Mark, if you require a second in any subsequent duel, I'm free! 

Although this thread seems to be me mainly talking to myself ...

Millions of people are on the move this Easter bank holiday weekend amid warnings there could be disruption due to rail engineering works, an airport strike and heavy traffic.

More than 300 maintenance projects will be carried out by Network Rail - including at London Euston Station - over the long weekend, and Gatwick Airport is warning that planned industrial action could impact a "small number of airlines".

On the roads, the RAC has warned there could be "big [traffic] jams" with nearly 20 million people expected to travel on Good Friday.

Weather could also have an impact with yellow warnings for rain issued for parts of south-west England, south Wales and eastern parts of Northern Ireland.

Kevin Groves, Network Rail's head of media, said the vast majority of the rail network - over 95% - was "actually open for business as usual". But he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there were "some pockets" of major work, most significantly at London Euston Station, which would be closed from Saturday to Monday. During this time, there will be no trains running from the station to Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire.

A reduced timetable will operate during the long weekend, and services on the West Coast Main Line will begin and end at Carlisle from Saturday to Monday, with replacement buses covering northern stations.

Meanwhile, half of London Victoria will be shut, with Southeastern trains diverted to London Bridge or London Cannon Street. Routes around Southampton and Brockenhurst will also be hit by closures.

Mr Groves urged passengers travelling during the Easter period to "plan ahead" and check their journeys. But he said the railway network was going to be "actually quieter" than any other Saturday, Sunday or Monday.

(Article continues)

(Mark's problem was he was trying to be too clever, of course.)

So, for the proverbial 'little old lady, living in Bradford on Avon, who wants to visit her sister whom is still living in East London', how does she do all of that - with perhaps limited access / experience of the internet?

She won't: she will take a bus / coach journey instead.  And probably pay less. 

... preference should be given to use of British made materials and employment of British workers.

Unemployment is likely to worsen, and spending public money within the UK economy helps both directly and indirectly.

Foreign made goods might be unavoidable in some circumstances, but preference should be given to UK suppliers unless there is a significant reason to do otherwise.

The UK is "greener" than many of our competitors, and this advantage is diluted by purchasing supplies from many overseas suppliers.

A British couple were among the four people killed in a cable car crash near Naples, Italian police have said.

The mountain cable car cabin plunged to the ground after one of the cables supporting it snapped on Thursday, local officials said.

The cable car operator said it had passed a safety inspection just two weeks ago - and a criminal investigation has now been opened.

The UK foreign office said it was in touch with local authorities but has not confirmed the identities of the victims.

They are believed to be three passengers and the driver of the cable car, who was named by local officials as 59-year-old Carmine Parlato. The fourth person who died was an Israeli woman, according to a spokesperson for the mayor of Castellammare di Stabia.

A fifth person in the cabin, believed to be another tourist, was "extremely seriously injured" in the crash and airlifted to hospital, officials said. They are now in stable condition, the Alpine Rescue Service told the BBC on Friday morning.

Formal identification of the remaining victims has not yet taken place.

Authorities in Torre Annunziata have opened an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Sixteen people were rescued from a second cabin which was also on the line near the bottom of the valley at the time of the accident. They were winched to safety.

The mayor of Castellammare di Stabia - where the cable car is located - said it was believed a traction cable had snapped. "The emergency brake downstream worked but clearly not the one on the cabin that was about to reach the top of the hill," he told Italian media on Thursday. He added that there had been regular safety checks on the cable car line which runs three kilometres from the town to the top of the mountain.

A spokesperson for the UK's foreign office said: "We are dealing with an incident in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities. Our thoughts are with those affected."

Shortly after the crash, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was on a trip to Washington, expressed her "sincere condolences" to the families of the victims.

The Mount Faito cable car has been operating since 1952. A similar accident on the line in 1960 left four people dead.

You have to love the stock image use to illustrate the story though!

Miniature railway opening date postponed


One station will be named after Robert Stride, who developed Severn Beach as a tourist resort in the 1930s

The opening date for a planned miniature railway attraction in South Gloucestershire has been pushed back.

Joe Nemeth, founder of the Severn Beach Miniature Railway said the project had been "stressful" but was also now an "unstoppable force". He had originally intended to open by Easter, but is instead aiming for July.

The postponement came as a result of council delays on the railway's planning application.

For the past few months, Mr Nemeth and his team of volunteers have been preparing the site near the promenade in Severn Beach, and a shipping container has been installed for an engine shed. He has also been offered one of the locomotives and carriages which formerly ran on a railway in nearby Clevedon, and had been sitting in storage for 10 years.

Mr Nemeth eventually plans to build his own carriages for the attraction.

One of the stations will be named "Stride Halt", after Robert Stride, the entrepreneur who turned Severn Beach into a tourist resort in the 1930s, and who built the first railway there.

