Recent Public Posts - [guest]
| Re: Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2026 In "Across the West" [379503/31163/26] Posted by NickB at 12:41, 13th September 2026 |      |
“ Whilst this disruption is ongoing, buses are a simple and direct alternative.”
What are these people smoking?!?
| Re: To 'stockpile food' is now our Government's official policy, apparently In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [379502/32456/31] Posted by Oxonhutch at 10:48, 13th September 2026 | |
The only items I seem to have overlooked are bottles of Fullers beer: I shall rectify that later today.
A great feature of London Pride is that it can be consumed in the dark.
| Re: Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2026 In "Across the West" [379501/31163/26] Posted by TaplowGreen at 10:46, 13th September 2026 | |
Updated again this morning "Until Further Notice"
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service-disruptions/kensal-green-20260906/
| Re: Is our consultant class too qualified and memberised for its good? In "Looking forward - the next 2, 5, 10 and 20 years" [379500/32494/40] Posted by stuving at 10:05, 13th September 2026 | |
Noting that RailEI features in that list, and for those that are not up to date, earlier this year the Permanent Way Institution converted itself into the Railway Engineering Institution. There is a new, rebuilt, web site and one of the side effects of that is that (as far as I can see) everything in their "knowledge hub" - including local meetings - is now only accessible to members. if that is entirely true, and remains so, it's rather a shame as they were a useful source of detailed (and true!) information.
| Re: Is our consultant class too qualified and memberised for its good? In "Looking forward - the next 2, 5, 10 and 20 years" [379499/32494/40] Posted by TaplowGreen at 09:11, 13th September 2026 | |
I was struck on Instagram this morning by the long lists of qualifactions and memberships of a significant proportion of the LinkedIn contributors and responders on a post I shared earlier. I have redacted the names, and these are NOT the person I quoted earlier, where I was able in a 100 word summary to encapsulate the gist of what he was saying. Just look at these:
[redacted] CEnv, FEI, FISEP, CMILT, CMVP, MSc, CRWM
[redacted] MAPM, MRailEI, MIET, MIfSE, ACIRO, MCIM
and someone who bangs his drum in a different style:
[redacted] "Senior Industry Expert"
Sums up Linkedin to a tee - it's become the home of ego, bullshit bingo, generally showing off and "look at me" type inspirational dissertations.
Following your name with a list of qualifications/membership like that is little more than willy waving.
I keep my (free) membership going as a means of keeping in touch with people I've interacted with in business over the years but other than that, rarely visit it.
There's a hilarious book called "The State of LinkedIn" which is well worth a read, and some great parodies too - enjoy this one!
https://x.com/StateOfLinkedIn/status/1989042552134148365?s=20
| Re: Derailment in Normandy In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [379498/32488/52] Posted by Bob_Blakey at 09:03, 13th September 2026 | |
Since even SNCF have said the accident was caused by the train hitting a length of rail perhaps this unfortunate incident will prompt Network Rail to clean up the linear scrap yard otherwise known as the UK rail network.
| Is our consultant class too qualified and memberised for its good? In "Looking forward - the next 2, 5, 10 and 20 years" [379497/32494/40] Posted by grahame at 08:58, 13th September 2026 | |
I should spend more time on LinkedIn and Instagram, and perhaps less on Facebook; I am content to remain at my current level of contributor activity here on the Coffee Shop though I suspect I should be stepping up elements of my coding work to modernise and help raise the visibilty and navigability of our resource.
I was struck on Instagram this morning by the long lists of qualifactions and memberships of a significant proportion of the LinkedIn contributors and responders on a post I shared earlier. I have redacted the names, and these are NOT the person I quoted earlier, where I was able in a 100 word summary to encapsulate the gist of what he was saying in 3,000. Just look at these:
[redacted] CEnv, FEI, FISEP, CMILT, CMVP, MSc, CRWM
[redacted] MAPM, MRailEI, MIET, MIfSE, ACIRO, MCIM
and someone who bangs his drum in a different style:
[redacted] "Senior Industry Expert"
For sure, we (who are on LinkedIn) all have to (or, rather, really need to) indicate what we are, and give at least a clue as to our background. These days, now that I am retired from so many elements, I have chosen to say no more than "Webmaster and Administrator at Great Western Coffee Shop Passenger Forum"; I have no rail industry qualifiactions what so ever - I didn't even study Geography as far as 'O' level, and I have just a lowley Batchelor's degree. You will pick up from my profile that I'm a director of TravelWatch SouthWest (a 3 year term from December 2024 to 2027) but I don't do headlining that.
