in combination with the above, at the right time of day, the riverside path makes a somewhat good walking route to the town centre. (Neither totally ok for people using wheelchairs as the gradients aren't quite in favour, so possibly better on the bus (of which there are more).) https://maps.app.goo.gl/BwmjbtXVJRPFPUdY6

Mark

 

Coming back to qualify that answer ... at the time, the decision was made that was short-to-medium term to make use of the platform extension opportunity where it was, and it didn't take the medium-to-long term view of where on the railway and with the surrounds the best place would be.   "Behind Asda" would be - IMHO - superbly better and much more intergated - but radical.  I conceeded my view; at the time I was a junior member of TransWilts and went along with the collective responsibility.  And it got us the longer platform - not to be sneezed at - rather than taking the significant risk of going for a solution that could still look good in 2040.

Under the Neighbourhood Plan, the station is key for the town but remains where it is.  Still not perfect, but we can make the best of an acceptable job and in time the various issues - or most of them - can and will be addressed.

 
From the BBC:

 

Cycling to and from Chippenham Station hasn't been pleasant the times I've done it - maybe the routes have been improved since, and maybe I haven't discovered major provision made ... but this sort of thing doesn't exactly encourage cycling here

My picture of the town centre:


And the roads down to it (from Google):




No matter how excellent the provision is at a station, people need to feel safe and confident enough to actually get to the station.  Perhaps the station improvements are just a first step in making this a station  and town that's easily cyclable?  Got to start somewhere and facilities will come into their own once the whoe place works for bicycles - as I'm seeing so much in some countries on my travels.

 

Agree that figure though with at least two trains flagged up on journey planner / check stuff as cancelled which then actually ran, the customer view figure might be just under 95%.   This week WILL be more challenging - started with 2 cancellations due to "shortage of train crew" and with weather issues anticipated ...

 

96.6% ran again last week.

I'm sure this week will be much more challenging.

 

Yes, KRS (Key Route Strategy) measures will be in place all week to try and minimise the risk of S&C failures.

 

BS EN 13129-1 "‘Railway applications - Air conditioning for main line rolling stock – Comfort parameters" has got there before you. So has BS EN 50125-1 "Railway applications. Environmental conditions for equipment - Rolling stock and on-board equipment". Both specify assumed exterior conditions which, for the mildest European zone, go up to 40°.

Both have been revised since the versions I have found some information about, and as usual the actual texts are not available. But I imagine that if the top temperature has changed it can only have gone up a bit.

I was struck by this scoping comment of BSI's: "Note 1: BS EN 50125-1 does not apply to cranes, mining vehicles, cable cars. It also does not apply to natural disasters. " Obviously that's what is wrong with all these natural disasters we keep getting - they are not being specified in standards!

 
Looks like all Paddington to Didcot services have been proactively cancelled today.

 
Doesn't add much - but this was the facility on the day of the official opening in February.

 

I too have been very glad of air conditioning, only a portable unit but it helps a lot.

As regards trains, I believe that all new trains should be designed for normal operation at an outside air temperature of 40 degrees, and should cope with 45 degrees (at a reduced performance, and with a slight increase in internal temperatures)

This is considerably in excess of Met office records, but a plausible temperature that could be reached in direct sun, in a chalk cutting, and with another train alongside producing heat.

 


And unhelpfully for those planning a journey

https://railuk.com/travel/gwr-to-run-amended-service-during-extreme-heat-on-monday-and-tuesday/

Strangely although very hot weather is expected Mon-Thur, only expecting disruption Mon-Tue, which suggests if they can manage We'd-Thur why didn't they start their planning 2 days earlier, as this hot weather has been forecast for over a week.

 

Looks like we're going to find out quite soon!

 
Pier now re connected to the main land, BBC report.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cvgl9yepjxvo

 

No.

 

 

I'm sure the Civil Service with help from Ministers of State can cope for a couple of weeks - although perhaps I am being naive in suggesting that modern politicians understand the concept of acting honourably.

