Crossrail have been quoted in the media today as saying it will finish on time and on budget. It isn't April 1st is it? (Sorry should be the season of goodwill)

Inevitably it comes to the political courage of our elected representatives.

I can't see Reading following York's example. Every three years they go through the motions of discussing congestion charging and workplace parking levy, and then file it until the next time.

As an advocate of active travel, walking and cycling (as well as sustainable travel, buses and trains) you have to provide facilities which people feel safe and confident to use. Also they have to go where people want in a reasonably direct manner. It might be alright (?) for buses to go round the houses to pick up as many passengers as possible, but that won't work for walking and cycling.

It also requires a supportive attitude from central government. A previous SoS tried to get cycling classified as sport so that he didn't have to provide anything out of his budget. The GLA has a reasonable record for providing utility/commuter cycle facilities. They have also shown that restricting car usage and encouraging active travel doesn't automatically lead to reduced retail revenue.

Cut and paste job from what I know with a few additions. Hope it works.


http://www.brfares.com/   Look up fares for any train journey in Britain
http://bristol-rail.co.uk/wiki/Main_Page   Bristol Railway Archive.
http://data.atoc.org/routeing-guide   Rail Delivery Group Routeing Guide Data
http://iris2.rail.co.uk/tiger/   Tiger – Source of station information
http://naptan.app.dft.gov.uk/datarequest/help      DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) stops & localities for buses
http://orr.gov.uk/statistics/publication-dates   Office of Rail and Road publication dates
http://systemed.net/atlas/ Richard Fairhurst’s New Adlestrop Railway Atlas
http://www.barrydoe.co.uk   Doe’s directory of printed bus & rail timetables, etc.
http://www.britrail.com   Explore Britain with BritRail pass
http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk   Cornwall Railway Society, A website that provides a nice balance of the current WR railway scene while also reminding us of its rich and varied past
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk   Closed railway stations in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info   Great Western Coffee Shop/Passenger Forum
http://www.mrug.org.uk   Melksham rail user group
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/100296.aspx   Darwin Data Feeds, real time information
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types.aspx   Travel tickets on the National Rail network
http://www.passenger.chat   Another view of Great Western Coffee Shop/Passenger Forum
http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk   independent provider of real-time information about train services across the Great British rail network.
http://www.vintagecarriagestrust.org/surveystatus.asp   [unavailable url?]
https://communityrail.org.uk   Community rail partnerships and groups across Britain
https://en.wikipedia.org   Online encyclopaedia of “everything”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Rail_transport
https://maps.nls.uk   National Library of Scotland, historical map collections
https://transwilts.org   TransWilts Community Rail supports the Swindon to Westbury service route
https://www.branchline.uk/PSULintro.php   Passenger Train Services over Unusual Lines
https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeShopCRP   Coffee Shop passenger forum
https://www.facebook.com/groups/12135242142/   Rail Futures
https://www.gwr.com   Great Western Railway, the franchise that runs trains from Paddington!
https://www.southwesternrailway.com/   South Western Railway, the franchise that runs trains from Waterloo
https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/   Franchise that runs cross country trains that do not go to London
https://www.interrail.eu/en   Interrail.eu is the official online sales channel for Interrail passes
https://www.journeycheck.com/greatwesternrailway/   Provides current situation report for GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services
https://www.journeycheck.com/swr/   Provides current situation report for SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) services
https://www.journeycheck.com/crosscountry/   Provides current situation report for Cross Country services
https://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/UK/Travel+&+Transport/Rail   News concentration site for travel & transport, trains in this case
https://www.opentraintimes.com   More detail about how the railway in Great Britain is running
https://www.railcar.co.uk   The History of First Generation DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit)
https://www.railforums.co.uk   
https://www.recenttraintimes.co.uk   Recent Train Times helps you find the trains that arrive punctually and avoid those that are often delayed
https://www.seat61.com   Mark Smith, the Man in Seat 61, international train times etc.
https://www.transportfocus.org.uk   Our mission is to get the best deal for passengers and road users
https://www.wnxxforum.co.uk
http://www.railmaponline.com/UKIEMap.php   Rail Map online, Historic railways, railroads and tramways

Thank you Grahame. Newcomers might find an added single line description where it isn't obvious from the url. Possibly add mapping sites, especially one by a forum member and Railmap online.

Will all this be "at risk" with this administration's need to repay its borrowed votes up North. With talk of changing the Treasury funding rules are we in new territory?

Had a look at progress (?) at Reading Green Park yesterday. There is now a tarmaced surface parallel to where the Up platform would be. The current weather highlights a large ditch/drainage channel between the tarmac and the rail tracks. The dry bit next to the tracks appears not to be wide enough for a platform. Interesting to see what they do; place the platform (on piles) over the ditch or re-arrange the drainage which could be interesting in an area with a high water table and liable to flooding.

Part of the new administration's "to do" list is that all bus operators must make their data publicly available. I have never tried to see if the Reading Buses app shows any buses they have on bustitution services.

Sticking my neck out. In addition to the comparison between rail and bus you could add bicycle. Now I don't mean lots of people suddenly getting on their bike.

But where you have a former railway line that has become an established bicycle route. Take the (on/off) idea of restoring the rail link to Cranleigh in Surrey. The route is currently part of the Downs Link from Guildford to Shoreham (Sussex).

How does somebody decide on the balance of benefits; passengers/cyclists, increase/decrease in local business, environmental issues etc.

Who decides, impartially? I believe that the current DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) WebTAG planning tool doesn't model either train or bike well.

Obviously I might have a different view to other members of the Forum.

The return of Ivor the Engine https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50836184 ?

The heading had me worried. I wondered where the tunnel was going, didn't expect a trip down memory lane!

The weasel words are "The manner in which it is delivered must reflect a positive image of East Coast." This is where the obfuscation and half-truths come in so as not to reflect on the image of the organisation.

I had this feeling that Weymouth was about to make an appearance!

Peace and goodwill to all users of Coffee Shop. I must return to the kitchen, I now my place on this day.

Not sure how to spell your own name still exists. I knew somebody who is probably still alive, name spelt differently between birth and marriage certificate.
I have recently read a paper from the Proceedings of the Huguenot Society which went on in great depth about spelling and transcription, compounded by illiteracy; and original names and pronunciations being French which invariably threw the English recorders. And then followed up on suggestions as to how to handle "mistakes".

The accessibility categories on the new GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) printed timetables are useful. Any chance that RDG^‡(resolve) will "encourage" other TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) to do the same, to the same definitions?