Man airlifted to hospital after Trowbridge railway station incident

South Western Ambulance Service sent two crews to reports of a serious medical emergency at around 7.20am on Sunday (6 April).

Medics provided critical care to a man, who reportedly collapsed at the railway station.

He was stabilised before being put into the air ambulance and flown to Bristol Royal Infirmary for further treatment.

Around a dozen people stopped to watch the helicopter land and take off, many filming the sight on their mobile phones.

Special test event provides valuable insight for Great Western Railway’s fast-charge battery trial

A special test event saw 250 volunteers board Great Western Railway’s battery train to help provide valuable insight for its industry-leading trial.

The ‘High Passenger Load’ operation tested energy consumption and will form part of findings to be fed back to the Department for Transport (DfT).

The 'average customer' is only after the cheapest option and probably doesn't understand the full implications of split ticketing, particularly when combined with Advance Tickets.

As has been pointed out elsewhere, split tickets are widely available via a number of other sources who will work out the best deal for the customer and present them with the options - the need to be "in the know", is limited only to having the knowledge that the opportunity for these savings exists.

A mother was run over and killed by a double decker bus she was trying to get on after it left the stop early, an inquest has heard.

Helaleh Cheraghmakani, known as Hailey, banged on the door to be let in before falling down and under the bus in Nottingham city centre on the morning of 22 October, when she was due to start a new job at Boots.

A collision investigator said it was likely the 34-year-old had been caught by the tyre next to the door as the bus turned left at a junction, causing her to fall.

A coroner found the collision was "unavoidable" because it was dark and the driver would not have seen Hailey, but her husband said he intended to "fight for justice" through the civil courts.

Ramin Dehbandi, Hailey's husband, said: "She was a wonderful wife and mother and I loved her with all my heart.  To make the incredibly painful situation even worse, our daughter Liana blames me for her mummy not being there, that I am stopping her from coming back, and calls me Daddy Monster.  She asked me the other day if I would let mummy pick her up one day from nursery and I could not sleep from the sorrow."

Hailey was due to start a new job at Boots in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, the inquest was told.  She was due to start at 06:00 BST, but the inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court heard she was running late because she had initially been given the wrong start date.

The bus was meant to leave George Street at 06:00, but the driver left 45 seconds early.  The inquest heard this was acceptable within Nottingham City Transport's policies, which allow buses to leave stops up to a minute early.

CCTV footage showed Hailey running down George Street as she tried to catch up with the bus.

The driver, Anthony Watson, had indicated right when he left the bus stop and was still indicating right when he turned left at the junction on to Lower Parliament Street, the inquest heard.  In his statement to police, Mr Watson claimed he had indicated left.  Hailey left the pavement and stepped into the carriageway as she banged the doors.

In his statement, the driver said he had "heard a bang" on the side of the bus but "did not know what what the bang was".  He said he continued to pull out of the junction, but braked when he saw the nearside back wheel going over a person.

The inquest heard Hailey and her husband had been together since they were 18 and were originally from Iran.  They moved to the UK in September 2023, shortly after having their daughter, as they wanted to give her a better future.

In his statement to police, Mr Dehbandi said there were different practices for catching buses in Iran.  "In Iran, if you run for the bus and wave your hands at the bus they often stop; this was common practice," he said.

However, the inquest heard it was against Nottingham City Transport's Conditions of Carriage, external to let passengers on once a bus had left the stop.  Section 34 states: "Once buses have closed their doors and the driver has signalled to pull away, the bus will not be able to let you board because the driver is committed to re-joining the main traffic flow."  Section 28 also states: "For safety reasons, buses will only stop at recognised bus stops to allow passengers to board."

Police investigated but decided it was not a criminal matter, and an inquest was therefore held.

Assistant coroner Nathanael Hartley concluded Hailey died as a result of a road traffic collision.  He found the driver's failure to indicate left did not have an impact on the collision, as Hailey had caught the bus the day before and knew it turned left at the junction.  He found the collision was "unavoidable" due to the lighting conditions at that time of the morning, and the dark clothing Hailey was wearing, meaning the driver would not have seen her.  He said her cause of death was multiple injuries and she died at the scene.

