Dreadful grammar, does no one take O level (GCSE nowadays) in English anymore

Lines are blocked because more trains need repair, surely that should be nothing to do with a blockage, but depot can't cope with repairing trains allocated to it, so can't find any rolling stock.  Or does it mean a train has broken down blocking the line (and why all lines, not line, is there more than one)

Truro and Falmouth docks, again no explanation of why happens to between those stations, rather than other lines.   Also can be read as 1 of 2 trains isn't operating, so does that mean half fleet for that line is unrepaired.

Fewer trains are able to run on some lines, what does that mean, which lines, why are they unable rather than could if we had enough.

Homework mark about D+ for confused reasoning and inaccurate facts

 

The ticket sales data is interesting - it tells a story of where people have travelled and not what the potential for travel is were it to be easier.    We have a Complete matrix for Reading in the Coffee Shop - showing 2400 different sources/destinations for tickets sold. 

It is instructive to look at the history and see changing patterns with the arrival of the Elizabeth line - ticket sales to place like Stratford.    And, yes, re-analysing (I don't have the spare time either) the data in zones is interesting; I have in the past done that to look at Swindon / Chippenham to the Solent area ...

 
Elizabeth Line has fallen over due to a points failure - so that options now gone for those travelling from Twyford/Maidenhead/Slough etc this morning if they wish to get to London.

No service between Heathrow Terminals 2&3 and Heathrow Terminal 4 due to flooding caused by heavy rain and SEVERE DELAYS on the rest of the line due to a points failure at Southall. Tickets are being accepted on London Underground via any reasonable route.

 
I wish I had the spare time - and know how - to do such an analysis as I think it would be very revealing.

I understand the distaste for having to ‘make a connection’ when going by train (or any public transports for that matter) especially when the connection is not guaranteed - long gone are those days. And this maybe doubly so for the business traveller trying to maximise the company value from the time and expense, and minimise the impact of travelling on their personal lives.

But I think this raises the issue of what market is CC trying to serve. Is it a business market or is leisure market service ? If the former, then it’s more likely that the destination station (or the city business district it serves) is the actual final destination. But if its leisure it maybe more likely that the final destination is further afield than a city business district, and most likely necessitating a change of transport (mode) anyway ?

And, if the latter is valid, then surely an efficient inter-regional service running between regional ‘hubs’ would work well?

My own personal experience - admittedly limited to the south of Birmingham portion of the network - and based on the copious amounts of luggage seen being manhandled into every nock and cranny - I would argue CC is a leisure market service. Yes - I am sure there are folks reliant on the CC service to get to work every day - but this has to be a smaller number of people than those trying to get to or back from non-work related activities ? Otherwise why run a Reading to Manchester service - for example - that can’t be a commuter/business  service surely ?

 

Diesel's suffer in very hot weather, in BR days it was not uncommon for many of what are now heritage would fail in service, BR often took rad louvers off of some classes of locos.

Also I sure the GWSR were considering the volunteers who would have to work in the extreme heat.

 

Just the two branches nixed today.............

Cancellations to services between Liskeard and Looe
Due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time between Liskeard and Looe all lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Cancellations to services between Truro and Falmouth Docks
Due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time between Truro and Falmouth Docks fewer trains are able to run on some lines.
Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

 
Crumbs, just found that that storm knocked out Bristol airport.

Mark

[Edit] Back in operation this morning. The airport's web site: it lacks a 'Service status' page, difficult to tell that passengers scheduled to arrive yesterday evening may still be travelling from diversion airports or will not have yet left their origin points.

 

Brockenhurst signalling is from October 1978, when a small panel was installed in the newer signal box by the level crossing, and Brockenhurst B and Lymington Junction all closed.   The area had retained semaphores for 11-12 years after electrification.

Lymington Junction box was demolished within hours as it was in path of part of new dedicated branch track from station.

So yes, likely some cables are 48 years old

 
If I had a spare day or two (spoiler: I don't) I'd be very tempted to take the Origin/Destination Matrix data and map it onto CrossCountry route patterns.

In other words, of the journeys starting in (say) Reading, how many are heading for a destination that is best served by a CrossCountry service across Birmingham? I genuinely don't know the answer - I'm intrigued to see that there are more Reading–Banbury passengers than Reading–Manchester Piccadilly, for example, but then when you add Stockport…

I suspect you could get some interesting answers simply by matching up origins/destinations within certain polygons (e.g. the North-West to the South-West).

 
Puzzled by today's weather as the possibility of that downpour seems to have been missed by the forecasts. The satellite imagery of it shows that once it reached Bristol(ish) the cloud top expanded into a roughly circular patch covering a lot of south east England. It's the sort of event of which organisations much prefer to have advanced warning, perhaps the paid-for forecasts provided to and paid for by the likes of the railway included it.

Mark

 
Done that for you. 

 
High temperatures play havoc with mechanical signalling, such as the point rods expanding, making points and FPLs fail, also signal pull wires, there is adjusters on the long pull signals, but only so much. rails expand over points and causes track circuit failures. And of course staff in various offices, they may have a coal fire...

 

Both these ran in the end albeit with a delay of 25 minutes on the 18:37.

They, like most of the TransWilts services today, were operated by 158748 which was running with the windows open after the air cooling/conditioning failed.   I suspect it was not alone.

 
Thank you! 

 

So the steam engines haven't been fired?

 
Just rename to 'from 11/07/xx' perhaps, as there may be more to come!

 

I can certainly do both - but to what, and to where? 

 

Surely they could run diesel services, if steam is considered too much of a fire risk .

 
Can a mod re name or move this please.

Due to a signalling problem between Ashurst New Forest and Brockenhurst trains have to run at reduced speed on the line towards Bournemouth.
What's Going On:
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
What We're Doing About It:
Engineers are currently investigating remotely and will attend if required.

Brockenhurst signalling problems have been on and for a week now, also a common occurrence over the past year or two. Any one know if it is just age of cables etc?

 
They're all going to sweat it out. 

Sorry, I'm running out of appalling puns now.

 

West Somerset Railway the same. All services cancelled 23rd-25th inclusive.

https://www.wsfp.co.uk/news/record-forecasted-temperatures-see-west-somerset-railway-halt-trains-for-three-days-919570

 

 

National Express coaches have gone down this route. From the Plymouth and Cornwall we used to have through coaches to the north. Now we have services to Birmingham with various connections to different locutions in the north.

 
Here in West Dorset the rain does its usual thing, avoiding the area between Lyme, Beaminster and Eggardon Hill.

 


Agree entirely. It is however relatively easy to replace the energy used by air conditioning, with more solar power. Either locally  by means of panels mounted on/near the structure being cooled, or remotely by means of panels connected to the grid elsewhere.There is at least an approximate coincidence between peak solar energy production, and peak air condition demand.

For new buildings air conditioning demand may be reduced by better design.

 
Photo from Bluesky of a close call east of Bath. Waiting to find out if that faint trace of something more in the foreground is the lightning path-not-taken, an artefact, or a hair on the negative.

Mark

https://bsky.app/profile/antinbath.bsky.social/post/3movg3sa74c22

 

The helicopter?