.....Why is there no really long distance travel avoiding London? Is there a market for it?  How can it best be served?  Why is it nor served / used at present? .....

The report did not say why they had picked up the penguin.

Facilities on the 05:16 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 07:24.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 9.
Last Updated:11/04/2025 03:40

Facilities on the 05:53 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 08:38.
Will be formed of 9 coaches instead of 5.
Last Updated:11/04/2025 03:37

but presumably they would have stopped if they had been 'normal' services? They all should stop AFAIK, unless the decision was taken to skip some stops to make up time - hopefully the passengers were suitably warned if that was the case

RTT won't have shown these if looking at Chippenham, as they were off their timetabled route. A search for those passing Wootton Bassett might offer more clues, as for a while the majority of trains running west would have ended up going through Chippenham.

Unsecured penguin caused helicopter crash in South Africa



An "unsecured" penguin in a cardboard box was the cause of a helicopter crash in South Africa, a report into the incident has found.

The penguin, which had been placed in the box and on the lap of a passenger, slid off and knocked the pilot's controls just after take-off from Bird Island off the Eastern Cape on 19 January.

The South African Civil Aviation Authority said the impact sent the helicopter crashing to the ground. No-one on board, including the penguin, was hurt.

The authority said that "the lack of secure containment for the penguin" was responsible for creating the "dangerous situation".

According to the report, released this week, the flight had been conducting an aerial survey of the island in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape province.

After completing the survey, the helicopter landed, where a specialist then requested the transport of one penguin back to Port Elizabeth.

The report did not say why they had picked up the penguin.

The aviation authority said the pilot conducted a "risk assessment" but omitted to include the transport of the penguin on board which "was not in accordance with the Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR) 2011".

When the helicopter was about 15m (50 feet) above ground, the cardboard box slid off the lap of the specialist to the right and caused the cyclic pitch control lever to move to the far-right position causing the aircraft roll, the report determined.

Unable to recover, the main rotor blades then struck the ground and the helicopter ultimately crashed on its starboard side approximately 20m from the point of lift-off.

While the helicopter sustained substantial damage, both the pilot and passengers were uninjured and the penguin was unharmed.

The report said all situations should be subject to "established safety protocols" and compliance with aviation safety procedures.

It also said that a proper evaluation of the situation and potential hazards (such as cargo shifting) should have been conducted.

"The absence of a proper, secured crate meant that the penguin's containment was not suitable for the flight conditions," it said.

Were they definitely empty or just lightly loaded?

... So the trains through CPM may have been ... or just virtually empty because so few passengers managed to make use of them.

Following a points failure near Chipping Sodbury, which has lasted much of the day, our South Wales to London Paddington services are taking the normal route again, between Bristol Parkway and Swindon. However, this incident has caused some considerable disruption, and many trains are running very late, and in some cases remain cancelled.

RealTime Trains in Extended mode will tell you....