"Robert even built built the house I live in," Mr Nemeth said. "I'd like to think he would be delighted I'm bringing this back, the resort went downhill for many years but since the Covid pandemic, people have realised what a fantastic place it is to visit. It's the perfect time to do something like this," he added.


The railway has acquired some of the engines it plans to run from the summer

At one point, Mr Nemeth said he considered "pulling the plug" on the project because of the stress. "The delays have cost us money, and it has gobbled up the finance I raised for it. But regardless of the setback, South Gloucestershire Council are really supporting it as they can see the visitors it will bring in and the benefits to groups and young people in the area," he said.

BRTA Westbury Forum

Saturday 10 May 2025 1pm lunch 2-4pm business
Venue: The Railway Inn, Station Road, Westbury BA13 4HW


Agenda:

1.     Appointment of a Chair (not Simon)

2.     Apologies for absence

3.     Radstock-Frome: Can BRTA recruit and fill the gap with research, study, case building and route protection? How?

4.     Taunton-Barnstaple: Councils and agencies need to study and find solutions.

5.     Bristol Metro: LRT should be on road space, Bristol-Portishead should be conventional rail.

6.     New stations - West of England: Do a list for study and assessment on case merits

7.     New stations - South West Main Line and South West Main Line Cinderella Status via Axminster, what can be done/draw a list of ideas

8.     Bristol Temple Meads-Weymouth: How can patronage be enhanced?

9.     New bridge over River Severn

10.    Gloucester-Ross-on Wye-Hereford: needs an Area Rep to work it up.

11.    Severn Twin-Track new rail bridge linking England and Wales for more by rail capacity

12.    Bridport, Seaton, and Lyme Regis re-rail connectivity to main rail

13.    Yeovil curves enabling for example Weymouth-Exeter direct via Yeovil Junction?

14.    14. Any Other Business

15.    Day, date of next forum (scheduled and Exeter for Dr Jonathan Coghill to chair to be decided and put on website page).

BRTA is pro-rail, seeking solutions to overcome problems, not bedevilment. Any queries: ceo@brtarail.com See our website: https://brtarail.com/events/ and our Blogspot: https://brtarailvolunteer.blogspot.com/

Dear All,
BRTA Westbury Forum 10-05-2025 All Welcome

I attach and list below the agenda BRTA will be tabling at the Westbury Forum. Please come and bring family and friends to gather together and explore, be open minded and help with solutions to overcome problems. 60 years since main closures, so much water under the proverbial bridge, blockages abound, but if there is a case for reopening for all the many benefits it brings, then should we urge councils, agencies and other power-platforms to engage more, study the case merits more and invest in strategies to get local rail back as much as possible for people and goods? Should we like HS2 have a "here's the cheque, move please"? or accept collateral damage, loss, disenfranchisement and estrangement to the 'now' situation on the ground? That is the choice nationwide. Bedford-Cambridge will not be an easy fight, and both old routes and new have their similar problems and power adequacy dilemmas on a budget of £6.4 billion and the Lower Thames Crossing (road only) £8-9 billion was found recently. The South West like the North needs its share and tiered approaches of 1. what can be done now, 2. what is medium term and 3. what is for someone else/wishful thinking? Faith-based realism and pragmatism is not the same as negativity, cynicism and throwing 80% market share to road upgrades which seem abundant, whilst congestion, pollution and parking demands seem endless, when the rail alternative could make a real contribution?

BRTA can plant ideas, make requests and urge powers to invest in studying, making a case, protecting routes and deviation spaces and moving agendas towards delivery incrementally or like Bristol-Portishead as a full blown project which is all weather proof, why? Because the determinism was there and robust.

What BRTA can do is seek to recruit a growing membership, advocate ideas in the media and other consultations and by growing our support base, delegating to Area Reps and them in turn doing the same and growing teams for project work, enabling real advocacy and progress as far as we may, to be realised, actualised and done. Often it is the absence of advocacy come rain or shine, which allows by default routes to be lost, costs to spiral and damage done.

Ross on Wye is teaming with hotspot tourism, the case is readily discernible, the A40 evermore congested, land use for parking is land not available for other things, so talk with the town council and get a dialogue going, but needs capable people.

BRTA seeks those people who take the proverbial 'fish' and turn it into a meal for 5000+ people! Not so much the 'miraculous' but the constant chipping away for a few basics and other things falling into place. If you do not ask, you will never get it. So we seek, ask and find incremental gains become apparent, fanning flames for more.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Pill
BRTA CEO

Ps. Happy Easter and I am clearing my decks for invasive eye surgery in the coming week, which will put me out of action for a while. Thank you.

07:00 Worcester Shrub Hill to Didcot Parkway due 08:46 is being delayed at Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to a points failure.
Last Updated:18/04/2025 07:21