The noise of aircraft exercising over the St George's Channel, and SouthWestern Approaches has become commonplace these evenings.

 
These services are now showing as unadvertised station calls between Cardiff and Bristol

Example here, Bristol Temple Meads, Stapleton Road, Filton Abbey Wood, Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport (South Wales) all shown as unadvertised station calls

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:L00542/2026-12-17/detailed

There were test runs in middle of the night to Temple Meads, with 5 car 197 formation, calling at the stations few days ago

a quirk of schedule is seems to be timed at 90mph in England, but 100mph in Wales (although it might simply be it's been copied from a 158 schedule, as no timings for 197s to Bristol exist)

 
Following from ET's comments on 'running on yellows', I think paragraph 81 is the most important:

 
(Dropping off SWTSMBO and heavy luggage at EXD for her trains to Heathrow and subsequent flight to Singapore. I'm travelling later after going to a BSO concert and two Exeter Chiefs rugby matches. We are going to Singapore primarily to attend a family wedding.)

DIG 1314 (1319) > EXD 1324 (1327) : 2T19 EXM > PGN : 1 x 165/1 (3 Cars)
EXD 1351 (1353) > DIG 1400 (1402) : 2F19 PGN > EXM : 1 x 165/1 (3 Cars)

Tickets: DIG > EXD > DIG Senior Railcard Anytime Day Return £2.95

The wife already had her tickets to Heathrow; I had intended to buy a ticket on the GWR App but as soon as I started typing a technical fault message was generated and the process would go no further. Not being sure that I would be able to display a web purchased ticket on the App I opted for paper coupons from the TVM.
2T19 was delayed by 5 minutes having to wait at Topsham for the delayed 2F17 PGN > EXM train. This service arrived at EXD on time but was then itself delayed.
Tickets / Railcards checked: No / No

EXD was extremely busy, and somewhat chaotic, due to a combination of significant numbers of students returning to university and many other pax milling around disrupted by late running trains:
1C77 PAD > EXD 23 late
1C78 PAD > PLY 27 late
1V50 EDB > PLY 22 late

And to cap it off the station PIS screens all showed that the 5-car 1C77 was going to stop at Platform 6A (north end) but actually ran through to 6B prompting a rush of intending pax from one end of P6 to the other.

2F19 arrived at, and departed from, EXD 2 minutes down despite a booked 4 minute stop. It often looks to me that station staff at various locations take a far too relaxed approach to train dispatch but perhaps it is the signallers not paying attention.
Tickets / Railcards checked: No / No

 

Yeah you could probably change between the 8 and the other services closer to town too.
And yep exactly, double deckers can't use the T5 stop that the 8 used to use.


The 8 absolutely should be serving the T1 stop on Temple Gate so if they aren't then that needs to be fed back accordingly. No different to it missing any other stop.


It hasn't moved. It is still at the T6 stop on Station Approach which is the lower of the two stops (T5, the one nearer the station entrance itself, is now unused since the 8 has moved).

 
The boards could probably just be headed 'Departures' and the issue part-vanishes - and departures by destination is smart by comparison with certain other options. The boards at my departure time were displaying the 'next fastest' to Chippenham and the passenger would need on a one-time basis to work out that that might indicate the best option for Bath Spa.

That 'Next fastest' array of destinations is also a functional opposite to the dysfunctional boards at Bath bus station which do something thoroughly peculiar and several of the forthcoming buses to a destination. This is combined with a 'Page 1 of x' approach, said pages padded out by the number of services in the list.

Also at Bath bus station there's the free-standing low energy paper white display badged by WEST that shows imminent departures of about half a dozen services - no carousel display so excellent on that account - but I think that's running on the Exeter principle mentioned in another thread, and it doesn't know about live departure times and won't show a bus that's not departed but is a few minutes late.

 
Shipley.

According to t'interweb the West-East 'Bradford Avoider', AKA North Curve, was a slightly later addition and had no platforms until 1979.

These days it seems avoiding Bradford is quite popular. 

 
One of my more significant criticisms of the 'new' Exeter Bus Station is that all the PIS screens, both summary and detailed individual stand units, only display the predefined static timetable information and do not update dynamically; if a service is delayed beyond it's booked departure time it just disappears from the displays, and even minor disruption will result in services pulling in to a stand other than that to which it is allocated and pax would not be aware of this.

The solution to these issues is for individual drivers to pop onto the concourse and ask (shout) quite loudly if any passengers require a specific destination.

Perhaps Stagecoach and/or Devon County Council need to have a word with the RTT boffins.   

 
My main concern, and the reason I posted it after some time, was not so much the lateness of the buses. Rather, it was the lack of information at Exeter St Davids and the lack of the buses showing on the live tracking app, which simply came up with the next 4 bus time, not the 4A.
The live time screen at the Airport at least gave me the option of walking to catch the 4 at Clyst Honiton. At St Davids there was no information. Surely, at this major passenger hub there should be some live display. Looking around I could not find one.
Even in Bridport we have live tracking screens at the bus station and at the four main high street stops

 
There is some weird irony that it appears from the interim report that the AWS might have been reason for first train stopped, had it not stopped then back of it wouldn't have been hit.

