Today was a rare occasion that I travelled to Paddington then realised the chaos - so promptly travelled back to Bond Street on the Elizabeth Line to ride the train back. Thus ensuring I would be able to continue onward to Maidenhead on a train. It does feel good to ride a nearly empty train one stop back when services get that full!

I’ve noticed a strange blue flashing light on the overhead lines the last couple of nights on the main line just outside Charvil driving past. Can anyone elaborate what that is? I assume it relates to the plant being delivered to site. Initially I thought it was a police car or similar but presume it must relate to the main lines being closed at Sonning.

To be fair this morning the effect was limited. Instead of getting the 6.26am from Twyford I got the Elizabeth line at 6.21am and got to town by 7.20am. The proactive cancellation of the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) trains I suppose has improved reliability for the Lizzie line?

What’s not clear is even though ticket offices may still exist, is there still scope / an expectation their availability will be curtailed? Perhaps to the extent they’re not usable?

There is no doubt contactless, especially offpeak, is substantially cheaper. As commented above, touching in at Liverpool Street Pre 7pm, then out and in at Paddington will ‘fuse’ the journeys. Easily avoided by the use of two cards! In general though, since discovering the offpeak trick 18 months ago I deliberately have a ‘long’ day when I do go up to town (touching in before 6.30am and after 7pm on the return) as it makes the journey much cheaper!

One other thought if you’re not in a desperate rush (or perhaps would like a late night snack) returning home. It’s possible to travel for £3.40 to Hayes. So if you’re ever stuck on an Elizabeth line train, you can hop off, enjoy Hayes town centre, then touch back in on a different card. To twyford, the train fare is £5.50; I suspect it’s similarly cheaper to Reading. Thus generating a subsidy of £2.40 from TfL^» (Transport for London - about) to invest in Hayes’ amenities!

Apologies if this has been covered before but how will the mechanics of the strike work in practice, particularly with respect to the signallers? I assume tomorrow (Monday) will run as normal, but ordinarily I’d assume the signallers would handover shifts overnight. I’d have thought every last train out on the network must be able to return before the last signallers clocks off? Presumably the ‘shutdown’ late tomorrow will not be dissimilar to winding down for the Christmas/ Boxing Day holiday? The very few signallers not striking then run the skeleton service left, with I’d have thought minimum staffing eg at least 2 present in the case they need a break?

Thanks. So irritating though because if I’d used one contactless card for the tube and one for the train would have saved £10-£15! (Expensive) lesson learnt!

A curious ‘bug’ in the TFL^▸ (Transport for London) Contactless strategy has presented itself and I wondered if others had experienced similar. In the event I do get a refund/ not charged the expected amount I will post here too.

I have discovered that the TFL contactless runs out to Reading. Yesterday I went to London, starting the day and touching in before 6.30am, hence getting an off peak single in, to Liverpool Street via the underground.

In the evening I touched in at Liverpool Street tube at 18.50, in order to be at Paddington post 7pm. I was there at 19.10. I was happy to pay peak fare for the tube. The ‘unfair’ bit is despite the TFL site saying that offpeak runs from 7pm, and me checking in for the train at 19.19, the system has fused the tube and train together but charged the peak fare of around £27 as opposed to £11.90+£2.50

Does anyone else have experience if this?

Number 4 is Reading!

I just assumed the Bakerloo line trains are now the eldest given the Circle/District line were upgraded and there’s sort of a decade interval between each upgrade? Leaving us with the c 1970s Bakerloo stock?

Thanks that’s really helpful, and really good to know the dwell times! I think the only minor problem to the plan would be if the line from Paddington were completely blocked coming home, as I’d then need a ticket from Waterloo, but it seems a risk worth taking!

Next week I am due to visit London for one day at work and then an evening meeting. It will only be my fourth trip to town since March 2020. However, does anyone have any experience of using a contactless card from Twyford? Specifically - will my plan below work? I believe this is my best option as it’s a one-off trip, and I’m not the right age anymore for a railcard! I believe I just have to tap the yellow readers at the various stations?

Journey 1: Twyford to Paddington, then tube to Zone 1 station for work. (£17.50 in Peak according to the single fare TfL^» (Transport for London - about) guide. My concern is am I charged for the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) but then the tube separate?)

Journey 2: zone 1 work - zone 1 for evening meeting. (£2.40)

Journey 3: zone 1 tube to Paddington, then home to Twyford (assume £10.90 offpeak but be interested to understand if the tube is separate?)

This seems better value than a 1 day travelcard? What ‘dwell time’ will it allow at Paddington eg for a bite to eat? Will I be able to use the GWR express services?

I haven’t any photos but Waingels Road is now clear again. I logged a ticket with the helpful Network Rail community team and within a week they’ve all been cut back. It was particularly annoying trying to push my daughters pushchair along that stretch - both because we had to go into the road and also because the foliage impeded the view of the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) zipping past!

Edit - GrahamE ...
Flexible Season tickets - offering 8 days of travel in a 28 day period - on sale from 21st June, valid from 28th June
Intended to provide a fare option for those who need to commute around 2 days per week. 
* For five day commuters, a weekly or longer season will almost always offer better value
* For one day a week, individual tickets remain better value
* For off peak travel, for railcard holders, and for overnight shift workers, other tickets are likely to offer better value

* Scroll down for general Flexi Season details
* See http://www.passenger.chat/25135 for Melksham to Swindon example
* See http://www.passenger.chat/25137 for Chippenham to London example
End of edit

Please feel free to split this - but as a possible returning commuter I need some help! I use this as an illustration that the new ticket apparently just seems to make things yet more complex!

Suppose I wish to commute to Barbican from Twyford 8x days a month in peak hours. Using the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) site (as I must - this is a smart ticket only) there appear to be two options - a Flexible Ticket for £211.20 and another for £361.20. One is for Paddington, the other for London Terminals. There appears to be no linked ‘Travelcard’ option for the tube as you’d be used to for the classic day/weekly/annual ticket. I assume each offer 8x days travel

Why would anyone ever buy the London Terminals Flexi ticket? From TfL^» (Transport for London - about) a single Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) tube fare is £2.40. So 16x £2.40 is £38.40. I get it’s the purchasers responsibility to check, but that seems a steep penalty of nearly £100 for falling down that trap!

Add to that this flexi ticket (I assume) can’t be treated as a gold  card, and suddenly this ‘offer’ loses its value.

What I can’t work out is if you ‘exhaust’ the FlexiTicket eg actually end up doing 9x days whether you can top up the days as needed or simply reset and rebut a new ticket. As a former annual ticket holder it was a ‘perk’ to have the free weekend travel - now that weekend trip becomes very expensive!

As someone who enjoyed his first train ride of 2021 from Shiplake to Twyford, here’s your answer! Amazing to think it’s taken until 4th June to travel by train. A few years back I’d been on the underground returning from the NYE fireworks by 12.15am!

https://uk.railway.narkive.com/yp78gXVJ/y-shaped-journeys