Are there too many different qualifications, learned bodies, interested parties, meetings, committees and so forth for our own good in the rail industry? Or has it got so complicated we need them all?
Edited to correct typos
| Re: Derailment in Normandy In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [379496/32488/52] Posted by stuving at 08:35, 13th September 2026 | |
This was a train to Caen, so it had turned off the Paris line, onto one which runs into a long peninsula formed by a loop in the Seine. The line here is electrified, but later where it cuts off a corner in the main lines it isn't, hence the use of DMUs.
I think the geopolitical linkage with the Renault Ampère works is fanciful, but it's true that a couple of skinny 13-year olds would find that weight hard to lift. France has plenty of groups of potential amateur saboteurs all of its own, quite apart from bigger, stronger, or more numerous gangs of teenagers.
| Re: Derailment in Normandy In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [379495/32488/52] Posted by grahame at 07:46, 13th September 2026 | |
Later SNCF stated that they had recovered a length of rail from the scene, within a built-up area. They believe that this was the cause and was put there in an act of vandalism (or worse).
Many reports elsewhere, speculate that a redundant length of rail was placed deliberately, presumably by russian sponsored persons.
I find it very interesting that both officially and unofficially we are seeing early suggestions as to the cause - very different to the UK. Except, perhaps, where there's a potentially criminal act involved?
I am trying to place "just south of Rouen" - was it on the main line to Paris, or after the junction at which the more minor line to Caen turns off? Either way, neither is a flagship TGV line. No analysis from me - just a few more details for readers who may not have travelled through Rouen.
| The opportunity that GBR offers In "Looking forward - the next 2, 5, 10 and 20 years" [379494/32493/40] Posted by grahame at 07:32, 13th September 2026 Already liked by PhilWakely | |
From Andrew Stephens on LinkedIn - 3,000 words precised down to about 100 in my review
A few days ago I wrote an article about Great British Railways that was, if I am being generous to myself, sceptical.
[snip]
The infrastructure will still need maintaining. Trains will still need servicing. Drivers will still drive them, signalling will still need operating, stations will still require people, electricity will still need buying and, unless somebody in Whitehall has been keeping a particularly exciting technical breakthrough quiet, rails, bridges, tunnels, embankments and overhead lines will continue to deteriorate when exposed to weather, weight and time.
[snip]
Perhaps the real opportunity is not in who owns the railway at all. Perhaps it is in finally removing some of the extraordinary amount of friction involved in running it.
[snip]
The infrastructure will still need maintaining. Trains will still need servicing. Drivers will still drive them, signalling will still need operating, stations will still require people, electricity will still need buying and, unless somebody in Whitehall has been keeping a particularly exciting technical breakthrough quiet, rails, bridges, tunnels, embankments and overhead lines will continue to deteriorate when exposed to weather, weight and time.
[snip]
Perhaps the real opportunity is not in who owns the railway at all. Perhaps it is in finally removing some of the extraordinary amount of friction involved in running it.
I think he is right in his identification of the opportunity. The question is ... will the opportunity be taken?
| Re: Derailment in Normandy In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [379493/32488/52] Posted by broadgage at 04:13, 13th September 2026 | |
Many reports elsewhere, speculate that a redundant length of rail was placed deliberately, presumably by russian sponsored persons.
| Re: To 'stockpile food' is now our Government's official policy, apparently In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [379492/32456/31] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 00:46, 13th September 2026 Already liked by GBM | |
Re: Torches.
I have done an audit and found that, while I no longer have that huge Maglite one, I do have at least two torches down in the garage and at least five here in the study.
There is also a plentiful supply of batteries for them.
The only items I seem to have overlooked are bottles of Fullers beer: I shall rectify that later today.
CfN.
| Couple surprise wedding guests with mini steam train In "The Lighter Side" [379491/32492/30] Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 00:22, 13th September 2026 | |
From the BBC:
Couple surprise wedding guests with mini steam train
Woody the dog joined Helen and Rory at the wedding and on the train - Image © Helen Appleton
A couple who met while working for a train company gave their guests a "complete surprise" at their wedding when they put on a miniature steam train to take them to the venue.
Helen and Rory Appleton, from Golborne, near Wigan, have been together for 10 years and tied the knot at Bashall Barn in Clitheroe, Lancashire, last week.
