This topic has been moved to The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom and merged with an existing topic there:

https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=29636.msg369677#msg369677

 

Also, not mentioned on JourneyCheck, Realtime Trains is showing the five car 802006 booked for tonight's 19:53 Paddington to Hereford sevice which will mean a second consecutive short-form in tomorrow's London bound peak.

 

The bus spent much of its life in Swindon, hence the "local" number plate.

 
It is a council car park. Leased by GWR & APCOA are sub-contracted to collect payments.

 
Confirmed: see https://www.apcoa.co.uk/find-parking/locations/worcestershire/worcestershire-parkway-worcestershire

 
13/12/25 - Exeter To Paris
DIG 0845 (0844)>EXD▸ 0858 (0857) : 2T10 EXM>PGN : 2 x 150/2 (4 Cars)
EXD 0916 (0917)>PAD 1200 (1207) : 1A56 PNZ>PAD▸ : 1 x 802/1 (9 Cars)
TfL Underground Paddington > King's Cross St. Pancras (H&C Line)
Eurostar STP 1431 (OT)>PBN 1758 (OT) : Train 9032
Tickets: DIG>PAD Senior Railcard Advance Single £40.25, Railcard TfL Underground £1.85, Eurostar £51.00

2T10 was fairly well loaded on arrival at DIG where 13 pax boarded. Tickets/Railcards not checked.
1A56 was already busy on arrival at EXD and was full & standing - as it was all the way to PAD - on departure, this being slightly delayed due to the extended loading time, a situation exacerbated by the absence of on-board reservation data. I do not understand why on GWR trains reservation data is so frequently absent. Standard class trolley service announced as cancelled for obvious reasons. First delay on the approach to Hele & Bradninch where the train came to a short complete halt - TM announced a line obstruction so I would guess, but cannot confirm, fouling of the level crossing. Train was diverted via BRI (planned CLC line closure) from where it departed 2 late but was then further delayed on the approach to, and at, BTH by the late running 1F11 CDF>PMH and the significant passenger exchange (last day of the Bath Christmas Market according to the TM). Service ran late for the remainder of the journey and arrived at PAD 7 minutes down.
Tickets / Railcards not checked.
Absolute scrum at the PAD Platform 10 gateline to the extent that just before I got there the GWR staff surrendered and opened all the gates. So free travel for anybody prepared to chance it!
I had given myself a little extra time in London given the expectation that there might be queuing for EES Registration at STP. However I was told that the full rollout doesn't start until January and a small number of random pax, including me, were being processed by the existing French Border Police.
Uneventful, timely Eurostar journey to Paris followed by the delights of a completely rammed Paris Metro system to the 12th Arrondissment.

14/12/25 - Le Match Followed By Paris To Basingstoke
Breakfast, a leisurely stroll around the 12th & 13th Arrondissments on a chilly but sunny morning, and then the Metro to Stade Dominique Duvauchelle in Creteil for  the 12:00 Racing 92 v Exeter Chiefs (EPCR Challenge Cup) contest. A very entertaining game which ended in a 31-31 draw although Chiefs would have won had their discipline not disintegrated in the second half. 
I was travelling with our eldest son who needed to be back at home for work on Monday morning so we had decided in advance on a return to the UK that evening. A local bus took us to a nearby RER station for a quick run back to Gare du Nord, a much better option than the significantly slower Metro service.

Eurostar PBN 1909 (OT)>STP 2030 (2049) : Train 9055
TfL Underground King's Cross St. Pancras>Warren Street (Victoria Line) & Warren Street>Waterloo (Northern Line)
WAT 2135 (OT)>BSK 2226 (OT) : 1Z71 WAT>BSK : 2 x 450/0 (8 Cars)
Tickets: Eurostar £65.00, Railcard TfL Underground £1.85, WAT>BSK Senior Railcard Sunday Out Single £16.10

All seemed to be going to plan until our Eurostar stopped at Stratford International. After a short delay the TM announced that our train could not be accepted by STP 'because the passengers on a previous service were being subjected to a full customs check'. Personally I think this was cobblers and it was more likely the fact that the pax from the 30 minute late 9157 Bruxelles Midi train hadn't yet cleared the station exits. Once that was sorted we proceeded to STP arriving 19 minutes late. However, regardless of the root cause, if STP cannot handle those alighting from more than one international train at a time this needs to be seriously looked at before more services start running.
The remainder of the journey was as expected.

