Great Western Coffee Shop

From National Rail - updated domestic rail travel advice from Monday 17th May 2021

From Monday 17th May the restriction in England around meeting others outdoors will be relaxed and indoor entertainment venues such as cinemas, restaurants and tourist attractions will begin to open. With restrictions beginning to ease rail companies are adding more than 2,500 daily services to the timetable from Sunday, so that when you’re ready to travel again you can travel with confidence.

As more passengers return it may not always be possible to social distance so please wear a face covering unless you’re exempt, travel at quieter times and reserve a seat where you can.

To help you travel with confidence the rail industry is:
* Providing better information and personalised travel updates to help customers avoid busier services. Just search National Rail on Facebook Messenger.
* Continuing to enhance cleaning with a particular focus on high touchpoint areas.
* Having extra staff on hand at stations to help people complete their journeys.

Check before you travel

If you’re planning on travelling on GWR or LNER services please check the latest travel advice before you set off. Ticket acceptance is in place with other operators and full refunds will be provided if you choose not to travel.

Late May Bank Holiday Travel Summary 2021

Welcome to the National Rail Enquiries travel advice summary for the Late May (Spring) Bank Holiday weekend, from Saturday 29 to Monday 31 May.

Travel with confidence - rail companies are working closely with the Government to keep vital services moving and making sure you can travel safely. If you are travelling please follow the latest government guidance and the measures set out when travelling by train.

Major engineering work will be taking place during the holiday period, affecting certain routes. Network Rail carry out essential improvement and engineering work across the rail network during this time as far fewer people usually travel by train.

Some train companies will also be making changes to their timetable, and to some train times, to match services to the number of customers travelling.

The continuing impact of the Coronavirus pandemic may affect your journey plans for May, here's a link to our latest Coronavirus Travel Advice:

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/cvup20210514.jpg)

From The Independent (https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/travel-rules-uk-covid-green-list-b1847688.html) ... there is so much coverage of international travel that it's hard to know what you can do / whether you can stay away within the UK. . I have added this here to help forum members are readers know what they can do at the far end if they're headed beyond a day trip.   Personal suggestion - don't overdo it / go too far, too soon, folks ...

Can I stay at a hotel or B&B?

Yes: from 17 May, B&Bs, hotels and other tourist accommodation with shared facilities can reopen in Wales and England. In Scotland, this has been the case since 26 April. Northern Ireland’s current timeline suggests that hotels and B&Bs are not slated to reopen until 24 May.

Can I stay over at a friend’s house?

From 17 May in England, the government guidance states: “Indoors, the rule of six or two households will apply – we will keep under review whether it is safe to increase this.” This indicates you can stay overnight with up to five others from outside your household, or alongside one other household of any size.

It may be possible to stay with bigger groups after the next easing of restrictions, set to be 21 June.


From elsewhere - it's not only whether you can stay, but whether places are open too.  Premier Inn, for example, say they are re-opening for leisure guests on 2nd June.   Probably makes sense to avoid a mad bank holiday, but may also suggest that there's going to be a scramble for other places that are open, last weekend in May.

Directive from our local CRP by email:

The latest 17 May 'travel safely, plan ahead' Covid regulations still require face masks or 2 metre distancing on stations and trains.

From 13th May - https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/19300854.social-distancing-rules-will-ease-buses-next-week/

SOCIAL distancing on buses in England will end next week with more seats available following a Government ruling and falling cases of Coronavirus.

For the first time since before the Covid-19 outbreak, bus operators have been given the green light to make forward facing seats available, doubling their capacity.

Looking at the Cross Country website https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/coronavirus (https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/coronavirus) the Information has not been updated since 06/04/2021 and says reservations are required.

However National rail Enquiries no longer shows a yellow triangle against journeys using Cross Country indicating reservation is required.

I would be interested in feedback from members using Cross Country from today onwards as to the actual situation.

This morning I made a rare journey by train from Tilehurst into Reading. The train was reasonably unfull, with enough space between passengers until we drew into the station, when people formed a small crowd to get off. No great problem with that, though I hung back. Then two ticket inspectors pressed their way through asking for "tickets & passes". I did suggest to one that it was an awkward time to check, but he pointed out that I would have plenty of time to get off. True, but my conservation was easily the closest I've had with a stranger (apart from health-care staff) since March 2020, and both the inspectors were getting VERY close to the other passengers.

In  contrast all the passengers waiting in the open air at Tilehurst were conscientiously wearing masks and on the platform at Reading there were signs urging two metres of distance.  In town I popped into a couple of larger shops where customers were dodging and weaving to avoid proximity.

Oh, and as I was pressing the button to open the door at Tilehurst at the end of my journey back home, the same guy came along and asked to see my ticket - no problem with that, as I was the only one waiting at that particular door.

(Just a dozen vehicles in Tilehurst Station car-park at 1235.)