The below BBC article talks about studies to reopen a disused line using VLR in the Ironbridge and Telford area.  The suggestion of a possible 2030 opening date though does seem ambitious.
Here's the link:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yd9eg2xgeo

 
Continuing today......

BBC News - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cwy0d0wgy4xt
Train delays latest: Passengers facing disruption for second day after power outage - BBC News

 

Prioritisation (at the least) is not a problem unique to Scotrail.   Using our local GWR TVM, start typing in a station name and the first offerings are not necessarily the local ones, nor the ones that most tickets are sold to from the station at which the TVM is located.

 

2013, it really took off and used by the blue light services during the pandemic.


What 3 Words is not just a UK specific locator, also it is simpler than the 2 letter and 8 digit grid ref system and a lot less prone to errors over radio / mobile phone. 

When I was at work we needed to list access points and electrical substations on the railway for use when dealing with the blue light services, the options where
ELR - very railway specific that no one outside the industry recognises
Post Code - not all railway access points / equipment locations have a post code, are near an address with a post code or the nearest post code is on the oposite side of the railway which by road could be 10 miles away!
Grid ref - These are used but even the 2 letter 6 digit are prone to errors
Lat/long - Not practical
What 3 Words - after post codes this was the first choice by the blue light services, even if you are out by a few squares it far simpler and more reliable than G/R

 
Can be useful for summoning the emergency services.
I can remember when I was working a not insignificant fire at a factory. The person calling the FB gave what she believed to be the post code and the fire tenders turned up at the sorting office in the nearby city.

 
**I assume they have checked this is true**

Within yesterday's Green Signals podcast it was highlighted that when using the App to search for stations the default list of 10 locations includes places such as Wickford & Wickham Market but not Wick.

Common sense should surely dictate that Scottish destinations are prioritised?

 
Didn't the latest GWR app have similar hiccups?

 

Another 'Industry Leader' with a degree in 'The Statement Of The Bleeding Obvious'.

Also 'Lessons Must Be Learnt' would have taken up less space.

 
I do not know the specifics of what back up power systems failed to operate correctly when the local DNO supply was interrupted at this Regional Control Centre (ROC).

These ROC's normally have 2 independent supplies from the DNO, (in much the same way as a hospital).  There are automatic change over panel / load transfer switches, these can take between 2 to 10 seconds to change over. Also there diesel generators which take up to 30 seconds to come on load.

The time delays are to cover for brown outs (A brownout is a drop in electrical voltage. Lights dim and devices keep running on less power. Power companies use them on purpose to stop a total blackout. Bad weather or high demand can also cause them by accident).  There are UPS's to cover for the time for the back-ups to come on line, because of the electrical load at these ROC and the fact there are backups the UPS's are sized to hold the full load for 2 to 5 minute's the UPS's are also used in normal service to condition the power supplies to the signalling systems.

(This from my limited knowledge of signalling systems)  Railway signalling systems are designed to fail safe, in the event of an unstable power supply the signalling system will revert to Danger.  Outlining Interlockings rely on data links back to the ROC whilst there are automatic signals there are many that rely on "talking" to the ROC if the comms is lost the local interlocking will go to danger, it is possible that many of these interlockings required a site visit by a signalling tech to reset them.
Also any local to the ROC track side signalling systems that are feed from the ROC, and by local this could be a large area going out several miles, the electric equipment for points, track circuits and axel counters have a "crowbar device" in there internal power supplies, these crowbars operate and short circuit blowing the integral power supply fuses when the power supply goes unstable which is quite common during a brownout, this will place the signals at danger (Red) or they go dark, a train driver regards a dark signal as danger (Red) signal.

From my working life dealing with a number of large signalling centres covering the SE Railway area what happened at Manchester is the worst nightmare for the NR Route power and signalling Engineers; it is something that the systems have their single points of failure identified and where possible designed out where this is not possible / practical to do process to manage the risk are in place and the systems are maintained and tested for such events.

But at the end of the day these are large complex systems with a number of single points of failure.

The NR Route and NR HQ will have already been working on what the root cause of yesterdays failure was, and in my previous roll at NR I would have been on a number of conference calls today and next week looking at the lessons learnt and putting action plans in place with the maintainers to inspect and test similar systems in my former area

 
Some stats - sharing an answer I posted to a question asked of me on Facebook

 

I remember seeing them - nearly twenty years ago! 

 
So ... The Melksham Carnival was a jolly evening for us to dress up, walk around the streets of Melksham, and remind people of the public transport services they have in our town.  Enjoyed and it felt good - but was it effective in reaching people and helping get more bums on seats?   How does one measure such things?

Certainly, as I observe public transport around "here", I see it busier than I can recall in the past. 

In the middle of the day yesterday, I had a little outing from home to Westbury Leigh, walk through the Melksham Town Centre, train to Dilton Marsh. 

The 272 that passed me as I walked to the station wan't quite full and standing but it wasn't far off.  The 69 as I returned though the town a couple of hours later had a sprinkling of people on board and for that service, that's good.  The Town Bus, and also the 47 that passed us under the bridge at Dilton Marsh Station, looked to be carrying fresh air (and on infrequent very local buses the can be a problem.

The 11:31 from Melksham to Westbury picked up 13 people and dropped off 6, leaving with 50 on board - [56/19] in the old measuring system of [[journeys to/from/through][journeys with Melksham end point]]. The return train that called at 14:34 carried 36 into Melksham, dropped off 10, picked up 7 - [43/17].  Neither of those is what I would expect to be busy trains, and in both cases the connector on to/from Dilton Marsh was quieter.

But ... I have no evidence there as to whether or not the carnival walk brought any of those particular passengers - all goes into the melting pot, and the best we can do is work with a feeling that every little bit helps.  Certainly a long way from the days I could go down to the station and watch the bunny rabbits hopping around.

