I'll go for 92 seats + 12 tip-up seats, so 104 in total. 

For those lucky enough to have the extra channels, no commentary on BBC Olympics 1. 

5% increase at Yate in two years? 

I think the figure is more like 50%!

Crowded trains mean conductors cannot check or sell tickets. If you board and alight en-masse at an open station you probably won't ever have to buy a ticket and so won't ever be counted in the figures. Yate commuters will know exactly who I'm pointing the finger at. 

The number of passengers using Yate station is far more than the number buying tickets.

Yes, I've read that 150001 is at Barton Hill and 150002 is at Reading.

Yes.

I've not read anything to suggest that this has happened.

158763 and 158766 are still 2-car.
158798 will of course stay 3-car, it was built as such.

It is.

For the record phile, I agree with what you have posted and not what has been posted on another forum. I did read somewhere that 104 and 216 were due to have been delivered a week or so ago but I never got confirmation that this had happened though.

The busiest train is probably the one that leaves Temple Meads at 1641. There has been a noticeable increase  in people using this train by joining at Filton Abbeywood and Bristol Parkway. On a Friday it has got to the point where it is difficult to squeeze any more passengers on.

Last Tuesday, 25th October, this  service was operated by a single Class 153. No-one was picked up at Abbeywood, there was probably about 40 people waiting and a number of passengers were left behind at Bristol Parkway after a few people got off. 

Some of the youngsters were panicking at Yate as they thought that they wouldn't get off due to the number of people standing. One teenager was actually not feeling very well due to the sheer number of people on the train. Three coaches on this train? I would love there to be a guarantee that there would always be a minimum of two.

But at least the train ran on this day of stock shortages and failures and 150+ people got home more or less on time.

A timetable of the Yate service can be found at:

(Network Rail - home page)/rdonlyres/ECBA8FBB-54FF-474C-B174-16BA85090782/0/PTE110106.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.southglos.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/ECBA8FBB-54FF-474C-B174-16BA85090782/0/PTE110106.pdf

Does anyone know why the service terminates at Mayshill, between Yate and Coalpit Heath on a Friday?

Not too useful for Yate commuters.  Are they supposed to walk the rest of the way or complete their journey by catching the next First service?

Or have I missed something very obvious?

And another forum, I won't quote it, is saying something a little different. 

Unfortunately there are far too many armchair enthusiasts trying to work out what is going on with respect to the ownership of stock and the transfers that may or may not happen due to the introduction of Class 172s by London Midland. We don't always know where posters get their information, who they work for or whether they are merely repeating information that they have got from other rail forums. How do we differentiate between the information they give us and the information that posters who are "in the know" give us?

There is almost as much speculation and conflicting information about the Class 180s that may or may not be returning to FGW. Every time a Class 142 returns north for maintenance or a repaint someone somewhere, usually in the north, speculates that they're starting to go back to Northern for good. Until it returns south the following weekend of course!

Personally I think that the poster on the WNXX forum may well be correct as the Class 150s would be in service by now if they were staying just for the summer. If units come then surely borrowed units will go. If FGW do keep the two Class 150s mentioned then perhaps they won't be hiring the two units from ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) each day? What should be more of interest to this forum is the total amount of units available to FGW on a daily basis after all the stock changes have taken place.

FGW currently have two ATW 150s on hire on any one day, presumably not Sundays though. The diagrams start and finish at Cardiff so different sets are likely to be used each day. This arrangement will no doubt continue until the London Midland 150s start arriving.

No, centre car 58715 has always been part of unit 158798. Units 158798/799/800 had centre cars where the last three two digits of their number didn't match the unit number.

The same happens with Yate station where all Bristol bound trains call at platform 2. The occasional early morning train will be shown as calling at platform 1, something that can't happen. Sometimes those trains are "re-platformed" close to the departure time. May be this affects many other stations too?

You get the same complaints from Yate passengers who join at Bristol Parkway for their eight or nine minute journey. 

And still much quicker and cheaper than the bus ........

It's an electro-diesel. It has a 600hp diesel engine for use when off the third rail system.

Four GBRf Class 20s and a GBRf Class 73 stopped over last night and continued their journey to South Wales today where the Class 73 will take up shunting duties at Celsa, Cardiff. All to do with GBRf winning a former EWS^▸ (English Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd, now known as DB Schenker Rail (UK^▸ (United Kingdom))) contract. I understand the Class 20s, on hire from DRS^▸ (Direct Rail Services Ltd), will then be doing some route learning in the Gloucester area.