It just feels to me that this line, along with many other GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) local services in and around the Bristol area, will never be put at ease. December 2019 sold the dream, and that dream became a nightmare with the pandemic. And now, a stubborn DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) who, in the opinion of some, are so set on cuts and cost savings that every aspect of the railway's future is bleak.

With the 769 project scrapped, it's inevitable that 2-car and 3-car trains continue trotting along this line for many years to come. The overcrowding on this line is evident and has been for many many years. Promises elsewhere such as Gloucester-Bristol half hourly, still set to happen in the eyes of the local MP^▸ (Member of Parliament), seem so far from reality on what seems to be a trip back in time...

I do wonder how busy Worcester-Bristol services are today, considering both Worcester-London and Cheltenham/Gloucester-London services are cancelled, as well as people travelling into Wales from Cheltenham/Gloucester due to the line closure preventing XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) and TFW services running

I noticed this the other week and found it disappointing. We were promised for years an hourly service to London Paddington throughout the day and for many years have endured GWRs^▸ (Great Western Railway) go to "problem solving" which involves everyone crams onto a Bristol/South Wales service and change at Swindon whenever there's a slight delay...

I highly doubt that any "emergency" stock that is available would be available for use on the network. Drivers won't have signed them, neither guards, engineers will he unable to deal with any problems if they arrive, they (possibly) won't have been cleared for most of the network and some will have major passenger safety concerns in terms of compliance with regulations. You then move into problems like depot space, working with the line speed, short platforms, COVID signage compliance etc etc.

If you are a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) looking at this the difficulty of hiring stock would seem far to problematic.

The MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) for Gloucester is suggesting that a new every 30 minute service will launch to Bristol and Worcester be 2021.

I've been 'out of the loop' for trains for a while - is this new news or old news? (Remove if discussed elsewhere)

Tweet in question: https://twitter.com/richardgrahamuk/status/1302345970722713602?s=21

I guess you are right about Gloucester being on the mainline - just disconnected from CrossCountry services.

Obviously in the past there has been much conversation around Gloucester and it's railway station - with ideas surrounding a station near Elmbridge Court and one on the railway triangle.  As most of us probably know both proved to have complications.

The reason I would campaign for a station around the Hunts Road area of Gloucester is for three reasons:

- A: There has been significant housing development around this area in the past decade and would probably prove somewhat successful for commuters to Bristol and in the Swindon direction.

- B: Connections could be (quite drastically) be improved for those travelling from Stroud and Stonehouse who wish to travel towards Bristol or even Cheltenham. Leading into point C...

- C: There COULD be a case to call SOME CrossCountry services that (currently) travel non-stop between Bristol Parkway and Cheltenham Spa.

Obviously, it would cause many operational challenges. Would there be a case to call London-bound and services from London at a new station? Would there be a case to call CrossCountry services here? What effect would this have on journey times? Would services that reverse at Gloucester be reduced?

But it would certainly make more sense - in my opinion - than having a station for a fairly small-ish town that would not improve connections for people outside of the town.

I understand that many want Stonehouse to have its current station on the Golden Valley line AND a station at Bristol Road.

Meanwhile, Gloucester (pop. 100k plus) and Cheltenham (pop. 100k plus) only have one station - one of which is disconnected from the mainline.

It would make much more sense to open a station in the Hunts Grove area of Gloucester - as development over in the south of the city has been quite significant as of recent. This could then serve connections from the Golden Valley line towards Bristol, possibly see a couple of CrossCountry services and prove a more cost-worthy project.

An outsiders view here - but dare I say a brief step back from things generally supports the re-starting?

I am returning to commuting very soon and trialled it yesterday - it was the most peaceful and stress free journey I've ever had.

Is there a possibility that people are taking advantage of the fact that on-board of ticket examinations have been suspended?

And on that matter - are they still suspended or has revenue protection continued? As soon as it does the better.

I haven't contributed to this forum in a little while however all of us have had a hectic year so many things I haven't found the time for.

I used to go to school in Newent - I left about 6 years ago. I commuted via the school service that was provided from my area in Gloucester. Generally the service was fine and I saw the building of a bus lane down the A40 that really did help at peak times.

The bus service is - meh. You can get to Ross-On-Wye using the 32 bus (the long way) or the 33 bus giving a combined frequency of every hour. It could be worse, although doesn't really promote the use of the bus network. In some cases there are gaps of 90 minutes in the 32 service and it ends up clashing with the 33.

Being from Gloucester - I am obviously going to back the case for a railway line along here. The A40 between Highnam and Gloucester is the city's key commuter belt. We have been graced recently by the hourly London service, are soon to be graced by a twice hourly Cardiff service and maybe one day we might get that forever promised twice hourly Bristol service.

There is only so much you can do to relieve congestion on the roads and to me it feels like not much else can be used around there. Mentioned above was a park and ride service from Westbury-on-Severn which could work - if the bus lane was extended.

I think there is a case for a railway line and it should be looked at. If connections were improved between the Forest of Dean, Gloucester and Hereford then I think it will be an all round positive thing for the two counties.

When will we know if finishing electrification will happen in CP6^▸ (Control Period 6 - The five year period between 2019 and 2024)? If not I’d assume it will be postponed even further intonCP7/8?

As much as I think that this is a good start to improving ticketing, there is clearly a lot more to do. As someone who travels regularly, I can just about get my head around the ticketing system. For somebody travelling to Cornwall in the holidays for the first time, how do they know they are getting value for money?

Most travellers I speak to book via the trainline. The misleading advertising saying that they have “cheaper fares” is simply not true, it often just shows you slower trains or different times in a more obvious way. They also charge a booking fee (unless booking on the day) which is a rip off.

Paper tickets are becoming ever more confusing. Soon I will be using the train to travel to Birmingham International airport with another person - and the whole booking system wasn’t exactly ‘simple’. The paper tickets don’t provide the best information and I really think that QR^▸ (QR Code - Quick Response code) code style barcodes should be used to check the validity of a ticket and at the exit gate-line/on the train be logged as used.GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) don’t use the paper style long tickets on HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) services because of LU.

Ultimately it barely serves nearby Pilning village, and yes it would be ideal to have connections to the South Wales Mainline however it’s statistics only increased after the campaign to reopen the second platform was made public. A lot of the passengers are enthusiasts or travellers who find the station interesting. Before this it was getting usage below 100 people per year.

If you are going to improve the station you might as well go all out, asking for 2tph to serve it is optimistic.

I really don’t think the artist who designed those images is the same person who decides the train lengths come December   

GWR have spent an extra year working on the timetable to ensure that it is ship shape, I am sure enough that the planning teams have allocated trains to routes where appropriate. Unfortunately, some capacity improvements will be postponed due to various changes to plans around the Thames  Valley however all that means is retention of more sprinters.