 
Profound words, beautifully put with great insight!

"We've got to really understand what's gone wrong here, because clearly something has and we've got to make sure we investigate that thoroughly to understand why things haven't restored as we would have expected," said Chris Wright, Route Director NW at Network Rail.

 

I changed trains at both of those on Tuesday.  Some 80+ years later it's kinda hard to work out the relative age of all the bits and pieces.  Pictures are from earlier visits - both changes the other day were "pass though"s with no thought to photograph / rather to get me and Lisa onto the ongoing train/RRB

 
A few years ago I had great sympathy for the young people of areas like Cornwall and Devon and I still have.

Being unable to buy homes in the small hamlets and towns where they grew up.
As far as I am concerned the blame lies with their parents and grand parents who took the big bucks from those in more affluent areas of the country.
Who just visit  Devon and Cornwall for a few week ends a year   

 

Lulu and Lightning ... not necessarily in that order - it was a pleasure.  We didn't actually find the 'spare' one: there was a loose greyhound out on the roads in Melksham, apparently. 

 
I was born in Devonport (Alexandra Maternity Home - good luck finding that one these days! ) and grew up in Plymstock, a suburb of Plymouth.

There, I attended Plymstock School, then a 'Comprehensive', but which was still run along the lines of it having been, I seem to remember, a Grammar School.  There were some 2,000 pupils at that time.

I have many fond memories of that school, and don't recall any impression that I was being offered an 'inferior' education. Indeed, I still recall my geography teacher, Keith Stoyle, who inspired me with my continuing love of Ordnance Survey maps, and Mr Rogerson, who inspired me with my love of woodwork - just for example.

Chris from Plymstock. 

 
Having used OS grid references since I was a 10 year old Cub I've mostly regraded w3w as a solution looking for a problem. It's unnecessarily precise for most purposes and can't be adjusted; my front door and garden gate don't need different references to find my house, with another again if you're on the road instead of the pavement! OS can do 1km squares for a rough area, or 100m for greater accuracy by which stage you should generally be able to find the thing you're looking for.  Then there's Google Maps.  Both can be generated by phones just as easily as w3w and don't end up giving you words that you have to spell out.
w3w is perhaps the Trainline of mapping.  Not actually bad, but got where it has by good marketing and so coming to the attention of people who hadn't realised there was any other way of doing it.

 
Please accept my apologies for introducing an element of levity to this topic.

 
Cancellations to services between Didcot Parkway and London Paddington

Due to a safety inspection of the track between Didcot Parkway and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run on some lines towards London Paddington.

Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

 

Didn't 115 cause chaos yesterday?

The 175s are supposedly being let loose on Okehampton/Barnstaple at the end of August. It is an ideal train but only if they can get it to work. Improved services required 19 trains, the number of 769s, GWR have 16 175s now with another 10 due.

 

As an amateur historian:

During World War Two, Allied strategic bombing and ground combat heavily targeted and destroyed major German railway hubs, marshalling yards, and terminal stations. Iconic casualties included Berlin's opulent Anhalter Bahnhof and Lehrter Bahnhof, as well as severely battered city infrastructure across Frankfurt, Cologne, and Hamburg.

Major Destroyed or Damaged Stations:

Berlin Anhalter Bahnhof: Once a grand terminus and gateway to the south, it was ruined in the final months of the war and later partially demolished in 1960, leaving only a famous portico ruin.

Berlin Lehrter Bahnhof: Heavily hit by Allied air raids, the ruin was eventually demolished in the 1950s; the modern Berlin Hauptbahnhof now occupies the site.

Cologne Central Station (Köln Hbf): Situated next to the Cologne Cathedral, the station and surrounding tracks suffered catastrophic damage from thousands of tons of allied bombs before being rebuilt in the post-war era.

Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof: The grand train shed and passenger halls suffered severe structural damage from strategic air attacks in 1944 before undergoing extensive reconstruction.

Impact on the Rail Network Systemic Targeting:

The Royal Air Force and U.S. Army Air Forces systematically attacked rail yards to choke off Nazi military logistics and fuel supplies.

Post-War Realities:

Many heavily damaged terminal stations in divided post-war Germany were never rebuilt because traffic patterns shifted or partition rendered them obsolete.

I am sure Coffee Shop member stuving will be able to offer more detail here.

CfN. 

 
Top BBC News story; live updates: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn5nlvdxpwpo

 

Louise Haigh's in charge but apparently she's not answering her phone 

 
But he’s not in Manchester, he’s on holiday “overseas”.   

 
So much for Andy Burnham having the power to run the whole country from Manchester.

Sorry for my sarcastic, personal opinion only, post.

CfN.

 
Power failure, and as one would expect with it being the railway, back up generators failed.

Hence total chaos.

Good luck to anyone caught up in it.

 

Trusted on the main line though?

Five Devon/Cornwall diagrams being worked by 175s today, specifically:  175009, 175011, 175101, 175111, 175112.  Plus a sixth, 175002, running up and down on test/training runs.

 
I can only speak for girls/women I know. My next doors neighbours two girls, both in their mid twenties now, went to Churston Grammar mixed school which is about a mile from where I am. One went to Cambridge to study medicine and worked and trained at Addenbrooks and is now a doctor at Weston Super-mare Hospital. The other girl went to Bristol and is an engineer.  I know another women in her mid twenties went to Cambridge and is working in a care home which she has reservations about but has been there over 18 months.

Torbay has two grammar schools, separate boys and girls, that are really sort after with pupils commuting to them by train to Torre. Up to 200 get off the 0820 arrival.

There is also a combined CofE/Roman Catholic secondary school.

Those four schools are real assets to Torbay.

Some of the primary schools have 600/700 pupils which was unheard of in my day.