Daniel Denton, a solicitor from Hodge Jones & Allen representing Mr Dehbandi, said: "This is such an unimaginably tragic case that has devastated the lives of my client and his daughter.  Their loving wife and mother were snatched away from them and we need answers as to how this could have been allowed to happen.  We will continue our fight for answers and for justice for Helaleh through the civil courts."

Vandalised Paddington statue to return



A Paddington statue that was ripped from a bench by two RAF engineers is to be reinstalled.

The homage to the famous bear has been repaired and repainted and will be unveiled during a ceremony in Newbury, Berkshire, on Wednesday.

Part of the statue was removed and taken in the early hours of 2 March by Daniel Heath, from Thornton, near Bradford in West Yorkshire, and William Lawrence, from Enderby, Leicestershire.  The pair, both 22 and based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, admitted criminal damage and were ordered to carry out unpaid work as well as pay £2,725 to cover the cost of repairs.

The statue was originally unveiled in the hometown of Paddington creator Michael Bond in October 2024.  It was one of dozens put up across the UK as part of the Paddington Visits trail to celebrate the film, Paddington in Peru.

The repaired bear will be unveiled by Ian Batho and Ashley Morris from Newbury Business Improvement District (BID).

Ben Beardmore-Gray, marketing manager at Newbury BID, said: "We have received so many lovely messages from parents who wanted to share how much their children have been missing Paddington... we are delighted to announce that Paddington is finally ready for his much-anticipated return to Newbury.  The reinstallation offers a unique opportunity for us to provide a special moment that parents can share with their children, so we'd like to invite any families along on the day to join us welcoming Paddington home."

As part of the unveiling, children are being encouraged to write a letter welcoming Paddington back to Newbury.  They can be delivered to a special postbox next to his bench between 10:00 and 14:00 BST on Wednesday.

The unveiling ceremony will begin on Northbrook Street at 11:30.

Slightly surprised I haven't seen the pack. Could you send me a copy or a link please and I would be happy to mirror

Now double posted somehow? I thought there was a check for that?

Thank you for registering to attend last week's conference. The presentations are now available at https://connectedcities-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/admin_connectedcities_org_uk/EmVQhCC6jcNBim0KbKSV2CwBAyOslznH0Nl_7Kvmm2bh4g?e=o8HZsI Videos and transcripts will be available in due course. You will be notified. Kind regards, ConnectedCities Team

Thank you for registering to attend last week's conference. The presentations are now available at https://connectedcities-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/admin_connectedcities_org_uk/EmVQhCC6jcNBim0KbKSV2CwBAyOslznH0Nl_7Kvmm2bh4g?e=o8HZsI Videos and transcripts will be available in due course. You will be notified. Kind regards, ConnectedCities Team

My real point, I feel, is that until we have a comprehensive review of ticketing these anomalies will continue to appear to those who have an understanding of the ticketing system.
The move to single leg pricing and perhaps tap-in systems will help to deliver this but will need to get the confidence of the passenger in this. Until that time the ticket office will have a significant role to play.

The slide pack is available from the presentations. Maybe Graham could load them up on a mirror sometime?

<devils mode=advocate>In an accountant's or treasury eyes, of course, it might be seen as a damned good example of why the ticket offices should be closed as this clerk has just cost the train operator / DfT / government nearly £40 in lost revenue, in addition to the salary he drew while advising you.</devils>

Accompanying grandson to Penryn,by train from Axminster at 07.37, on Wednesday where he has a university interview. Researched the fares and found the return would be £67.30.

Deciding to get the tickets in advance from [snip] station, rather than online, turned out to be a good decision. The ticket office clerk advised me ...

My journey will now cost me just £28.80.
This exemplifies the need for ticket reform and the retention of ticket offices.

Mods if you feel this should be posted elsewhere please do so.

On CrossCountry, I think not?