"Without the railway there's no me and Helen," Rory said, "So we felt it only natural to include some railway elements into the wedding."
He said it was "absolutely bonkers" to come back from honeymoon on Wednesday and see a video of the train full of wedding guests posted by the venue had one million views on TikTok.
Helen, 38 and Rory, 48, work for Avanti West Coast based out of Preston where Helen is a manager, and Rory is a train driver.
Helen said they kept the wedding train "a complete secret from everybody so it was a surprise for all the guests. I was getting ready so I didn't even see anybody on the train until afterwards," she said.
"My bridal suite had a door that led just where the track was going and one of my bridesmaids opened the door and she was like 'erm, Helen, there's some train tracks being laid outside' and I said 'oh yeah that's just our steam train don't worry about that'."
The train took friends and family on a short journey from the car park to the venue.
(BBC article continues)
Woody the dog joined Helen and Rory at the wedding and on the train - Image © Helen Appleton
A couple who met while working for a train company gave their guests a "complete surprise" at their wedding when they put on a miniature steam train to take them to the venue.
Helen and Rory Appleton, from Golborne, near Wigan, have been together for 10 years and tied the knot at Bashall Barn in Clitheroe, Lancashire, last week.
"Without the railway there's no me and Helen," Rory said, "So we felt it only natural to include some railway elements into the wedding."
He said it was "absolutely bonkers" to come back from honeymoon on Wednesday and see a video of the train full of wedding guests posted by the venue had one million views on TikTok.
Helen, 38 and Rory, 48, work for Avanti West Coast based out of Preston where Helen is a manager, and Rory is a train driver.
Helen said they kept the wedding train "a complete secret from everybody so it was a surprise for all the guests. I was getting ready so I didn't even see anybody on the train until afterwards," she said.
"My bridal suite had a door that led just where the track was going and one of my bridesmaids opened the door and she was like 'erm, Helen, there's some train tracks being laid outside' and I said 'oh yeah that's just our steam train don't worry about that'."
The train took friends and family on a short journey from the car park to the venue.
(BBC article continues)
| Re: To 'stockpile food' is now our Government's official policy, apparently In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [379490/32456/31] Posted by bobm at 20:32, 12th September 2026 Already liked by Chris from Nailsea, TaplowGreen, GBM | |
In my cupboard under the stairs I have a supply of candles, matches, two rechargeable torches, a power pack to charge a mobile phone and 24 bottles of Fullers beer.
| Re: To 'stockpile food' is now our Government's official policy, apparently In "The West - but NOT trains in the West" [379489/32456/31] Posted by broadgage at 20:20, 12th September 2026 | |
I used to have a very large 'Maglight' metal torch, which took at least three, possibly four, D cell batteries.
It was like lugging around a piece of scaffolding pole.
It was like lugging around a piece of scaffolding pole.
Thank you for reminding me.
We still have a large Maglite in the cupboard. Tried it a minute ago, and still lights up, but not used it for years!
| Re: Derailment in Normandy In "The Wider Picture Overseas" [379488/32488/52] Posted by stuving at 20:07, 12th September 2026 | |
TV news have now been allowed in to get close up pictures, and as you might expect that leading coach was really wrecked by its hurtling into the trees at 140 km/hr. That no-one was killed is almost a surprise. Investigation has, as you'd expect, been concentrating on that 5m length of rail found lying on the sleepers, and how it got on the track. It was near a level crossing on a small access road, which may be relevant.
But apparently that's the first fact to pin down - was it on the track? The driver reported seeing something, but not clearly, and he was badly shaken up just after - though again rather miraculously, with only a cracked rib. The obvious place to look is the recorded video from the camera looking forwards, but nothing is being said about that. So I'm wondering if this is another fairly-new French train with no forward-facing TV camera. The two units do appear to be three-car X76500 AGC, DMUs built from 2004 on.
| Re: New Oxford - Bristol direct service, ongoing developments and discussion In "Oxford, Didcot and Reading from the West" [379487/28355/22] Posted by bobm at 19:39, 12th September 2026 | |
The first round trip to Oxford (with the opening journey starting from Swindon due to engineering work) was also cancelled today.
| Re: Project Churchward - future regional fleet for the West, new rolling stock to replace DMUs In "Looking forward - the next 2, 5, 10 and 20 years" [379486/27482/40] Posted by REVUpminster at 18:52, 12th September 2026 | |
Problem solved GWR will get 3 car 185s, only 20/23 years old, to replace the 150s and 158s
Well, by the time the new battery trains are stated to be fully in service on Trans-Pennine (2034), they'll be 28 years old. They also are incompatible with any other type (so if there's still any 175s left), there will be 4 parts of the GW fleet incapable of working with each other (the remaining 150s/158s, the 165/6s, the 175s and these). They have fewer seats than a 2-car 165. All they need is a few years of lower maintenance as they are gradually replaced, and perhaps a couple stored in the open to ensure they are just in the right condition to fill the gap left by the 175s....