Incidentally the "modern tory way" much criticised by Labour, was having "coronations" of new PMs without seeking legitimacy via a General Election.................that (very recent) position/criticism seems to have been conveniently forgotten this time around! 

 
The Elstow freight facility being on the doorstep perhaps might have been useful but reaching it would have involved laying c19th-style contractors temporary track.

Mark

 

A heavy object travelling at speed hits an almost immovable object, the amount of damage to certainly the 2 vehicles at the point of impact would result is distortion to the vehicle body.  The vehicles are designed to absorb such an impact by crumpling. 
Basically these 2 vehicles probably cannot safely, practically and quickly be moved by rail.

 


There ARE additional trains Westbury to Southampton and Swindon to Worcester.  What is lacking is any service a t all, or any customer advice for passengers travelling between Swindon and Westbury.   It may be "just one round trip", but it's all we have got - or to be accurate NOT got.

 
The Station Buildings at Chippenham are "listed" and came up "On this day" for me - 22nd June - for the listing was added on 22nd June 1978.

"CHIPPENHAM STATION, ENTRANCE BUILDING AND ATTACHED PLATFORM CANOPIES"
BUILDING AND ATTACHED PLATFORM CANOPIES
Heritage Category: Listed Building
Grade: II
List Entry Number: 1268119


also listed:
"K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK ADJACENT TO CHIPPENHAM RAILWAY STATION"
"CHIPPENHAM STATION, FORMER BRITISH RAIL OFFICE IN THE CAR PARK"
"MORTIMORES WEIGHBRIDGE OFFICE, CHIPPENHAM STATION YARD"

 

Thank you, Chris.  I have just boarded the midnight ferry.  Some of the time was spend today on an out-and-back to Oristano in the knowledge the train would have a/c.   Oristano was hot and largely closed because it was Sunday.

 

You may also call the Swansea -> Portsmouth and Brighton service (as it was) Cross County, and Liverpool - Newcastle ... under GBR there is some logic to move things between logical divisions for today rather than for the last 30 years.  Might add the Marches line too.

 

and



That's simply because (with the exception of the Stanstead line, added later) it reflects where the available lines for express routes avoiding London are, namely Bristol or Cardiff to Basingstoke, Basingstoke to Reading, Oxford to Birmingham, Birmingham to Derby and Sheffield to Leeds or York.

If we'd had East/West via an Oxford-Cambridge link we might have had (and might still get) direct links between the South West and East Anglia.

Cross Country is far more than an enhanced Birmingham suburban service. Choosing to go via London is at least a matter of choice (I've been grateful to avoid a TfL cross-London transfer on more than one occasion), and one of the things that has become clear to me, both from being a member of this forum and speaking to friends who do not use the railways as much as I do, is that changing trains is something many don't like doing or acts as a disincentive to using the train. And, having worked much of my career in Reading and Guildford, I've had a number of colleagues delighted to find that they can get to meetings in Manchester or Birmingham without the hassle of travelling across London.

I would mostly use the car for travel to Cambridge, Essex or East Anglia, but part of that was quite a bit of what I did involved clients based out of town centres or attending site visits in rural or suburban locations. But outside East Anglia, their network provides a number of links between the main commercial service centres which avoid London. There's also no shortage of either students or tourists on their trains. It ain't broke, but could do with another shot of investment like it got just after the turn of the century, when in consequence the Reading-Birmingham corridor was reported to have had the greatest increase in traffic of any UK rail route.   

 
Speculation, but maybe the damage is such that a drag of the rail vehicles isn't possible.

 
Most of these two trains are on the rail. Can someone in, or familiar with, the current rail industry explain why these damaged units cannot be recovered by rail.

 

 

Surely its better to have some continuity in government departments during a leadership contest, rather than the modern tory way of mass resignations forcing out a stubborn incumbent. Although that might change if Sir Keir fights on. Which is looking unlikely judging by the 'off the record' statements filltering through media politcal correspondents.

The new leader can then decide on their top team.