Interviewer absolutely nails it.....

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BKfuUgiBz/

 

Ooops ... but at least they know they have a problem and have a holding page in place with a sense of humour and a stated timescale.

 
August bank holiday weekend and the Visit Cornwall web site has had a bit of a mare by their own account. They'll no doubt have it fixed dreckly.

Mark


https://visitcornwall.com/

 

A simple "No" would have sufficed 

 
The National Rail web site still lists accessibility as involving a shuttle bus between the two sides of the station (between certain dates / hours of the day).

Mark


https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/st-erth/

 

Kuhlungsborn has a population of around 8000 and is a smart residential town with plenty of very nice homes within very easy walking distance of the station - train into Bad Doberan with a connection onward to Rostock and also one on to Wismar. Rostock is a substantial working city. Buses also run and it's very much a suburban / commuter town into Rostock that Minehead probably isn't for those reliant on public transport into Taunton.

Plenty of hotel / leisure traffic outbound to both Kuhlungsborn and Heiligendamm and towns that are naturally set up for public transport, cycling, walking.

Some pictures from earlier this year and from last ... one streetview too as I didn't take any pictures in the streets near the station.

Edit to add - 3 stations (east, middle, west) along the line in Kuhlungsborn. Each - I think - with a close area of residential housing around them for train commutes, and an early Monday to Friday train all year into Bad Doberan.

Further edit to add - there is a tourist (room) tax in the wider Rostock area - and on paying in visitors are issues with a bus and tram (?train ?not Mollibahn) ticket covering the duration of their stay. I suspect in makes a difference as to whether people park up or use public transport during their stay, and to the finances of the whole operations.

 
Been unable to head west for a while, maybe next week I will with someone who could use the lifts if they're in service, what's the latest on these? I can always route via PZ if the lifts are still not available.

 

I might suggest that rather than having verbal proof, what you actually have is verbal evidence.

 
BBQ Sunday, don't forget!

 

Errr...that's nowt, nada, nothing whatsoever on Crosscountry.

Being available - on the end of the phone & (in the case of TV) able to travel to a suitable rail-looking interview venue. Bruce W is very good at that & gets his e-card around the media outlets

 
I would reverse that and ask you why / whether you have any evidence that they aren't? I have at least verbal proof that attempts have been made.

 

No sooner said than done, Trowres. 

Thank you for your post. CfN. 

 
I haven't made very many train journeys in the past year. Partly this is because the experience on the journeys I had made (with GWR) were so frequently stressful and uncomfortable (train cancellations, overcrowding, noisy football fans, mediocre in-train environments).

Finally, a success on Southeastern. Fast, it wasn't. But the class 375 Electrostar on the Hastings line was quiet, had working air conditioning, and seats with tables that lined up perfectly with the windows. (see: it is possible  ) . Seat comfort is subjective, but this party of three were in agreement that these were the  best seats encountered for ages.

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

 
The UK - or perhaps I should say England? - seems to be very good at providing reasons why things can't happen.

Many so-called heritage railways here are in some sort of financial difficulty at the moment. There's a recent thread on https://www.railforums.co.uk/ on this topic. It's rather dismal reading; contributors suggestions seem to include retrenchement - fewer operating days or trimmed timetables - and more drift away from being a genuine heritage railway towards some sort of sedate fairground ride "experience".

Another thread discusses main-line links. Again:,dismal reading: not worth the effort. Few passengers for the cost and effort etc. ( I have to say in this context that the main line railway hasn't helped -a thought that I may develop later).

When Grahame mentioned the Mollibahn (another line to the coast), I started to wonder about its business model. Its summer timetable (which runs until 2nd November) starts at 0640, with a nearly hourly service until the last train arrives back at 19:24. Seven days a week, I believe; and the railway's PDF timetable shows connecting train services.

This discussion is going to be more general than "Minehead Rail Link Group" - should it be split off?

 

Thanks, grahame. I'll try that one, in any divorce court. 

 
A 'news update', from the BBC:

 

Can you share any examples/evidence which demonstrate that GWR are raising these issues with the DfT?

 

So only the 1st class coaches in use with all the Standard locked out, it seems. Can't think why they'd do that though. And why that prevents a call at Ledbury....

 

Why do you think that GWR aren't already doing exactly that? Isn't it more likely that they are, and the DfT/Treasury are responding negatively about finding the money necessary?

 
Delays to services between London Paddington and Reading

Due to a points failure between London Paddington and Reading trains have to run at reduced speed on some lines.

Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 30 minutes. Disruption is expected until 13:30 23/08.

 

If you are looking for excuses reasons for high numbers there,  once you have loaded a page the connection to the server is dropped, and there's no way of knowing whether you're active or not.  Simple Machines software defaults to assuming that you're still here for a while after you cease loading pages and so your "total time online" escalates and is pretty inaccurate.

I have been practising my excuses!

 
From my forum profile:


CfN. 

 
Original story has made The BBC

 
You know that HUGELY embarrassing little section - 'total time logged in'?  I can't help but wonder what yours must be. I live in dread of my wife seeing mine one day . . .

 

No approach from me over the last couple of months.

It was in the runes when the new timetables came in for the summer that the reliability of the summer Saturday service from Swindon to Weymouth and back might not be good - to the extent that a risk assessment persuaded us locally not to market the service to newcomers.  Too much risk of them being put off train travel with a first experience.   Sadly, that decision has been vindicated with some outbound trips cancelled or cut short, and return cancellations with people furious about getting home with young children after midnight when the return service did not run beyond Westbury due to lack of crew. 


From a learning viewpoint, maybe. But I have heard so many explanations that haven't convinced me or have been proven to be unrealistically optimistic of wrong that I see them not so much as explanations but more as excuses, with little if anything done to fix the issues even if they are admitted to.   It's got to the extent that I could ask so much that I just annoy people.

I want to pick up this too

Sorry - I am no longer a "TW bod" in the sense you might mean.  I was a founder around 15 years ago, and indeed Community Rail Officer until mid 2018, at which point I resigned because a conflict of interest was seen between my Coffee Shop activities and the CRP role, and I chose the Coffee Shop.

Times move on, and there was a recent discussion with the new chair of the TransWilts CIC. They have identified (correctly in my view) that their community representation at board level  - which is where TransWilts CIC started - has swung the other way to an overwhelming set of local government types with some TOC representation. A balance is being sought.

As a result of the discussion, I reluctantly declined to rejoin at board level. There is still a conflict of interest there and a suggestion that concerns should be raised only at board level and not in a public forum if it might bring disrepute does not sit well with me.   A huge shame, but I do want to be able to say - for example - that I don't believe that our local CRP has actually been pushing and marshalling our TOC (who sit on their board) to sort things out. Nor have I seen them communicating as I think they should with passengers and communities served on reliability matters.

 
That's how they do it during rush hours to allow a more frequent service. Trouble is it relies on having a second train and crew which may well not be available or cost-effective at short notice. They also probably don't want to be worrying about trains using that section of line while fixing the fault (track circuit, axle counter?).

Still no service expected until Monday morning, which does seem a very long time.  I suppose it's possible that some of the technology is non-standard so not an off-the-shelf component, though I don't think they still use a single line token machine where something might break and need welding!

 
Saturday August 23

A curious one this morning:
Later - curiouser and curiouser:
Though RTT is reporting this as being a 9-car train.

 

Graham have you/any of the the other TW bods approached GWR senior managers directly for an explanation of why the service on this line has become so shambolic of late?

It would be interesting to hear their explanation.

From memory yourself and others have quite mature engagement channels.