Gwr has 20 150s and 18 158s only 5 are 3 cars.
| Re: New Oxford - Bristol direct service, ongoing developments and discussion In "Oxford, Didcot and Reading from the West" [379485/28355/22] Posted by TaplowGreen at 16:21, 12th September 2026 | |
Cancelled today
16:24 Bristol Temple Meads to Oxford due 17:25
18:02 Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads due 19:20
| Re: Lewes, East Sussex - derailment of train, 20 injured, 13 August 2026 In "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" [379484/32362/51] Posted by grahame at 16:15, 12th September 2026 | |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0klpgrkyvro
Trains on a main rail route between the East Sussex coast and London will not run in off-peak hours for four weeks after track conditions were affected by the hot and dry weather over summer.
Southern Rail says that no trains will run directly between Eastbourne/Ore and London Victoria, via Lewes and Haywards Heath, between 09:00 BST and 16:15 on Mondays through to Friday.
Services from Eastbourne will run hourly to and from Haywards Heath, where passengers can change for onward connections to the capital, as well as Gatwick Airport.
One train will also operate hourly between Ore and Eastbourne in both directions.
Passengers have been told to allow more time for their journeys, although those travelling from Ore, Hastings and St Leonards Warrior Square can use Southeastern services at no extra cost.
The operator said that no trains in peak hours are affected, and while it apologised for the disruption, it added that the "temporary timetable will help provide a more reliable service and reduce last-minute changes".
The temporary timetable starts on Monday.
Southern Rail says that no trains will run directly between Eastbourne/Ore and London Victoria, via Lewes and Haywards Heath, between 09:00 BST and 16:15 on Mondays through to Friday.
Services from Eastbourne will run hourly to and from Haywards Heath, where passengers can change for onward connections to the capital, as well as Gatwick Airport.
One train will also operate hourly between Ore and Eastbourne in both directions.
Passengers have been told to allow more time for their journeys, although those travelling from Ore, Hastings and St Leonards Warrior Square can use Southeastern services at no extra cost.
The operator said that no trains in peak hours are affected, and while it apologised for the disruption, it added that the "temporary timetable will help provide a more reliable service and reduce last-minute changes".
The temporary timetable starts on Monday.
| Re: Surbiton to Okehampton - with your car - 1960 to 1964 In "South Western services" [379483/32489/42] Posted by grahame at 16:07, 12th September 2026 | |
| Re: Surbiton to Okehampton - with your car - 1960 to 1964 In "South Western services" [379482/32489/42] Posted by bobm at 15:59, 12th September 2026 | |
Somehow, somewhere the URL is getting mangled.
| West Wilts Model Railway Circle - founded 12 Sept 1967 [otd] In "Railway History and related topics" [379481/32491/55] Posted by grahame at 15:22, 12th September 2026 | |
West Wilts Model Railway Circle - https://westwiltsmrc.club
We are an amateur model railway club, local to Trowbridge in Wiltshire, founded on the evening of 12th September 1967 by a group of railway modellers.
We meet Tuesday mornings between 9.30am and 11.30am and on Wednesdays evenings between 6.30pm and 9pm.
Other meeting times are arranged as and when required, whenever members wish to meet. We always have a cuppa and a biscuit available at our meetings, so pop in to say hello and join in!
We meet Tuesday mornings between 9.30am and 11.30am and on Wednesdays evenings between 6.30pm and 9pm.
Other meeting times are arranged as and when required, whenever members wish to meet. We always have a cuppa and a biscuit available at our meetings, so pop in to say hello and join in!
At - Acre Short Ln, Steeple Ashton, Trowbridge BA14 6HD, UK, sadly not accessible from the 1:1 scale prototype, and I suspect pretty hard by bus too.
| [otd] Newport Transporter Bridge opens 12th September 1906 In "Heritage railways, Railtours, buses, canals, steamships and other public transport based attractions" [379480/32490/47] Posted by grahame at 15:15, 12th September 2026 | |
From a mature page at https://www.newport.gov.uk/heritage/en/Transporter-Bridge/Transporter-Bridge.aspx (you san tell it's mature because it uses the term "will" for January 2025)
The remarkable Newport Transporter Bridge is one of only six operational transporter bridges left world wide from a total of twenty constructed.
