The feeling i get is that the government are spending money on wasteful things rather than the things that are needed, 

Really people need to look at the Passenger rather than continually at money, as you have to invest in rail services now and in future years to come, and i don't agree with anything else sorry.

Well Jo if thats what it happens to be like, then maybe FGW^▸ (First Great Western) really need to sought out the aircon on the Turbo's. I mean what really is wrong with fixing a problem that is simple.

I think that Adelante's and HST^▸ (High Speed Train) should run on more fast services, then the whole thing about travelling in comfort will be over, or so I think. At the end of the day if First Great Western cannot be bothered then why are they still continuing to run rail services? Only thing is will other operators be any better, probably not.

Oh the joys of rail privatisation, i hear people say BRING BACK BRITISH RAIL, if only that ever will happen

correct. That of course is a Conservation Area.

If I understand your point correctly, I don't think there is any 'planning process' involved in demolishing an unlisted signal box.  Their removal would be a permitted development under the original Act setting up the railway - it would come under normal maintenance activities.

Paul

Campaign to reopen Didcot to Southampton railway

RAILWAY enthusiasts are hoping to reopen a long-closed Hampshire railway line.

The Didcot to Southampton Railway, axed in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, ran through Newbury to Winchester which is connected with the mainline at Shawford.

Rex Hora, chairman of Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway Revival, said the predicted increase in freight traffic meant that the idea was feasible.

Mr Hora admitted that much of the track has been built on but that in the long-term it will be needed to cope with the growth in freight traffic between Southampton Docks and the Midlands.

He said that although the Southampton-Winchester-Basingstoke-Reading line has been upgraded for larger containers, it still has only two tracks so its capacity is limited.

Once the former line is re-opened for freight there will be the opportunity for direct passenger services between Oxford, Newbury and Winchester, without the need to go via Reading.

Mr Hora said the priority was the northern section between Didcot and Whitchurch.

He said: ^In an ideal world we would like to open the whole line. South of Whitchurch we might have to go for a detour via Salisbury.

^The main argument is freight traffic from Southampton to the Midlands. At the moment it goes through Winchester but the line is nearing capacity. They are either going to have to consider upgrading to four tracks or having a separate route, perhaps via Salisbury, at some stage in the next couple of decades.^

Chris Webb is a member of the Friends of Hockley Viaduct which campaigned for the viaduct south of Winchester to be restored and reopened for public use.

Mr Webb said: ^It^s far too late. Much of the track bed has been obliterated, by the Newbury bypass, the A34 at Litchfield near Whitchurch and at Kings Worthy. At Bar End there is the Chesil multi-storey car park and the Stagecoach depot.

^To recreate it now would be very difficult and very expensive. I think it is a dodo.^

Not all of us and not 3 weeks all at the same time I guess? Does that happen in other towns then? 

If it's hot in August.. And since I don't want to be fried to death.. the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) are my only option that makes it certain that I won't be for those three weeks if it turns out to be a little warm during that time

And no excuse for no communication anyway

As the promoters are Carmarthen based, it's natural for them to look on the route from their town.  How about the alternative Builth Road to Moat Lane Junction - much shorter and you might get a link from the Cambrian coast back up to Bangor too for about your 50 miles.   Reconnecting Caernarvon (pop 10,000) to the main rail network, and joining all three of the railway sections in Wales.   

Yes - these all very long, speculative shots.   "Not in the foreseeable future", but then who would have foreseen 30 miles of railway coming back to Galashiels, pop 12,500, when the Waverley route was closed?

Each person arriving by bicycle is probably one less car in the mostly-overstuffed car parks. It's rather irritating First train operators are so awful at accommodating bicycles, both at stations and on trains. Why is it? It's not like First Bus is competing with bicycles as First Bus usually fail to coordinate with the trains in my experience (Weston-super-Mare)...

Was it beyond First to arrange a few cycle specials for Ride London?  Hook a few extra guards vans onto that locomotive and coaches set that did Taunton-Cardiff (not seen it recently) or something. After all, the event's only been planned since a few years before the Olympics.  No, instead they take a page out of Southern's awful London-to-Brighton "How to Annoy Passengers" book.

Diesel has no long-term future in any kind of transport, let alone public transport.

A diesel-powered electricity generator at Avonmouth makes much more sense than importing diesel to power a train, if only because it is more efficient than a wind farm.

..makes much more sense than importing diesel to power a train, if only because it is more efficient than a wind farm, more likely than a biomass plan where we import some wood from the USA and pretend that the ship emitted nothing  on the voyage.

And as for rail electrification on a wider scale than currently funded/proposed - think how much more we could do by ditching HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)).