...........somehow I doubt that made the Press release - but always good to have the view from those on the ground rather than the Marketing Department!!! 

 

Yes, there is lighting built into the sides of the walkway, it is very well lit

There is a blue line down the middle of the pathway indicating the cyclepath / walkway, though not all signage has been painted onto the walkway yet

 

From a friend who supervised the work on the new entrance...

I worked on that job in summer 2024. Absolute clusterf**k.
Roof Steels all need redrilling as they sagged under their own weight, requiring a crane and us using handheld drills instead of magdrills…
Bomb proof glass all round except the cladding that hod 3mm galvanised steel sheets behind, nothing was coming out the factory correct and the building leaked like a sieve until recently.
Main company went bust after the job.
No wonder it ended up costing so much!!

Everything else is caked in bird poo

 
This is one of those areas where a bit of care in the wording would help to reassure passengers when an issue has already arisen! Understand that passengers won't know the exact arrival time, might be worried about this, and might not even realise the stop order is there and be waiting around for a later trian, and reassure that it will be a mandatory stop.

"This is due to the train making extra stops"... more to the point, it is the making of extra stops! I sort of accept that template wording won't always be great but still reads strangely!

 
There needs to be a 'thumbs up' icon/smiley.....yes.

 
Where a train is cancelled, it makes sense to put in a "stop order" on a subsequent train to provide an alternative service

I'm noticing that where a train that calls only on request is cancelled, the stop orders seem to turn it into a mandated, compulsory stop on the following train?  Use of the word "will" rather than "may".  Is that to re-assure waiting passengers who may no longer have a timetable reference for the train coming and may not notice it in time to signal to the driver?

 

I have (already) quite a number of LinkedId contacts ... and sometimes it suggests new ones to me.  From just now, here are the roles of people suggested to me, mostly at "GWR" - in addition to the three pages of "currently at GWR" contacts I have.

Business Development Portfolio Director
Strategy Director
Head of Business Planning
Regional Developemnt Manager
Deputy Head of Public Affairs
Regional Growth Manager
Customer Planning and Interface Manager
Head of Business Transformation
Deputy Head of External Communications
Head of Learning and Development

It strikes me that many of these roles will change out of recognition - or out of existence - over the next six months. Those in roles which involve planning, development, growth, strategy, transformation, etc, will potentially be looking at very different scenarios if they look at the next 3 months or the next three years, and may feel themselves in limbo at the moment.

 
Good to see something a bit more unusual than the ex-industrial saddle tank that heritage lines of this size typically use. Must pay a visit once it's up and running.

 

Well, it’ll no longer be First Group’s problem (from 13th December) - the GWR brand will carry on for a little while at least, and it’ll be the pretty much the same group of people trying to address the problem.

Most importantly, the average passenger won’t know/care about the changes in December anyway.

 
The subject line is "delays" but this is more fully fledged cancellations ... not enough working trains ... samples which indicate at least 4 trains short.

 
From an email to members

 
For readers who are time (or interest) limited, I have posted the following in West Wiltshire / Melksham groups.  Personally I'll 2 or 3 (or a dozen) more things to do before Christmas.   These events are in the Coffee Shop diary individually too - see https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/diary.html

September 2026
16th - West Wiltshire Rail User Group - guest speaker Peter West, Trowbridge
Peter was Senior Commercial Manager responsible for negotiating the GWR rail franchise. This places him well to five us an insight into the relationship between the Department for Transport and a commercial operator, and what we may expect when the rail companies are absorbed into Great British Railways
See https://www.wwrug.org.uk/flyer.html

October 2026
9th - TravelWatch SouthWest general meeting, Taunton
Are we set up to cover the journeys we need?  How can rail, bus, and infrastructure in the South West better serve aging populations, rural communities, and accessibility needs? We’ll explore how socially necessary services are delivered and how grassroots voices can shape them.  How can the Department for Transport and transport operators better listen to - and act on - community feedback?
See https://www.eventbrite.com/e/travelwatch-southwest-autumn-general-meeting-2026-tickets-1999846046359

November 2026
25th - West Wiltshire Rail User Group - guest speaker Nathan Sealey, Trowbridge
The Bath and Wiltshire Metro - what, why, where, when.  Who? - Nathan is one of the key team who's been heaily involved in the South Wales Metro at a senior level.  I would like to tell you he's coming from afar, but actually he lived in the West Wiltshire area and so knows it well.