Seems AWS electromagnet was 16mm low, although unclear if it was originally installed wrong, or had moved out of tolerance.

The 810 that had stopped had green signal, but the AWS triggered, the train clearly picked up the permanent magnet as it passed over at 124mph, but seems to have missed the auto cancel (possibly due to the low electromagnet that it didn't detect).

The 360 that crashed, according to the data loggers was accelerated through a red signal, but as to why is not in interim (facts report).  That is one for final report, although reason might never be known.

TPWS wasn't fitted at the Red signal, it rarely is at automatic plain line signals on open line, mainly those protecting junctions or where trains frequently stop such as sections with platforms or known risk areas (the report describes the risk assessment standard) for installing

 


Err - slightly embarrassed here.  Not my alert or quote - I just took and shared a couple of piccies

 

 

GWR made the offer to put them into plain base GBR blue……

Edit: Fixed quotes (Red Squirrel)

 
Alterations to services between Liskeard and Looe

Due to a broken down train between Liskeard and Looe the line is blocked.

Train services running to and from these stations will be suspended. Disruption is expected until 13:00 02/10.

Customer Advice
-
What has happened??
-
The train that runs between Liskeard and Looe has broken down.
-
What are we doing about it?
-
Our maintenance team are waiting for a replacement part to try and resolve the issue and reinstate the service as soon as possible.

 

There is an inherent deficiency / problem with the AWS warnings, baring in mind the principles of AWS is now over 125 years old (GWR ATC introduced in 1906 and the LMS Hudd system 1938).

The problem with AWS is where a train is running on "Yellows".  There have been a number of accidents recorded over the years where a train Driver subconsciously cancelled the AWS warning where a signal is at "Danger" because they had been running on "Yellows".   This is a human trait we all suffer from. 

The inherent deficiency / problem of AWS there is no difference in warning between Caution (Yellow) and Danger (Red) introduction of TPWS helped to overcome the deficiency / problem.

AWS has helped keep the UK railway safe since its introduction in 1956 by BR following the 1952 Harrow and Wealdstone accident 

 
As many of you know, I am a bus driver.

99% of us don’t want to be late. We want our dinner, or to go home on time too.

95% of delays I suffer are caused by third parties. Third party collisions, roadworks, bad parking, bad driving by third parties, on rural routes I often think my bus is invisible as I’m passing through narrow stretches and cars just keep driving at me instead of waiting for me to complete passage of narrow sections. Pensioners having a gossip to me or fellow passengers, must finish their conversation before disembarking then start a new one with me before getting off. The joys of rural work, everyone knows everyone, and passengers are on first name terms with most of the drivers and vice versa.

 
From the Guardian.



Edit note: Hyperlink inserted within text, for clarity. CfN.

 

Originally built as a terminus where all trains called on their way into London via London Bridge then after reversal went on to Charing Cross.  The chord from Borough Market Junction was added later - certainly as far as passenger trains were concerned

 
Google Maps uses an average walking speed of about 3mph apparently when giving an estimated time to reach a destination. If you know that then you can make an appropriate adjustment if you want better accuracy.

 
Cannon Street has a loop???

 
One that won't reveal why the deceased driver increased his speed passing a red light & only braked on seeing the back of the stopped train in front.

 
I remember that plus wires to Weston-super-Mare  would allow other routes around Bristol to go to BEMU's

Could install a overhead charging bar like at Caerphillys bay platform at the likes of Portishead and Severn Beach etc . Hopefully GWR if they can get new units fit them.to use 3td rail too eg upwey to Weymouth etc

 
Avoiding loops at Cromer and Bourne End at least, while being operationally simpler, would have needed a less-centrally placed station or some trains missing that station.  Then again, not closing the line onward from Bourne End to High Wycombe would have avoided the need for a reversal and nowadays it might even be viewed as more useful than the Marlow stub.

 
Penge tunnel avoiding line, now known as the Catford loop line. Said to have been built for HM Queen Victoria, who disliked passing through Penge tunnel on the Royal Train.

 
Will the life boat house on the island be used, as before?
So doing has advantage of quick and easy launching at any state of the tide.
What are the present arrangements for the RNLI.

 

Thank you grahame (for the pictures).

_{.............Later edit to clarify........}

 
Update 1 October 2026

Ely :2: 175008 (half), 175104

Wolverton : 7 : 175005 by road.  175102/105/106/107/108/109/110. 175008 (half)

Laira : 16: 175002/007/009, 175114 ex Ely; 175001/003/006/011, 175101/103/110/111/112/113/115/116 ex Wolverton

Exeter : 1 : 175004 ex Wolverton

Long Rock : 1 : 175010 ex Ely

175004 did have a trip to Newton Abbot and back 30 September 2026

 

Yep, very true!

 

You’ll have to ask the DfT.  

The GWR livery will be in place for many years to come so it will better match the vast majority of the current fleet.

Mind you, I expect an IET will be dolled up in the GBR livery for the launch in December.