I understand an additional Brighton is being looked at arriving there around lunchtime from December bringing the total number of Brighton services to three a day Monday to Saturday

Route learning trains to Brighton start next week running ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard))

Service trains from July

Questions regarding the pullman....

Am I correct you can only book using a first class ticket? If you have a standard ticket it is down to luck?

I would imagine some first class advances are reasonably cheap.  If you take the 1045 from Padd to Swansea which has the pullman (I think only on weekdays) how far should I travel to enjoy the fine dining at leisure as opposed to being constrained by time.  I guess I could upgrade my ticket...

What a fantastic service.  Just a shame there are so few Pullmans and I would not risk buying a standard class ticket on the off chance of gaining a table.  I presume First Class passengers pay extra for the food.

With priv rate I would imagine you can buy a priv rate standard ticket and again gamble for a seat...

A couple of years ago around 100 were rumoured to be in a talent pool for trainee driver courses with most of those for Bristol depot.

Those who were 'accepted' were fed emails every three months with vague wording implying that the candidates would be selected based on overall scores (never mind the fact they had passed three interviews and psychometrics)

Noone was told their score.  The carrot continued to be dangled for months which was great for morale.  Some people got taken on and well done to them.

Six months was enough for me.  I applied elsewhere and got my key despite enduring a pay cut in the process.  I would imagine many others did the same.

Recruitment is a nightmare in the rail industry generally when it comes to drivers and the Great Western electrification delay was largely to blame.

However their recruitment process really needs looking at.  Hopefully it has now improved.  I wonder how many who 'passed' this process got given jobs how many had to reapply and of those how many then failed the tests.  Obviously it is worth it in the end but taking 100 drivers on at one depot was never going to work.  Recent vacancies tend to at least be honest about the 'possibility' of placements rather than giving people false hope. 

There must be plenty still in a talent pool who could reduce these cancellations.  More incentive needed for DIs too?