December 2026
5th - Melksham Transport User Group - Christmas Lights / Melksham
We'll be distributing new timetables for all public transport providers who serve the town at this event.  For those of you who live in Melksham, keep your eyes peeled for earlier events too!

 

Is this lit at night? Any separators between pedestrians & pushbikes - in either direction?

Not very safe then? Would you use it after supper?

 

"Bonkers" sums it up quite well.

 


With a pattern in cancellations (and posting elsewhere that the Cornish service reductions will last for months), are there spare crews around who might be able to learn a route in Wiltshire and help out here? 

 


...................and of course by 11 December it will no longer be GWR's problem, as they will no longer exist.

 
From the BBC


Agreed that it's probably the least bad choice in the short term.   But it feel like (another?) case of over-optimism that has gone wrong, with the old trains withdrawn before the "new" ones are working properly.  And/or a case of taking on an increased service before properly prepared for it - it wasn't so many years ago that the Cornish Main Line had hour gaps anyway.

The word "hope" is used twice.   Nice stuff is hope.  I hope it happens 

 

Now - is that 2 million abstracted from the main entrance, or two million new customers?    And if the latter, where are the extra carriages on trains like the Cross Country ones, and the services to Cardiff and via Bradford-on-Avon to cope?

 
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 the line.

Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled. Disruption is expected until 17:00 08/09.
Customer Advice
-
What has happened?
-
One of the train that runs between Truro and Falmouth has developed a fault. The service between Truro and Falmouth has been reduced to an hourly service.

 
From Rail Advent


It feels so obtuse these days.  It has been talked into the plan so they can start having meetings about the feasibly case.  Where is JFDI?

Having said which, public sentiment (or, rather, vocal sentiment) seems far from unanimous

 

Apparently so, and I believe part of £94m allocated for the three new entrances (South, East and I presume the renovations and public realm around the Midland Shed on the north side).

Yes, it's a bonkers amount of money but take a look at the photo at https://www.bristoltemplequarter.com/news/eastern-entrance-reaches-construction-milestone-with-building-shell-complete/ - there's more to it than you think, don't forget that it all had to be done around a live railway just metres away from passengers and the underpass.

Incidentally, the floating footpath to Temple Quay apparently cost £10m. I believe that was paid for by the University as a planning condition.   

 
As far as I’ve been lead to believe the lion’s share of the entrance work and area outside was funded by the university and development authority?..

 
Andy Burnham?  That would be a good one to ask him at his next PMQ time, bearing in mind his apparent interest in the Portishead Line.

CfN. 

 
I hear the new entrance etc cost £23 million,  surely that can't be true? Does anyone know the actual figure?

 
Yet another Yellow Card to TaplowGreen, for mentioning 'barbeques' anywhere other than on 'the lighter side'

 

 

What is it with GWR and BBQs?

 
Neil,

If it's not too much trouble, could you please send me a pm with details of which particular maps they are?  I could chuck some money your way, to cover the postage.

I already have some 40 Landranger and 8 Explorer Ordnance Survey maps, but there are still some gaps on my shelf.

CfN. 

 

Ah yes, I was handed one of those TM Eastern Entrance bags on my way in to catch the train back to Redland.  I seem to have acquired a bit of a collection of these commemorative railway bags over the years.

 
I have about 30 OS Landranger maps, a few random other Explorer maps from the mid 2000s. I could post them?
Or are they so common, the recycle bin awates...

Neil, East Dorset.