The bridge opened in 1906 and has dominated the Newport skyline since.
A transporter bridge is basically a suspended ferry that can operate more efficiently than a conventional ferry.
A high level boom that allows ships to pass underneath is suspended from towers at each end.
The boom carries a rail track on which a moving carriage or ‘traveller’ runs.
A gondola or platform is suspended from the carriage and can be pulled from one side of the river to the other by means of a hauling cable.
The bridge opened in 1906 and has dominated the Newport skyline since.
A transporter bridge is basically a suspended ferry that can operate more efficiently than a conventional ferry.
A high level boom that allows ships to pass underneath is suspended from towers at each end.
The boom carries a rail track on which a moving carriage or ‘traveller’ runs.
A gondola or platform is suspended from the carriage and can be pulled from one side of the river to the other by means of a hauling cable.
On this day ...
The bridge cost £98,000 to complete and was opened on September 12 1906 by Lord Tredegar of Tredegar House.
Anyone have a status update now (September 2026)?
| Surbiton to Okehampton - with your car - 1960 to 1964 In "South Western services" [379479/32489/42] Posted by grahame at 15:02, 12th September 2026 | |
BR
From https://www.bloodandcustard.com/BR-CoachingSetsOkehamptonCarCarrier.html - whole article worth a read!
Start ...
The daytime Surbiton to Okehampton Car Carrier service came about following a Southern Region managerial request for service improvements. The (then) Okehampton shed foreman, Arthur Westlake submitted the idea for a car-carrying service with passengers accompanying their cars on the same train; this plan included the efficient working of stock. Management adopted the plan with Arthur Westlake being paid two guineas for his idea.
Accordingly, the Okehampton Car Carrier service was introduced by British Railways on 18th June 1960 with the first train being hauled from Surbiton to Exeter by rebuilt Merchant Navy 35029 ‘Ellerman Lines’ with West Country 34023 ‘Blackmore Vale’ undertaking the return section to /from Okehampton. The passenger rolling stock was Green-liveried BR standard Mk 1 3-Cor set 564 (BSK + CK + BSK) attached to the rear of seven lined-maroon GUV vehicles (Down direction).
Accordingly, the Okehampton Car Carrier service was introduced by British Railways on 18th June 1960 with the first train being hauled from Surbiton to Exeter by rebuilt Merchant Navy 35029 ‘Ellerman Lines’ with West Country 34023 ‘Blackmore Vale’ undertaking the return section to /from Okehampton. The passenger rolling stock was Green-liveried BR standard Mk 1 3-Cor set 564 (BSK + CK + BSK) attached to the rear of seven lined-maroon GUV vehicles (Down direction).
... and end
Following the 1962 Transport Act, disbandment of the British Transport Commission and Dr Beeching’s drive bring the railways back into profitability through his 1963 report ‘The Reshaping of British Railways’, there was an imperative to identify and develop profitable traffics with loss-making or only marginally profitable to either be reorganised with realistic pricing else withdrawn. Certainly, the Okehampton Car Carrier service was labour-intensive, its stock-utilisation low and was unlikely to fit in with plans for the ‘modern’ railway’s nationwide car-carrying services.
Accordingly, the last Surbiton to Okehampton Car Carrier service ran on 12th September 1964.
Accordingly, the last Surbiton to Okehampton Car Carrier service ran on 12th September 1964.
| Re: Project Churchward - future regional fleet for the West, new rolling stock to replace DMUs In "Looking forward - the next 2, 5, 10 and 20 years" [379478/27482/40] Posted by eightonedee at 14:54, 12th September 2026 | |
Problem solved GWR will get 3 car 185s, only 20/23 years old, to replace the 150s and 158s
Well, by the time the new battery trains are stated to be fully in service on Trans-Pennine (2034), they'll be 28 years old. They also are incompatible with any other type (so if there's still any 175s left), there will be 4 parts of the GW fleet incapable of working with each other (the remaining 150s/158s, the 165/6s, the 175s and these). They have fewer seats than a 2-car 165. All they need is a few years of lower maintenance as they are gradually replaced, and perhaps a couple stored in the open to ensure they are just in the right condition to fill the gap left by the 175s....
