We're now back to close of play on the 14th......

London Paddington

Due to vandalism of railway equipment between Reading and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run.

Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day on 14/09/26.

Cancellations to services between Reading and London Paddington

Due to vandalism of railway equipment between Reading and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or revised. Twyford, Maidenhead and Slough will not be served. Disruption is expected until the end of the day on 14/09/26.

Perhaps an unfair snapshot - but half the service cancelled today.  Yes, journey can be made with a changes at Didcot, but no customer advice to let people know that.   

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. 

Nothing yet for GWR, but seems new train orders for UK have started again. 

I don't think there has been any non Open Access orders since 2019 (except the 10 extra Elizabeth line trains and the 10 CAF class 387s for LNER)

29 x 5car trains for Transpennine have just been announced (but not until 2034) from Alstom at Derby

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd94y7d7qyzo

In my experience, in a previous job delivering groceries to them, the usually Chinese students were always unfailingly polite. A credit to their upbringing. 

It sometimes feel that most of them visit Bath ... and Windsor and Stonehenge, many of them visiting two or even three of those in a day.  Away from the "Honey Pots" there are so many places worthy of so many more visitors from USA residents than they get.   

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:06

Facilities on the 20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:06.
This is due to the train making extra stops because a train was cancelled.
Will be formed of 2 coaches instead of 3.

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 has been delayed at Gloucester and is now 12 minutes late.
This is due to congestion.

If you think they all head to Bath, try visiting Windsor sometime!

Poppies made of scallop shells honour 9/11 victims


Cornish-born Rick Rescorla helped get people out of the World Trade Center's South Tower during the 9/11 attacks - Image © PA Media

A special tribute has been made to remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks - including a Cornishman whose actions are credited with helping save lives.

The Veterans Charity invited people to Hayle, Cornwall, to be part of a "poppy production line" using about 6,000 scallop shells to create 2,977 poppies - one for each of the victims of the attacks that happened 25 years ago on Friday.

Among the victims was Rick Rescorla, originally from Hayle, who was a security worker who managed to get people to safety after planes crashed into the World Trade Center.

Iain Henderson, trustee of The Veterans Charity, said the project was a "fitting tribute" to Rescorla and everyone else who died.

(BBC article continues)

Ryanair boss O'Leary defends 'high-fare rapists' airlines remarks

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has refused to apologise to a rape crisis centre which criticised him for describing rival airlines as "high-fare rapists".

Speaking to journalists, O'Leary said some people were "desperate to get to Ryanair's low fares because they can't afford to fly with the high-fare rapists around Europe".

O'Leary doubled-down on his choice of words when asked about them at the time, and later refused to apologise when the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) wrote to him asking for apology, in a letter seen by the BBC.

Ireland's deputy premier Simon Harris said it was "clearly an inappropriate use of language" and that O'Leary "should have moved to rectify it".

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told UK radio outlet LBC that victims of rape are "not going to be rushing to book tickets with him, let's be honest".

O'Leary made the comments on Thursday while talking to journalists ahead of Ryanair's yearly meeting with shareholders.

Asked by a reporter from the Press Association whether the language was appropriate, he said: "Absolutely."

"British Airways, Lufthansa, and everybody else's high fares, I'll happily offend them on a regular basis," he added.

Asked whether it would offend sexual assault victims, he said rape was "a terrible crime".

Following O'Leary's comments, the DRCC's chief executive Rachel Morrogh wrote to O'Leary accusing him of trying to get a headline with his comments.  She said the DRCC had received calls from rape victims who were "upset and distressed because of what you said".

She offered O'Leary training on the impact of sexual violence and urged him to apologise.  "I can't imagine you would ever use the term so flippantly again if you truly understood [what] it was like to survive rape," she wrote.

In response, O'Leary said: "I am quite clear that no remarks of mine could possibly trivialise the heinous crime of rape."  He added that as he had not "trivialised the heinous crime of rape" he would "not be issuing any apology or accepting your offer of training".

It is not the first time O'Leary has offended people while talking about his business.  In 2004, he reportedly called the owners of Stansted Airport "a bunch of overcharging rapists" in a row over airport charges.

He has also previously called some of his own staff "lazy bastards" and once said to passengers looking for a refund "we don't want to hear your sob stories".

