Prime Minister Andy Burnham says no one should be "priced out" or "left behind" when it comes to affordable transport links after announcing bus fares in England will be capped at £2.

"For too long people have said that cheaper transport isn't an option. I don't accept that. I've done it before and I will do it again now: a £2 cap on bus fares for millions across the country," he says in a statement.

"Lower fares will help people get to where they need to - giving them breathing space to help with the cost of living."

No trains to Paignton on Wednesday either.   However a “limited” train shuttle will run between Newton Abbot and Torquay, calling at Torre.

It wouldn't take many festival-goers and their camping gear to fill the 27X, which wouldn't go down well with its normal users.

...or alight at Bath and only pay £3 for the regular 27x bus. Although you've got to walk from the station to the (temporary) Guildhall bus stop, and from the Atworth Neston Park Lodge bus stop to the site; both are less than half a mile I think.

This topic has been moved to Shorter journeys in Devon - Central, North and South.

https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=32262.0

Paignton signaller had to evacuate and stop the 1st train of the day using hand signals.

Union plans rail strikes over train safety concerns


The RMT union said it had been in dispute with East Midlands Railway since April following the rollout of its 810 fleet - Image © Getty Images

A union that represents railway staff has announced plans for its members at East Midlands Railway (EMR) to take strike action over "growing safety concerns the company has failed to address".

The RMT union said it had been in dispute with EMR since April following the rollout of the 810 fleet (Aurora), which it said had been operating with a "significant number" of faults.  It said its members planned to take strike action on Saturday 1 August and the following two Saturdays.

An EMR spokesperson said any suggestion that the Hitachi Rail Class 810 fleet did not meet the required safety standards was "incorrect", and added it continued "to engage in discussions with RMT regarding this dispute".

Last week, EMR said reliability and maintenance issues with the new Aurora (Class 810) trains - made by Hitachi Rail - were to blame.

EMR has also outlined "challenges" with both the 810s and the older Class 222s, affecting the toilets, air conditioning and catering equipment.  It added the Class 222 trains had also required "additional maintenance support to accommodate increased running and operational requirements".

The operator first introduced the Aurora trains into passenger service in December, after what EMR said was a three-year delay.

According to the RMT, EMR has been sending trains into service that are "likely to fail and require a full reset which leaves the train with no active safety systems".

The BBC has seen an operational briefing, which informs control, signalling and operations staff about undertaking an Aux Off / Aux On reset on EMR class 810 units - which may be required to recover certain faults.

"The process takes approximately 20 minutes and results in the temporary loss of several safety-critical systems, creating an increased risk of an uncontrolled evacuation and removing the driver's normal means of communication with the signaller," it states.

Eddie Dempsey, RMT general secretary, said RMT reps at EMR had been "extremely patient" and tried to engage with management.  "The company has even put out safety notices with no involvement, consultation or negotiation with our reps who represent those most at risk.  RMT is demanding that whilst these faults exist and until these trains are shown to be operating properly, they should be taken out of service," he said.

An EMR spokesperson said the Hitachi Rail Class 810 fleet entered passenger service after "successfully completing all required testing and meeting rigorous safety standards".

"We recognise the Class 810 fleet has encountered performance and reliability issues in service and are working with the manufacturer, Hitachi Rail, to resolve these issues as quickly as possible," the spokesperson added.

EMR said the rollout of the new Class 810 fleet would continue "in a controlled manner" throughout the rest of the year and 2027.

A Hitachi Rail spokesperson said: "The Class 810 fleet has been in passenger service with East Midlands Railway since December 2025, and more than a third of the fleet has now been delivered.

"Hitachi Rail continues to work closely with all industry partners during the entry-into-service phase of the Class 810 fleet, implementing improvements and supporting the transition from the existing fleet to new Aurora trains.

"We remain focused on delivering the remainder of the fleet and supporting East Midlands Railway as more new trains enter passenger service. As part of this commitment, we are investing in additional testing activity at Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre to improve fleet introduction and delivery of the remaining trains."

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be started from Swindon.
It will no longer call at Gloucester, Stonehouse, Stroud and Kemble.
This is due to a safety inspection of the track earlier today.

Ryanair broken window may have been caused by 'foreign object'

An incident on a Ryanair flight which saw a passenger partially sucked out of a plane window may have been caused by "foreign object damage" to an engine, said the airline's boss.

Michael O'Leary said an initial investigation into the incident on 10 July between Greece and Germany suggests "it looks like a foreign object damage to the engine on takeoff at Thessaloniki but ... we can't say that definitively".

He insisted that the engine on the 18-year-old Boeing 737 plane had been fully serviced and overhauled in the past two years.

Serbian national Ljubisa Karović's head and right shoulder were sucked out of the plane's window, leaving him "seriously injured and in shock".

His wife Svetlana Grković Maksimović told BBC Serbia that she and two other passengers held on to his legs for several minutes.  She said: "We pulled him back together. His entire face was deformed and blood was pouring from his nose and mouth."

He was taken to hospital after the plane made an emergency landing.

Passengers told local media they heard "some kind of explosion" on board.

The aircraft was operated by Ryanair's subsidiary Malta Air.

Confirmation that the damage was caused by an external object could affect Ryanair or Boeing's liabilities over the incident.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating. O'Leary said that a draft report would be issued in about 28 days.

Faresaver are running a shuttle bus between the site and Chippenham station, timetabled as 30 mins; £10 for a single:
https://womad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/WOMAD-W1-2026-PUBLIC.pdf

Thanks for that - really informative and well spotted.

Also, I'd not reallsed that bridge heights and the fit beneath them were approached in a way that reminds me of... did anyone when very small have that child's puzzle that consisted of a plastic drum with a lid with various shaped holes in it - and a set of plastic shapes that needed to be pushed rather firmly through their respective apertures?

With those minimum clearance tolerances it rather sounds as though a combination of a vehicle that just passes beneath a bridge and a piece of debris on the road could precipitate a bridge strike. Now reading the notes and slides again to see if it's really the case that the notes say the clearance as signed is more than the bridge provides.

Mark

At least 27 dead and 83 missing after passenger ferry capsizes off Guyana


A search and rescue operation for dozens of missing people continued on Sunday - Image © Prime Minister Mark Phillips / Facebook

At least 27 people have drowned after a passenger ferry capsized off the coast of Guyana on Saturday night local time.

Sixty-nine people aboard the MV Barima had been rescued, Prime Minister Mark Phillips told reporters on Monday, adding 83 more remained missing.

Divers continue to search the site where the vessel capsized and people who believe their loved ones may have been on board the stricken vessel have been asked to contact the authorities.  "Our focus again is on finding people," said Phillips. "We still have hope."

An investigation into the tragedy had been launched, he said earlier.  "Let me be absolutely clear: where negligence, misconduct or criminal wrongdoing is established, those responsible will face the full force of the law," he said.

Guyana's Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, expressed his anger at a news conference on Sunday, accusing those who operated the ferry of trying to "cheat the system".  The official registry had listed 133 as being on board the ferry, but Phillips said on Monday he was now "confident" there were 179 people.  Edghill also said the ferry's captain and at least one crew member had tested positive for cannabis.

"We have zero tolerance for members of the crew drinking or smoking while at work. And for us to have positive tests from the captain... this is serious," the minister said.  He added the captain and several of his crew had been taken into police custody.

(BBC article continues)

And what is a TASC??

. A fire has broken out at Paignton Station, affecting signalling and surrounding infrastructure. Local news sources report that the fire is now out, but due to the nature of the damage, we will not be running trains on this route today. Please kindly note, Paignton station remains closed to the public.