Recent Public Posts - [guest]
| Re: Open consultation - A railway fit for Britain's future - closes 15th April 2025 In "Looking forward - the next 5, 10 and 20 years" [360607/29916/40] Posted by grahame at 09:19, 17th April 2025 |      |
Various inputs mirrored for members:
https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/firstgroup-response-to-dft-gbr-consultation.pdf
https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/twsw_to_dft_202504.pdf
https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/WWRUG_to_dft_202504.pdf
| Re: Great Western Railway: on-board catering, buffets, Travelling Chef, Pullman - ongoing discussion In "Across the West" [360606/5508/26] Posted by UstiImmigrunt at 08:14, 17th April 2025 | |
Hmm, breakfast at a steady 90 km/h this morning.
| Re: 2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury In "TransWilts line" [360605/29726/18] Posted by grahame at 07:59, 17th April 2025 | |
06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47
Facilities on the 06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47.
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 2.
Facilities on the 06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47.
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 2.
Happy with that ... and if it weren't school holidays that would be very welcome indeed beyond Swindon
| Re: [otd] 17th April 2010 - foundation meeting of TransWilts CRP In "TransWilts line" [360604/27401/18] Posted by grahame at 07:46, 17th April 2025 Already liked by Witham Bobby | |
An updated / new thread on this which takes positive look after 15 years - just started at https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=30156.msg360603 and I will make sure that thread's the one that comes up on future 17ths of Aprils.
| Fifteen years of the Transwilts CRP In "TransWilts line" [360603/30156/18] Posted by grahame at 07:43, 17th April 2025 Already liked by Western Pathfinder, Mark A, Witham Bobby, RichardB, Chris from Nailsea | |
Fifteen years today since the formation committee meeting of the TransWilts CRP (17th April 2010), signalling our community group was moving on from being foremost a campaign group to foremost more positively a partnership.
I was on the train on Tuesday at 09:10 from Melksham to Trowbridge and it carried 36 other passengers, 7 of whom had joined at Melksham. A further six left the train, so that was 42 customers on the section unique to the TransWilts line, 13 of whom used the service to get to or from Melksham. [42/13] in the way we log it. On the train met the station manager from Westbury and his deputy - good "hello" and chat but see them and well enough in touch not to enforce a campaigner's meeting on them. Met volunteers on the station garden at Bradford-on-Avon and again chats and a bit (but not much) more - WWRUG newsletter discussed and the station looks lovely.
I returned from Oldfield Park at 15:59 (Canal and Two Tunnels walk to get there) via Trowbridge and arrived Melksham at 16:38 - 35 passengers onto the train into Melksham, 8 got off, 6 joined, so 41 users of whom 14 were Melksham users - so that's [41/14]. Local trains and connections all on time.
Yesterday (Wednesday) I did my daily mile (plus) walk which I tuned to take me past the station to see the newly installed IET stop boards which will allow long distance trains to stop at times of diversion rather that it always being buses and taxis. We'll see how that works out - an ongoing story.
We have achieved (or rather we have helped the railway and common sense achieve) a lot over the 15 years and I will follow up writing more as I move from being too-occupied as a Town Councillor back to being an active advocate and assistant for public transport.
I celebrate the rise from 2 trains each way per day to 9 on Monday to Friday, and 7 on Saturday and Sunday, and the 20-fold increase in passengers this has brought. The client base very much needs the train - there is a heavy proportion who cannot drive and so it's still very much a social service as well as being a more environmental way than a private car. But it needs to step up in frequency, and it's not always as reliable as it should be (I am very used to waiting between 1 and 2 hours at Westbury when an official connection misses), and access to the station in Melksham needs to improve. Going well - but work in progress, and I'm looking forward to doing so much more of that work in coming months and years. With buses as well as with trains, and as part of the network over the whole area and indeed region.
grahame@Kryten apr%
| Re: St Erth station - facilities, footbridge, improvements, incidents and awards (merged posts) In "Shorter journeys in Plymouth and Cornwall" [360602/3828/25] Posted by CyclingSid at 06:26, 17th April 2025 | |
I believe the Great Western Railway used to run buses. Like a few railway companies they tended to be multi-modal operators, most notably the coastal ones running ferry services.
| Re: Cambridge Guided Busway - ongoing discussion and updates (merged topic) In "Buses and other ways to travel" [360601/3987/5] Posted by CyclingSid at 06:21, 17th April 2025 | |
they are so quick in changing from the road to the guided bus that I'm surprised there hasn't been more crashes there.
