Plans to install huge wraparound video adverts in Elizabeth line stations have raised fears that commuters will be "bombarded with ads".

Transport for London's (TfL) advertising partner Global said it wants to introduce "world-first immersive formats" such as digital screens covering the walls and ceilings of the line's underground walkways.

City Hall's Green Party said the "digital wraps" could spoil the "beautiful, calming" design of the Elizabeth line, stations, which recently won the Stirling Prize for Architecture

TfL said they were in early development and will be tested and assessed before they are introduced.

Caroline Russell, a Green member of the London Assembly, said the planned "sensory-heavy" wraparound screens raised "serious concerns for neurodiverse Londoners". "The Elizabeth Line stations are designed to be beautiful, calming environments through which many thousands of people pass every hour. While advertising generates revenue that's reinvested back into the transport system, TfL is a public service – it shouldn't be so underfunded that Londoners are bombarded with ads just to keep the network afloat."

A TfL spokesperson said: "A full Equality Impact Assessment will also be carried out to ensure that the needs of all customers are fully considered."

In addition to its plans for the Elizabeth line, Global has said it wants to transform the 160m long moving walkway at Waterloo Tube station into a "multi-sensory experience" featuring eight large digital screens, "combining sound, 3D visuals, scent and motion".

Across the wider Underground network, the advertising giant wants install more than 1,000 standard-sized digital screens "designed to immerse, inspire and move Londoners like never before".

Global said its plans were "underpinned by sustainability – from solar-powered screen assembly to carbon-neutral materials and modular screens that can be repaired easily".

Chris Forrester, managing director of commercial said: "Londoners have always looked to the Tube to tell them what's going on, what's new, and where they need to be.

The corridors and carriages of the London Underground aren't just ad space – they're a part of the very fabric of London life and a creative canvas for advertisers".

Makes me wonder whether the train companies have policies allowing red squirrels to travel while banning the greys? 

18:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 21:13 will be started from Reading.
This is due to a points failure.
Last Updated:03/05/2025 17:25

https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2025/05/steam-locomotive-34046-braunton-to-pass-through-dawlish-this-saturday.html


[personal opinion piece] So that's about 4 hours behind a diesel, half an hour for a loco change, an hour and a quarter behind a steam engine on the main line, then a final section on a heritage line where you could travel behind a steam engine anyway.

This much vaunted "capacity increase" has been achieved by wholesale shortening of the trains outside of this "core". The Cardiff - Portsmouth service now shows one solitary return trip daily by a 5 car train. As I reported a couple of months back, 4 weeks daily commuting from Warminster to Southampton was an appalling experience - but I'm so glad to know it produced more seats from Westbury to Bristol !

Five people have been rescued after spending 36 hours atop a plane in an alligator-infested swamp in the Amazon after it was forced to make an emergency landing, local authorities said.

The small plane was found by local fishermen in Bolivia's Amazonas region on Friday having been missing for 48 hours.

The survivors - three women, a child and the 29-year-old pilot - were rescued in "excellent condition", Wilson Avila, director of the Beni Department's emergency operations centre, said.

A search and rescue mission was launched on Thursday after the plane disappeared from the radar of the Beni Department in central Bolivia.

The pilot told local media that an engine failure had prompted an emergency landing near the Itanomas River during a flight from Baures in northern Bolivia to the city of Trinidad.

Andres Velarde said that the plane had suddenly started to lose altitude and he had been forced to land the craft in a swamp near a lagoon. The five that had been on board stood on top of the plane and were "surrounded by alligators that came within three metres of us". Velarde added that he believed petrol leaking from the plane had kept the predators at bay. They also saw an anaconda in the water, he said.

While awaiting rescue, they ate local cassava flour one of the passengers had brought. "We couldn't drink water and we couldn't go anywhere else because of the alligators," Velarde said.

After fishermen discovered the craft, a helicopter was sent to transport the survivors to hospital.

Ruben Torres, Director of the Beni Region Health Department, said that there had been "a lot of speculation about the case" and "many theories" after the plane went missing. "I am really happy because in the end all the institutions joined together to be able to find the missing people and save those lives," he told Reuters.

Until not long before Covid, which was the big nail in that coffin.  Instead of that, the core Bristol<>Westbury section has had a decent capacity increase thanks to the additional trains introduced from summer ‘23.

Makes me wonder whether the train companies have policies allowing red squirrels to travel while banning the greys? 

I have to ask ... why does it take so LONG to get a failed locomotive out of the way?  Is it part of a more general set of things that seem for whatever reason to take fare longer to sort out when things go wrong?  No backup plans?  No spares/staff around?  Extra Health and safety requirements? Everyone a specialist?

"Short" runs this evening too - the 17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury and the 20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa both missing out Melksham.  Makes sense to be reversing TransWilts trains at Bathampton - remembering that 2 out of 3 passengers along the single line on a normal day are going through (not from or too Melksham) and so this is the best solution for them.

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06
17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be terminated at Swindon.
It will no longer call at Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge, Westbury, Dilton Marsh, Warminster and Salisbury.
This is due to a broken down train earlier today.

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05
20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05 will be started from Swindon.
It will no longer call at Westbury, Trowbridge, Melksham and Chippenham.
This is due to a broken down train earlier today.

Cancellations to services between Westbury and Swindon via Melksham
Following a broken down train earlier today between Trowbridge and Chippenham the line has now reopened. Disruption is expected until 20:00 02/05.
Train services between Westbury and Swindon via Melksham are returning to normal but some services may still be cancelled, delayed or diverted.
Customer Advice
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We're sorry for the delay to your journey.
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A freight train locomotive had broken down on the line between Trowbridge and Chippenham. Engineers from the freight company fixed the locomotive and it has now been able to move clear of the line.
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We are now able to re-instate our train service, the first service from Westbury will be the 18:37 Westbury to Swindon and the first train from Swindon the 20:14 Swindon to Westbury.
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For the trains that are not running we have requested replacement road transport to run between Chippenham and Westbury via Melksham and Trowbridge. Please check the stations Onward Travel Information poster and wait for the replacement road transport at the designated stop. Before getting in any taxi vehicle please check with the driver that they are working on behalf of GWR, the driver should not ask for payment.
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