| Re: Claughton Brickworks Ropeway In "Heritage railways, Railtours, buses, canals, steamships and other public transport based attractions" [379477/29468/47] Posted by grahame at 14:49, 12th September 2026 | |
Came again today as a reel - https://www.facebook.com/reel/1069452182137606 . Also reminded of the Newport (and other) Transporter Bridges - "On this day" reports the Newport Transporter Bridge opening 120 years ago today!
| Re: Barnstaple to Exeter overcrowding, September 2026 In "Shorter journeys in Devon - Central, North and South" [379476/32479/24] Posted by grahame at 13:54, 12th September 2026 | |
It will also be interesting to see what happens to First Group-owned assets currently being used by GWR....don't they own some of the 803xxx IETs for example? I've been told that they're staying in the train plan after Dec 13th, by someone who possibly is high enough to have heard....
There's no such thing as an 803xxx IET. If you mean 8003xx then, no, I don't think they own any of them.
It is incredibly opaque trying to work out who owns (as opposed to operates, or maintains) IET trains. A very old table https://www.railengineer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Table-1-Hitachi-800-802-orders-V3-Avenir.pdf suggests ownership split between Eversholt, Angel Trains and Agility Trains. WikiPedia (quotes below) - though it could be just loose words - suggests that Hitachi Rail will own new units to be delivered for open access enhancments in 2027; Hitachi Rail, as I understand it, are already a major player in Agility Trains.
Many other UK operators have bought Hitachi AT300 trains, including orders for Class 802 units by TransPennine Express (branded as Nova 1) and Hull Trains (branded as Paragon). East Midlands Railway have ordered Class 810 units (branded as Aurora), Lumo purchased Class 803 units and Avanti West Coast have ordered Class 805 and Class 807 units (branded as Evero)
In December 2024, Hitachi Rail stated in a press release that it had entered into a contract with FirstGroup and Angel Trains to lease 14 new five-car electric, battery-electric or bi-mode trains for First Rail's open-access operations, which will be manufactured at Newton Aycliffe, with their delivery expected to commence in late 2027. These trains will be used on a newly announced London-Carmarthen route, and to increase the number of carriages on the existing Lumo and Hull Trains services. The agreement includes an option to add 13 more trains to the order if more of First Rail's recently submitted open-access applications are successful.
First (group) did actually own a few of the HSTs - not sure which ones they were, whether they have been scrapped, sold, stored or are still owned and leased to Scotland, Nigeria or Mexico.
** image of that Rail Engineer table:
| Re: Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2026 In "Across the West" [379475/31163/26] Posted by TaplowGreen at 13:19, 12th September 2026 | |
So are all GWR/TfL systems/timetables fully updated?
National Rail's latest update (0701 this morning) states "Disruption is expected to continue until further notice".
Have all impacted customers been alerted as you suggest?
National Rail's latest update (0701 this morning) states "Disruption is expected to continue until further notice".
Have all impacted customers been alerted as you suggest?
No, and no. GWR and TfL systems may have been updated, but that doesn't / hasn't meant that all derivatives will have been updated and some third party sites, which people use, remain advertising (I have just looked) through trains from Cholsey to London, for example, for tomorrow.
Case Study:
The Interrail planning and ticket app is a necessary part of Interrail travel as you go through the trains on offer and add the one(s) you want to your ticket - it's not just a nice little planner. And typically it's good real time - in Germany, where trains are notoriously late, it'll give you real time delays and platform changes; used it a number of times on one late running train to see if the connection will make to the next late running train, and also to find the platform information. We made a 4 minute change in Frankfurt Hbf - complete with mobility device (used in racer mode) thanks to it.
You CAN add trains that don't come up or differ manually to the app and your ticket if I was travelling Cholsey to Paddington tomorrow, though, and knowing what I known would add the falsely advertised train as far as Reading, then an IET diesel express into Paddington.
Perhaps best for GWR to have left the disruption map as was then?
| Re: Barnstaple to Exeter overcrowding, September 2026 In "Shorter journeys in Devon - Central, North and South" [379474/32479/24] Posted by IndustryInsider at 12:57, 12th September 2026 | |
It will also be interesting to see what happens to First Group-owned assets currently being used by GWR....don't they own some of the 803xxx IETs for example? I've been told that they're staying in the train plan after Dec 13th, by someone who possibly is high enough to have heard....
There's no such thing as an 803xxx IET. If you mean 8003xx then, no, I don't think they own any of them.