I notice that some traffic lights in Reading seem to have been changed to very short phase and cycle times. Doesn't do much for the safety of cyclists. Is this just the normal attitude of Reading BC to cyclists, or does the quote above suggest that there has been a national direction.
| Re: Firstgroup's rail division trading 'ahead of expectations' In "Across the West" [360600/30153/26] Posted by stuving at 00:03, 17th April 2025 | |
The full-year trading update, which was the main topic of those news reports, is short. It's only about the same length as each article, so they mostly just repeat its content.
There was also some mention of First Group's submission to the consultation on the Railways Bill here:
From Business Live, via MSN
In comments to the DfT submitted on Monday, Firstgroup expressed apprehension that GBR could display "adverse monopolistic" behaviour, advocating for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) regulator, responsible for approving new routes, to be "empowered to adjudicate fairly and impartially with fair, transparent and open decision-making."
That submission is 22 pages, and hard to summarise as it answers the questions in order. Much of it does, as suggested, argue the case for open access to be maintained, with the ORR seen as a neutral referee to protect it. They also make a case for the passenger to have official allies:
4.1 First Group support a strengthened role for a passenger watchdog in the form of the Passenger Standards Authority (PSA). However, we are concerned at a macro level that the passenger is under-represented in the proposed industry structure given:
...
6.1 FirstGroup supports the continuation of a common Rail Ombudsman (RO) service across all operators, and we would expect GBR to be subject to the RO service on the same terms as other operators.
...
6.1 FirstGroup supports the continuation of a common Rail Ombudsman (RO) service across all operators, and we would expect GBR to be subject to the RO service on the same terms as other operators.
Yesterday's Times had quite a long article - over half a page - specifically on the case made for open access, and how important that will be for First once its service contracts end.
| Re: Cambridge Guided Busway - ongoing discussion and updates (merged topic) In "Buses and other ways to travel" [360598/3987/5] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 23:19, 16th April 2025 | |
Another update, from the BBC:
Eleven in hospital as buses and fire engine crash
Eleven people have been taken to hospital after a crash between two guided buses and a fire engine.
It happened on the B1050 Station Road at the junction with the Busway in Northstowe, near Cambridge, shortly after 14:00 BST.
Cambridgeshire County Council said the road had been closed in both directions and buses, which use dedicated lanes, had been diverted.
An eyewitness to the aftermath of the collision said it looked "pretty horrendous".
The Busway lanes/tracks have raised concrete sides, which can only be used by modified vehicles, although they have junctions with normal roads.
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said four ambulances, three Hazardous Area Response Team vehicles, two paramedic cars and helicopters from the East Anglian Air Ambulance and MAGPAS were sent.
The council said it was working with the emergency services and the bus operator. The authority added that a diversion route was in place via Longstanton roundabout to the A1307 at Swavesey crossroads.
Ian Missen saw the aftermath of the crash and said it was "pretty horrendous". "There was two buses and a fire engine and it looked like the fire engine had hit one bus which pushed that bus into another bus," he said. "The traffic lights at the Northstowe guided bus – they are so quick in changing from the road to the guided bus that I'm surprised there hasn't been more crashes there. It was on the B1050 between Northstowe and Willingham... closer to Northstowe than Willingham."
At a crown court hearing earlier on Wednesday, the council was fined £6m after three deaths on The Busway, which offers three routes in Cambridge with links to Huntingdon and St Ives. Judge Mark Bishop criticised the authority for its "rigid and blinkered response" to the fatalities, as well as numerous near-misses and accidents. The authority had previously admitted two safety breaches and said it was "truly sorry".
Eleven people have been taken to hospital after a crash between two guided buses and a fire engine.
It happened on the B1050 Station Road at the junction with the Busway in Northstowe, near Cambridge, shortly after 14:00 BST.
Cambridgeshire County Council said the road had been closed in both directions and buses, which use dedicated lanes, had been diverted.
An eyewitness to the aftermath of the collision said it looked "pretty horrendous".