15/12/25 - Basingstoke To Exeter
BSK 1108 (OT)>EXC 1338 (1419) : 1L25 WAT>EXD (Terminated at EXC) : 2 x 159/0 (6 Cars)
EXC 1355>DIG 1400 : 2F19 PGN>EXM Missed Connection
EXC 1455 (OT)>DIG 1500 (OT) : 2F21 PGN>EXM : 1 x 150/2 (2 Car)
Tickets: BSK>EXC Senior Railcard Advance Single £12.15, EXC>DIG Senior Railcard Anytime Day Single £2.65

1L25, which was very well loaded, ran to time as far as the Tisbury Loop where it had to wait for the late running 1L40 to pass and departed 12 minutes down. It was further delayed, by 23 minutes, at HON waiting for the on-time London-bound 1L52 and departed towards Exeter 40 late. In the vicinity of Cranbrook it was announced that the train would be terminated at EXC (Platform 1). Pax for EXD and beyond were directed to the following 2T21 GWR EXM>PGN service. Exmouth branch pax such as myself were ignored. Which I didn't really care about having already checked the time of my next train to DIG but what about individuals who are not completely au fait with rail travel?
Anyway, not for the first time recently, my BSK>DIG journey will be the subject of a 100% Delay Repay refund.
And another of my favourite gripes; on departure from BSK the 1L25 on-board PIS showed the Next Station as Woking all the way to Exeter.
Tickets/Railcards not checked on either service.

 
https://www.railmagazine.com/news/fatigued-driver-experienced-microsleep-before-london-bridge-buffer-stop-collision

Almost certain fatigued driver "experienced microsleep" before buffer stop collision - RAIB

From Rail Briefing

 
Or a few kilometres further inland, Ghent is just as special - partly for strolling around, and partly for transport geeks to see how they have reclaimed the city centre from cars.

 

It's not a council-run car park.  Managed by APCOA for GWR, I believe

 
Hope that isn't the "single door" visible in the photo !

 
If this topic continues to drift towards Portishead, that's absolutely no problem. 

I may simply split off a few of the more recent posts here and merge them with a specific topic we have elsewhere on the Coffee Shop forum on the subject of 'Portishead re-opening'.

That topic has been going for way more than 3 years, I can assure you! 

 
I was going from this link dating from October:

https://n-somerset.gov.uk/news/final-enabling-works-underway-portishead-line

The chances of a new (re)build railway line with new stations coming in on time appears quite small, so I'll have a fiver with you that it'll be 2028 or later. 

 
I would concur with PrestburyRoad there.  Even after three visits over the years, I would still delight in simply strolling around the old town at both day and night.  A short canal boat trip up to the village of Damme also has it's rewards.
Nearby Ostend also has it's own, but rather different offerings, not least of them being on the Belgian coastal tram route.

 
From the BBC:

 
Is Portishead 3 years away ?

Yesterday DfT published a WECA update which on page 21 shows competition as October 2027 (just under 2 years time)

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/693c0aedcfacd5e888491ed1/weca-crsts-annual-monitoring-report-24-25.pdf

 
Reform run the council.....

 
Definitely Bruges.  I happily sent several days there just strolling round the old streets with their canals.  And if you happen to be there when the carillon in the belfry tower is played that's a bonus.

 
Yes, never nice to see car park charges rising.  Though I would argue it still doesn't offer bad value.

I remember during Covid, just after the station opened, looking down at the dozen or so cars in the car park and wondering if it would ever get half full.  Now it is often full which is never ideal for a remote station with no other parking options, so it must be generating a decent wedge of cash. 

A second tier of parking spaces is needed...and soon!

 
Cancellations to services between Truro and Falmouth Docks
Due to a fault on this train between Truro and Falmouth Docks fewer trains are able to run on all lines.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Customer Advice
Due to a fault on one of our trains running between Truro and Falmouth Docks we have had to reduce the service to an hourly service.

 

The Evesham Journal local rags are always "Angry" about something.

