I haven't travelled much overseas recently (well not at all...) but is the provision of information better when things go wrong?

My last couple of trips West Wales to South East England all had issues but it was the lack of information that frustrated me most.

And in a bit of comedy timing, whilst all the disruption continues, the regulator ORR has decided to issue a letter to Network Rail Western saying ORR is satisfied with their performance and improvement.

Even includes :
https://www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-06/2026-06-01-nr-wales-and-western-compliance.pdf

So apparently ORR thinks the interventions are good enough, even though failures are continuing.  Words fail me.

It is with a heavy heart we have to announce:

Rothbury Publishing is being Discontinued.

Over the last 12 years we have enjoyed working with you and launching new cards, new products and sending out orders on a daily basis.

Sadly since covid those daily orders became more sporadic and whilst we have a core or regular trade buyers and retail customers, but a combination of postage costs and the challenges in retail shops we have seen orders reduce to a level that makes the associated overheads with Rothbury too high.

A major area of focus has been the Thames Valley and Network Rail has carried out a high volume of asset interventions concentrating on track, overhead line equipment, axle counters and points.

In my view, the moving of TOCs from private contractors to public operators is something of a side issue

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading

Due to a fault with the signalling system between London Paddington and Reading some lines are closed.

Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 10:15 02/06.

There is a fault with the signalling system between Slough and Acton. The signalling system is how trains are kept a safe distance apart and directed onto the various lines along their journey. When there is a fault with the signalling system trains may need to stop at the affected signals so that the Driver can speak to the Signaller to confirm if the track ahead is clear.

The problem affects 2 of the four lines between London Paddington and Reading, so we are having to reduce the train service through the area to avoid congestion.
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Some services between London Paddington and Oxford, and between London Paddington and Cardiff Central, will not run, in either direction.
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Local stopping services between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway/Newbury will only run between Reading and Didcot Parkway/Newbury.
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Most longer distance Intercity services will continue to run between London Paddington and Reading, but may be subject to delay.
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We are working with Network Rail to be able to return to running our normal timetable as soon as possible.

Something in a conversation that Roger Ford was having on X/Twitter earlier caught my eye.

The major saving meant to emerge from the move to GBR is supposed to be the 2% or so in fees being paid to the operators for operating their management contracts.

However, unannounced, but contained within the Railways Bill, is the fact that the rolling stock, being hired by the operators from the ROSCOs - isn't going back to the ROSCOs to be directly hired by GBR - oh no - the stock is being sub-leased by the operators to DfT/GBR.....probably charging them that 2% in admin charges to continue to do this!!

So no real savings either.....unbelievable

And stop introducing NEW capacity pinch points, such as new and often shorter trains. And ignore the arguments about a new 5 car train being so much better than an HST

Need to deal successfully with capacity pinchpoints first.

There are far too many currently which will severely hinder any attempt to encourage travellers

Coach operator FlixBus has announced the return of the 666 bus service to the Polish seaside resort of Hel.

It resurrects the controversial so-called "Highway to Hel" bus journey formerly run by local company PKS Gdynia.

Religious conservative groups fiercely opposed the "satanic" association of 666 with Hel, so in 2023 the number was changed to 669.

The new 13-hour route run by FlixBus will connect Kraków to Hel, passing through other major Polish regional towns and cities including the capital Warsaw.

FlixBus spokesperson Aleksander Kalenik told the Polish news service TVN24: "The number 666 was deliberately chosen as a marketing communication element, intended to increase the visibility of the connection on the popular holiday route to Hel."

Back in June 2023 a PKS Gdynia spokesperson had told media: "The management board buckled under the weight of letters and requests that were sent to us, maybe not in large numbers, but periodically for many years with a request to change the line number."

One Polish religious group had accused the bus company of "spreading satanism".

The Bible identifies 666 as the "number of the beast" and Hel is just one "l" short of the English word "hell".

Poland is a predominantly Roman Catholic nation, where the Church has traditionally been influential.

Hel is located on the tip of the 22-mile (35km) Hel Peninsula, which juts off the northern coast of Poland in the Gulf of Gdańsk.

Tourists have been drawn to Hel's sandy beaches, ancient architecture and seal sanctuary.

"More trains than usual blah blah" Why don't they just admit that they have, for some time now, proposed a timetable to the public for which they have neither sufficient rolling stock nor traincrew?

The "unusual" number of trains needing repair seems to have become quite a regular number of trains needing repair, with nothing "unusual" about it at all

The council said all details about where the new car park could be must remain confidential for the time being because of "potential commercial and land ownership considerations".

17:57 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 20:11 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 23:34 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

I tend to use my own 5G data connection when on board, rather than the "free" low performance WiFi