The Busway lanes/tracks have raised concrete sides, which can only be used by modified vehicles, although they have junctions with normal roads.
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said four ambulances, three Hazardous Area Response Team vehicles, two paramedic cars and helicopters from the East Anglian Air Ambulance and MAGPAS were sent.
The council said it was working with the emergency services and the bus operator. The authority added that a diversion route was in place via Longstanton roundabout to the A1307 at Swavesey crossroads.
Ian Missen saw the aftermath of the crash and said it was "pretty horrendous". "There was two buses and a fire engine and it looked like the fire engine had hit one bus which pushed that bus into another bus," he said. "The traffic lights at the Northstowe guided bus – they are so quick in changing from the road to the guided bus that I'm surprised there hasn't been more crashes there. It was on the B1050 between Northstowe and Willingham... closer to Northstowe than Willingham."
At a crown court hearing earlier on Wednesday, the council was fined £6m after three deaths on The Busway, which offers three routes in Cambridge with links to Huntingdon and St Ives. Judge Mark Bishop criticised the authority for its "rigid and blinkered response" to the fatalities, as well as numerous near-misses and accidents. The authority had previously admitted two safety breaches and said it was "truly sorry".
| Re: St Erth station - facilities, footbridge, improvements, incidents and awards (merged posts) In "Shorter journeys in Plymouth and Cornwall" [360597/3828/25] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 22:09, 16th April 2025 Already liked by PrestburyRoad, GBM | |
Here you go:
| Re: St Erth station - facilities, footbridge, improvements, incidents and awards (merged posts) In "Shorter journeys in Plymouth and Cornwall" [360596/3828/25] Posted by LiskeardRich at 22:06, 16th April 2025 | |
Is the bus wheelchair friendly?
Yes, it’s an Optare solo, that First have had painted into GWR colours for the last 2 years for the contract.
Google search “First bus 53865” to see the bus that’s identifying as a train.
| Re: Too young to travel on that ticket? In "Fare's Fair" [360595/30155/4] Posted by LiskeardRich at 22:04, 16th April 2025 | |
Stagecoach southwest have amended their family tickets to become a group ticket. It covers up to 5 people of any age. The requirement for some to be children has been removed.
| Re: Spreading wings for a few days In "Introductions and chat" [360593/30134/1] Posted by grahame at 21:36, 16th April 2025 Already liked by Witham Bobby | |
I have been asked about the name "Kryten" ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kryten and https://reddwarf.fandom.com/wiki/Kryten
Kryten 2X4B 523P, B.S. (Bachelor of Sanitation) is a Series 4000 mechanoid or 'slave 'noid'. He is very humanoid, with the exception of the flat cubic planes visible on his face and head. His brain is synthetic yet also partly organic, based on that of John Warburton.
Once the personal servant of three female crew members of Nova 5, he is now reduced to serving the slobbish Dave Lister, the only surviving human crew member on Red Dwarf. He was also on SS Augustus before Nova 5, but the crew died of old age. After his rescue from Nova 5, Kryten becomes a vital crew member of Red Dwarf, serving as science officer.
A neurotic mechanoid obsessed with cleaning and being a slave to humans, Kryten, with the help of Dave Lister, learns to break many of his programming protocols to become more independent and human-like.
Once the personal servant of three female crew members of Nova 5, he is now reduced to serving the slobbish Dave Lister, the only surviving human crew member on Red Dwarf. He was also on SS Augustus before Nova 5, but the crew died of old age. After his rescue from Nova 5, Kryten becomes a vital crew member of Red Dwarf, serving as science officer.
A neurotic mechanoid obsessed with cleaning and being a slave to humans, Kryten, with the help of Dave Lister, learns to break many of his programming protocols to become more independent and human-like.
| Re: Too young to travel on that ticket? In "Fare's Fair" [360591/30155/4] Posted by grahame at 21:26, 16th April 2025 Already liked by PhilWakely, Worcester_Passenger | |
What the story doesn’t say is how much an adult ticket is. Most family tickets are more expensive, even if only slightly, than an adult travelling on their own.
If you're travelling as a single parent with a four year old (something I did many years ago), if you have a family and friends railcard it is cheaper to use that and have the "baby" travel on a child ticket.
