Scarcely credible, however it's reported elsewhere that fighting broke out amongst the spotters on one of the final HST runs this morning - turfed off at Truro apparently.

One would hope that no members of this esteemed forum were involved - whoever he was, he's certainly a cheeky boy! 

https://x.com/themblades1889/status/1999819955705880721?s=20

 

In some circumstances there is more to it than that.   Human material can be infectious to other humans in ways that animal material is not.

 

For want of a bucket (+ hot water, bleach and a sponge!) the train was lost!

 
Warminster Station forecourt: pm 13 Dec 2025

I've heard of buses running late - but this is ridiculous !

 
Yep, deep clean required!  No ability to do that at Westbury seems a bit mad?

 

We also have an "unknown cause" on the later trains.  Now up to ten out of 14 cancelled.

Public post on Great Western Enthusiasts on Facebook ... here are the comments.



My guess too that it needs a deep clean.  Must have been a sudden incident - nothing awry ad it left Melksham at 09:10

 
Certainly 2 round trips to Newquay cancelled as we speak.
Possibly more to come!

 
2. Bad Kleinen (east of Hamburg). Redoubling is definitely not relevant - the line is double, and the whole station has been flattened and rebuilt in the last ten years, still with all four platform tracks (which I think are all back in use).

 
So there's passengers taken ill, crew shortage, and now to complete the set....

14:19 Westbury to Swindon due 15:01
14:19 Westbury to Swindon due 15:01 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.

15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58
15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.

 



Plotted out from JourneyCheck - ALL cancellations across the GWR area are mapped.  I have screen captured just the central area - there's also a round trip cancelled between Newquay and Par

When I woke this morning and checked train times, everything was shown as running. I was down there to hand out Melksham printed bus and train timetables to anyone who wanted them

There were 18 Melksham passengers using the 08:02 this morning and a further 20 or so gathered at the station at a couple of minutes after 10, when the 10:10 slipped back to 10:12 then was shown "Cancelled" but perversely still showing "Calling at Chippenham and Swindon".   The reason for the cancellation was only communicated when we enquired via the help point.  This is the log thread - I will write up a "what should we learn" thread - although much should have been learned already - when I've sorted out a few other things.

 
0:Shiplake Henley branch

 

118th place for Winchester.

 
Reflecting on the responses here, I'm wondering if anyone who uses the GWML London to Bristol services can recall instances of trains to and from London seeing major delays as a result of disruption that would have been mitigated by increasing the capability of the Thingley to Bradford junctions length of line.

Perhaps the impact is managed away from the London flows and on to people travelling Bristol to Westbury, and particularly to Melksham travellers - and also to freight trains from the various quarries (unlike human cargo, aggregate is notably indifferent to the ill effects of disruption, not so the clients).

Apologies for the lengthy way of asking if the rail industry's keeping tabs on the question: "How much per annum is the current infrastructure provision Thingley - Trowbridge costing the c21st railway?"

Mark

 

Ah - I wondered where it was!

This is still my printed "bible" ... and end of Feb works out OK for final planning of trips for next year.

 

Darn.  I should have got that one, from my days working with the Severnside Community Rail Partnership. 

 
5. Barnstaple?

 

Below-the-fold comments on the social media posts of politicians are often toxic. Stepping away from the exceptionalism that prompts people to think of the railway through Bath as though it's different from any other stretch of line, people seem to have settled into being ok with the fact that electrification of the UK's rail system has been increasingly  badly handled. In England, no rolling programme of electrication, something that lowers costs and builds/maintains skills. In the west country we've ended up saddled with the sub-optimal situation where we have expensive dual-fuel trains and electrification that doesn't extend to Oxford, Bristol or Swansea. We're building an entire new railway whose trains will run on diesel and without so much as putting in foundations for the electrification that it will need. This approach really curtails opportunities for the railway to excel in what it does. Diesel exhaust from railway trains is the smell of a legacy transport system, and it should really be fading fast by now.

How to pay for it? Day to day we already are, in terms of increased overheads, and not of the electrification variety.

Mark

 
Last day of the Bath Christmas market tomorrow. It’s also the first day of the winter timetable with the reduced Bristol to London timetable:

Could have been a problem with capacity except for the line between Castle Cary and Taunton is still closed for engineering work meaning London to WoE services are still being diverted via Bristol.

By having these trains call at Bath Spa, GWR is able to provide a half hourly service throughout the day from and to London.

Some afternoon and evening trains up from the Southwest might be cozy from Bath, but at least those boarding earlier in the journey will get a seat.

 

Im just back from the station ... writeup to follow when thawed and coffee ...

 
Cue complaints from motorists who claim not to have seen/understood the replacement signs.  It does sound like Avon Fire Service's mapping database hasn't been kept up to date, or they'd have approached from a different direction, which may take fractionally longer but wouldn't involve finishing the journey on foot.  Presumably fire brigades and local authorities are meant to liaise on such things, as they surely must do for new roads or buildings. 

 

Don't rub it in !

 
6. Sea Mills.

 

5M15 ECS on it’s way from Westbury to Bristol….
Will a replacement train be sourced?

 
8. Chandler’s Ford
Six miles of line singled in 1972, but crucially with double track sections at either end to allow a train to be held off the mainline whilst awaiting it’s turn to travel along the single line. Retained for freight and diversionary use, but an hourly passenger service reinstated in 2003. Seems to work relatively well as it is at present, so I wouldn’t have thought a high priority for re-doubling, especially with the cost of providing a second platform at Chandler’s Ford.

 

There is a you tube video of it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9rdvwiNeKg

 
3. Newquay, recently redoubled.

 
16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:05
16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:05 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

17:44 Swindon to Westbury due 18:25
17:44 Swindon to Westbury due 18:25 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

18:38 Westbury to Swindon due 19:22
18:38 Westbury to Swindon due 19:22 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

19:44 Swindon to Westbury due 20:29
19:44 Swindon to Westbury due 20:29 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

 
4: Melksham

Cancellations of local trains prolific due to rerouting of long distance services and low capacity/long single block section. Doubling or long dynamic loops would alleviate this problem.

 

B****r !          missed that !

 
I have my own views on several of the 'Managers', more so in the more recent times than past.
Each to their own!