But in this case it would seem to be well justified.  Soaking the captive audience, as per

 
The places pictured are

My pictures are of ...
1. Rotterdam
2. Antwerp
3. Hamburg
4. Helsingor
5. The Brocken
6. Wuppertal

and for the trip next May, (re)visits or perhaps a selection to include
* Enkhuizen
* Keukenhof
* Cuxhaven / Bremerhaven
* Niebull / Westerland / Tonder / Esbjerg
* Koln
* Brugges
* Madurodam
* Delft
* Wismar / Rostock

Some I have visited .. others new to me.  Any thoughts?

 
17 December 2025

RTT reports that 1P14 0713 Great Malvern to Padd was cancelled throughout, because of "safety checks"

The stock for this service comes cars from Stoke Gifford.  The empty train stops at Bristol Parkway, to divide, for a portion to go forward to Bath Spa.  Today, it got as far as Bristol Parkway, 23 minutes late.  The Great Malvern portion went no further

 

Yes, I guess we'll have to see how it all shakes out. 

Though from the summer timetable change up to last weekend, two of the three Castle Class HST diagrams only had one return trip from Plymouth to Penzance on them.  The other one was closer to a 'full' diagram, but even that was out on passenger workings for less than 12 hours a day.  So, there's plenty of scope to tighten up and consolodate. 

Portishead is still three years away.

 
5 is so atmospheric and makes me feel cold just looking at it.  It's on the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen (courtesy of the engine number).  I don't know which station, but if pressed I'd guess from the amount of mist that it's at the summit terminus in the Brocken mountains.

 
As of 12th December 2025 the much-delayed KTM Electric Train Service (ETS) has been extended to/from Johor Bahru (JB Sentral), initially with only two trains in each direction, so direct travel between Johor & Kuala Lumpur is now possible.

And with effect from 01/01/26 the service improves to five trains per day with one being extended all the way to/from Padang Besar (Malaysia / Thailand border).

Full information at https://www.ktmb.com.my/TrainTime.html

 
3 car 175s to Okehampton. 50% increase in capacity which they will need with the opening of Okehampton Interchange.
5 car 175 (2 units) on the busiest train (workers and students) out of Barnstaple.
This releases the 158s to Bristol. 175s will not work there.

5 or 6 turbos will still need to come down from Bristol for the Devon Metro.

Newquay hourly service unlikely to see 175s which is to be done by 150s. An increase in passengers numbers which is very likely could change that.

175s will take over from the 800s between Exeter and Penzance. The split Cardiff- Penzance looks likely to be permanent with Cardiff-Taunton being extended to Exeter to call at Cullompton and Wellington when they open. This would free up space at Taunton for the 175s to reverse calling at Cullompton and Wellington.

 
4: In foreign climes, an instruction - in English regarding yachts measured in feet - looks totally out of place.

Spike Milligan, "A pound of foreign climes please!".

 
2. is Antwerp. Still, probably. But you can order them online for shipping from China, any size you want ...

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/tr19

Yellow warning of rain
Yellow - Possible

Starts:10:00 GMT Wednesday 17 December10:00 (GMT) Wed 17 Dec
Ends:23:59 GMT Wednesday 17 December23:59 (GMT) Wed 17 Dec
Heavy rain could lead to some travel disruption and possible flooding.

- Bus and train services affected with journey times taking longer
- Spray and flooding on roads will make journey times longer
- Some interruption to power supplies and other services
- A few homes and businesses flooded

Issued:10:18 GMT Monday 15 December10:18 (GMT) Mon 15 Dec

Yellow warning of rain
Yellow - Possible

Starts:10:00 GMT Thursday 18 December10:00 (GMT) Thu 18 Dec
Ends:19:00 GMT Thursday 18 December19:00 (GMT) Thu 18 Dec
Heavy rain may lead to some disruption to travel and possibly some flooding.

- Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
- Where flooding occurs, there is a chance of delays or cancellations to train and bus services
- There is a chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings
- There is a small chance that some communities will become cut off by flooded roads
- There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life
- There is a slight chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses

Issued:11:10 GMT Tuesday 16 December11:10 (GMT) Tue 16 Dec