I have just checked this - Melksham to Llanwrda - single for 1 adult, £43.90. ... single for 1 adult + 1 child on a railcard - £37.50. .... HOWEVER - the GWR booking engine does not help me find this. It asks me how many children aged 5-15 and I have to know that a child under 5 can travel on one of these tickets. There's no box on there for me to specify number of babies to help me get the best fare. I'm sure a manned ticket office would have helped me get the best fare!
| Re: Too young to travel on that ticket? In "Fare's Fair" [360588/30155/4] Posted by bobm at 20:21, 16th April 2025 Already liked by grahame | |
Only last week I travelled on a groupsave with one of the adults actually being a seven year old child.
What the story doesn’t say is how much an adult ticket is. Most family tickets are more expensive, even if only slightly, than an adult travelling on their own.
| Re: Cambridge Guided Busway - ongoing discussion and updates (merged topic) In "Buses and other ways to travel" [360586/3987/5] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 20:04, 16th April 2025 | |
An update, from the BBC:
Council fined millions after three busway deaths
Kathleen Pitts (left), Steve Moir (centre) and Jennifer Taylor (right) all died in collisions with buses
A council has been fined £6m after three deaths on the world's longest guided busway.
Jennifer Taylor, Steve Moir and Kathleen Pitts died after collisions on the Cambridgeshire busway between 2015 and 2021.
Sentencing Cambridgeshire County Council at Cambridge Crown Court, Judge Mark Bishop criticised the authority for its "rigid and blinkered response" to the fatalities, as well as numerous near-misses and accidents.
The authority previously admitted two safety breaches and said it was "truly sorry". It was ordered to pay the fine over three years.
Cambridgeshire County Council runs the transport link that serves Cambridge, St Ives and Huntingdon. It opened in 2011 and much of the 16-mile (26km) route involves a modified bus being guided along a track.
Ms Taylor, 81, was hit by a bus when she crossed the track on foot at Fen Drayton in November 2015.
Mr Moir, 50, fell into the path of a bus after clipping a kerb with his bicycle that separated him from the busway in Cambridge, in September 2018.
Pedestrian Kathleen Pitts, 52, was struck by a bus on the same stretch in October 2021.
A fourth person, Leon Leeson, was left with memory loss, a broken collarbone, a tear in his liver and the loss of hearing in one ear, following an incident.
The county council previously admitted two charges under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, relating to the public trying to cross the busway at designated crossings and being struck while moving alongside the busway.
(Article continues)
Kathleen Pitts (left), Steve Moir (centre) and Jennifer Taylor (right) all died in collisions with buses
A council has been fined £6m after three deaths on the world's longest guided busway.
Jennifer Taylor, Steve Moir and Kathleen Pitts died after collisions on the Cambridgeshire busway between 2015 and 2021.
Sentencing Cambridgeshire County Council at Cambridge Crown Court, Judge Mark Bishop criticised the authority for its "rigid and blinkered response" to the fatalities, as well as numerous near-misses and accidents.
The authority previously admitted two safety breaches and said it was "truly sorry". It was ordered to pay the fine over three years.
Cambridgeshire County Council runs the transport link that serves Cambridge, St Ives and Huntingdon. It opened in 2011 and much of the 16-mile (26km) route involves a modified bus being guided along a track.
Ms Taylor, 81, was hit by a bus when she crossed the track on foot at Fen Drayton in November 2015.
Mr Moir, 50, fell into the path of a bus after clipping a kerb with his bicycle that separated him from the busway in Cambridge, in September 2018.
Pedestrian Kathleen Pitts, 52, was struck by a bus on the same stretch in October 2021.
A fourth person, Leon Leeson, was left with memory loss, a broken collarbone, a tear in his liver and the loss of hearing in one ear, following an incident.
The county council previously admitted two charges under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, relating to the public trying to cross the busway at designated crossings and being struck while moving alongside the busway.
(Article continues)
| Re: St Erth station - facilities, footbridge, improvements, incidents and awards (merged posts) In "Shorter journeys in Plymouth and Cornwall" [360585/3828/25] Posted by RailCornwall at 20:03, 16th April 2025 | |
Really is time for some stirring on this, major embarassment for someone, surely some resolution could bave been sorted by now. Last I heard it was power supply issues but .....
| Too young to travel on that ticket? In "Fare's Fair" [360583/30155/4] Posted by grahame at 17:38, 16th April 2025 | |
From The BBC
A tram inspector told a mum using a family ticket that she could be fined because her baby and toddler were "too young" to be classed as children.
