Is any work to improve the reliability of the air conditioning planned ? beyond lighter colored roofs.

...and same for the 17:00 Bristol - Paddington. That's my Plan B for getting to Chippenham if the 17:12 Bristol - Oxford is delayed/cancelled, so fingers crossed...

Staycations to cost £100 more under government plans, Britons warned

Families face paying an extra £100 to holiday in the UK under government plans to introduce a new tax, a trade body has warned.

Ministers have set out plans to allow mayors and other local leaders in England to introduce an "overnight visitor levy" from next April.

Concerns have been raised this could cause 33,000 job losses and for the price of holidaying in the UK to rise.  UK Hospitality, which represents the industry, has written to the government, expressing its concerns about the plans and suggesting an alternative "Holiday Bonus" scheme that would reward local authorities with fixed revenue per visitor's night. It claims the idea would incentivise tourism, support hospitality and drive economic growth.

We will also give all strategic authorities the ability to introduce an Overnight Visitor Levy, with local leaders able to set out plans for how revenues will be invested by March 2028. 

16:09 London Paddington - Bristol Temple Meads

This journey has been cancelled because of a short-notice change to the timetable.

I understand that 15 people joined the train ...

A friend was reminded (by an intrusion of reality into a sunny day full of type 3 fun) that on Sunday only the last Faresaver bus from Bath to Devizes leaves Bath just before 7pm. He *did* manage to catch that service after heading for the bus stop at a trot.

(After that, there's an option by train, the 9.13pm from Bath into a somewhat relaxed connection to Melksham which sort-of shows the value of having a train service that's more than the bare-bones one as first re-introduced.)

Mark

Passengers travelling between Bristol Parkway and Swindon are once again benefiting from direct rail services following the successful completion of a four-week programme of engineering work by Network Rail aimed at improving reliability and long-term resilience on one of the Great Western route's key railway corridors.

The extensive works focused on and around Chipping Sodbury Tunnel, where engineers delivered a series of infrastructure improvements designed to support both passenger and freight operations while reducing the impact of extreme weather on the railway.

As part of the project, teams installed more than 3,000 yards of new rail, sleepers and ballast within the tunnel, creating a stronger and more dependable track structure. Engineers also carried out essential tunnel repairs and upgraded drainage systems to improve water management and help prevent future infrastructure issues.

In particular, I'm trying to recall whether it's the pound above Days lock that's not deep and the bed of the river is solid rock. If its that one, it's also the pound that the navigation authority was disappointed during a previous drought to find that the amount of water entering the pound from the weir upstream was substantially more than the flow over the weir downstream - as well as evaporation, some was disappearing via the bed of the river.

I considered that. Not impossible, although there were no obvious rail-related causes such as cancellations or short-forms at Bath in the relevant time period.

Our engineering teams at Bournemouth Depot have begun a major overhaul of our Class 158 and 159 diesel fleet, which run on the parts of our network which aren’t electrified such as the West of England line and on the Romsey Rounder services.

The work, known as a C6, involves overhauling all the customer facing elements of the train, with the entire interior stripped out and either refurbished or replaced if needed. Apart from a few components such as air conditioning, CET/toilet tanks, and door valves, all the work is being carried out by the Bournemouth depot team.

During the works the team will be the removing and repainting interior panelling, refitting windows with new rubber seals and replacing any damaged windows, fitting new seat covers, installing new flooring, including Axminster carpets, and overhauling the toilets, including inspection for corrosion. The exterior of the train will also be repainted by the team, including a lighter roof colour to deflect heat in the summer and improve the reliability of the air conditioning system.

Our engineering teams at Bournemouth Depot have begun a major overhaul of our Class 158 and 159 diesel fleet, which run on the parts of our network which aren’t electrified such as the West of England line and on the Romsey Rounder services.

The work, known as a C6, involves overhauling all the customer facing elements of the train, with the entire interior stripped out and either refurbished or replaced if needed. Apart from a few components such as air conditioning, CET/toilet tanks, and door valves, all the work is being carried out by the Bournemouth depot team.

During the works the team will be the removing and repainting interior panelling, refitting windows with new rubber seals and replacing any damaged windows, fitting new seat covers, installing new flooring, including Axminster carpets, and overhauling the toilets, including inspection for corrosion. The exterior of the train will also be repainted by the team, including a lighter roof colour to deflect heat in the summer and improve the reliability of the air conditioning system.

I'm informed that these additional staff are NOT safety-critical (I thought they were?) and Bletchley-MKC is not DOO compliant, which I did know.

Dry Weather and Low Flow Restrictions -
St Johns Lock to Osney Lock: Restricted to one upstream and one downstream movement every 30 minutes, with overnight lock closures from 6:00 PM to 9:30 AM starting July 25 until further notice.
Goring Lock to Culham Lock: Prolonged dry weather restrictions took effect on Monday, August 3, with specific timing rules listed on local notices.
Penton Hook Lock to Shepperton Lock: Dry weather restrictions also began on Monday, August 3.

From Will Foster, MP for Woking


Has he heard something we have not?

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2539177199864931

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_%26_City_line

The Waterloo and City Railway opened to the public at 8 a.m. on Monday 8 August 1898, with a train leaving each terminal simultaneously. The fares were 2d one class only, payable at a turnstile, but returns and season tickets, and add-ons to surface tickets were available. From 1900, the turnstiles were removed and conductors travelled on the trains, carrying Bell Punch ticket machines.

Well, we now know where you were yesterday because you told us - Chemnitz!