In June, he said the airline would "reluctantly" stop charging parents to sit next to children after a watchdog investigation was opened, but insisted its previous policy complied with laws.

Posting this here somewhat lightheartedly:

Of those 3.9 million US residents who visited the UK, I reckon about 3 million of them have Bath as their destination.  Some of them are a pain in the proverbial, milling about in huge groups and generally getting in the way.

However, I did have a great chat with two older American men in a traditional pub in Bath, many years ago.  They had ventured out from their hotel to sample an old English pub.  We fell into conversation about licensing laws, as they were initially puzzled by the particular wording of the UK signs on the bar, asking for ID.

CfN. 

The hairier Earley footbridge features in this document from Wokingham Borough Council. A repair to it is in the pipeline, to extend its life by 15 years. A list of risks includes that once repairs are under way, elements of the bridge may be found to be in worse condition than previously thought.

Mark

https://wokingham.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s81089/Capital%20Monitoring%20202526%20-%20Q2.pdf

Station footbridge to shut for essential maintenance

We’ll be closing the footbridge near Earley station, which crosses the railway and A3290, for refurbishment from mid-October until next April.

We’ll let you know the exact start dates nearer the time.

While there are no safety concerns, we need to refurbish parts of this early 1970s structure to maintain its condition and extend its working life.

Once we start, we’ll be shutting the station car park for use as a site compound, though the parcel collection and charity drop boxes will remain accessible.

We’ll be replacing the footbridge ramps to the same dimensions as before, but with steel steps instead of concrete ones on either side.

That was my thoughts, what do we use D cells for now?
OS in post CFN.

I tried to find stats for travellers from the UK rather than USA - and I found holiday vacation countries only.  Other data offered from behind a firewall but way out of budget.  Whilst the majority of journeys are for vacation,  https://www.finder.com/uk/credit-cards/outbound-tourism-statistics

Now (03:00 on 10th) saying "until end of 11th"

Noting some peak hour long distance trains have added calls today at one or two of Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford, and that does seem logical.  Hope they have the capacity.

You invest to get a return, but GWR see no return in the South West but are prepared to ride on the backs of others. Taxpayers, Stakeholders, third parties.

Some more passing loops and increased services would give them more passengers, more revenue

There's a section on the class 175 problems in this week's Green Signals podcast and weekly You Tube video, including an interview with Barry Milsom of GWR. See https://www.greensignals.org/podcast/more-diversions-gwrs-plan-to-keep-customers-on-trains-over-christmas/ at 14.55
 
(it also includes a piece on diversions during the up-coming blockades between Reading and Paddington that members will find of interest).

Five dead and dozens injured in coach crash in Swiss Alps


The coach was carrying dozens of Dutch nationals - Image © Jon Duschletta/EPA/Shutterstock

Five people have died and dozens are injured after a tourist coach crashed in the south-eastern Swiss Alps, police say.

The Dutch tour bus hit a safety barrier in a roadworks area, left the road and overturned between Susch and Zernez in the Graubünden region late on Thursday afternoon.

Swiss police said on Friday that the deceased had not yet been identified.

They added that the other 40 people on board the coach - whose injuries ranged from serious to minor - had been transported to hospitals by rescue helicopters and ambulance crews.

The coach reportedly left the Netherlands on Monday and was on a day trip to Switzerland from Austria when the crash happened.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said his thoughts were everyone involved, and King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima said their hearts went out to everyone affected by "this great tragedy".

Swiss President Guy Parmelin posted on X that he was "deeply shocked" by the incident and offered his "sincere condolences" to the families of the victims.


A photo released by police showed the coach lying on its side beside a narrow country road - Image © Graubünden cantonal police

Graubünden cantonal police said three people were seriously injured in the incident.

It added that seven helicopters from both Switzerland and Austria had been involved in the rescue effort, alongside fire departments and the Plaiv road rescue service.

Graubünden's public prosecutor's office and police are investigating the circumstances that led to the crash.

Zernez is the entry point for visitors to the Swiss National Park, a vast Alpine reserve stretching more than 100 sq km (40 sq miles) across the mountainous Engadine valley.

You invest to get a return, but GWR see no return in the South West but are prepared to ride on the backs of others. Taxpayers, Stakeholders, third parties.