Cassie took the Metrolink into Manchester city centre from Droylsden in Tameside earlier this month for a church service with her husband and their two children.
Using a £7.10 off-peak family day travel card, Cassie was told by a ticket inspector that because under-fives travel for free, they did not count as "children" under ticketing terms and conditions.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has since apologised and said it would "make sure that all staff are aware that there is no minimum age for children travelling on a family ticket".
Cassie took the Metrolink into Manchester city centre from Droylsden in Tameside earlier this month for a church service with her husband and their two children.
Using a £7.10 off-peak family day travel card, Cassie was told by a ticket inspector that because under-fives travel for free, they did not count as "children" under ticketing terms and conditions.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has since apologised and said it would "make sure that all staff are aware that there is no minimum age for children travelling on a family ticket".
an interesting twist on ticket ages
Did your realise that an "adult" ticket is acceptable at any age? For 2 adults and a child travelling together, the cheapest way (GWR and some others, but not XC) can be a Groupsave if during Groupsave hours.
| New Sunday and Bank Holiday buses Axminster station - Seaton - Beer In "South Western services" [360582/30154/42] Posted by RichardB at 13:15, 16th April 2025 Already liked by rogerw, Chris from Nailsea | |
There will be buses linking Axminster, Seaton and Beer on Sundays and Bank Holidays starting 20 April thanks to funding from South Western Railway.
Route 379 operated by Stagecoach South West will run three round trips between Axminster Trinity Square, Axminster Station, Colyton, Seaton and Beer on Sundays and Bank Holidays until 26 October.
Buses will connect with trains at Axminster station. There will be a special fare of £1 Single for those holding valid rail tickets. Otherwise, normal fares apply with a maximum single fare of £3 thanks to the Government fare cap.
More information here https://dcrp.org.uk/new-sunday-and-bank-holiday-buses-between-axminster-station-seaton-and-beer-start-on-20-april/
| Re: St Erth station - facilities, footbridge, improvements, incidents and awards (merged posts) In "Shorter journeys in Plymouth and Cornwall" [360581/3828/25] Posted by GBM at 11:32, 16th April 2025 | |
| Re: 2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury In "TransWilts line" [360580/29726/18] Posted by grahame at 10:47, 16th April 2025 Already liked by matth1j, TonyK, Timmer, Oxonhutch, rogerw, Chris from Nailsea | |
Yes - for passenger purposes. When planned works or an emergency stoppage take place between Westbury and Reading, trains to / from the South West get diverted either via Bristol Temple Meads or via Melksham. The very long distance expresses often go via Bristol, but the semi-fasts always go via Melksham so that a service can be maintained from Castle Cary and Westbury into Reading and London, and they'll be able to call at Trowbridge, Melksham and Chippenham and reduce the need for some of the rail replacement buses and taxis.
| Re: 2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury In "TransWilts line" [360579/29726/18] Posted by matth1j at 10:31, 16th April 2025 | |
Presumably IETs can now stop there which will come in handy when they’re diverted for whatever reason.
Probably a daft question... I can only imagine that they'd want to stop at a specific point relative to the platform (on a single track line) to allow passengers on/off. But under what circumstances would they do that?
| Re: North Cotswold line delays and cancellations - 2025 In "London to the Cotswolds" [360578/29711/14] Posted by IndustryInsider at 10:25, 16th April 2025 | |
I'm told that they won't even be learning Stoke Gifford to Worcester, so the Worcester/Oxford drivers will sign that (with a taxi trip from/to their depot), or a hand-over maybe at Cheltenham, for example?....
If you do it that way, then there's one night-time duty for Worcester, taking the 5G36 from Shrub Hill (21:58) to Stoke Gifford (23:40) and coming back with 3G18 04:42 from Stoke Gifford to Shrub Hill (06:31) That might well be how they do it, Worcester_Passenger. Although don't forget Gloucester drivers also sign the route from Worcester to Bristol.
