I am afraid I cannot agree. Any industry that has the opportunity to get the huge cashflow advantage of getting paid in advance and fails to take advantage of it is giving away an important business opportunity. It does not limit the potential turn up and go income - season ticket holders do not get reserved seats, and even without season tickets trains will be more crowded at the time people travel to and from work.

I appreciate that running a system that has to have the capacity to meet peak time demands imposes demands on the infrastructure, but if that demand is not there it calls into question the value of investing in such infrastructure and as I expect we all appreciate, railway infrastructure costs are high and the day-to-day running costs are high too, so need whenever possible to be borne by the largest possible passenger customer base. A railway kept going for occasional leisure use is much more likely to lose government support (and popular support if the public are consulted) than one which is widely seen as an important part of our daily work and business infrastructure.

This is not to say that there are no good reasons to keep lines that are much more dependent on leisure travel open - lines like the West Highland, Settle to Carlisle, Cumbrian Coast and so on have a justifiable role in supporting the tourist infrastructure of the regions they serve. But a lot of the passenger network is primarily a travel to work (and education) system that also provides capacity for non-businees and employment use. It helps keep commuters out of private road transport, but if it's cost increases and the convenience of season ticketing goes, many will go (or go back to) their cars, and all passengers will be the losers.

Frankly ridiculous - this is the only route that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) can get you from Melksham to Gatwick, and it's probably the most direct and the one with the easiest transfers between trains when changing.

13 - Belfast, Northern Ireland

Well I think I have worked out that you are in Spain. Pyrenees?

Another month passes, and once again I am in the vicinity, so I had another look to see what (if anything) has changed. Here's another view from the Smallmead road bridge - perhaps we can run a monthly "spot the progess" competition?

There's still two rows of tactile paving on each platform, but is that some new tarmac between them? The other change is a little more signage and some puzzling signage/gate hanging.

On the east side stairway up to the bridge there's now some emergency exit signage, with a panic bar. But.... the panic bar is on the outer side of the gates, so anyone seeking an emergency exit from the station cannot reach it. What's more, on the one at the top (second picture if this post goes to plan!) there does not seem to be a mortice for the catch in the non-hanging gatepost. It's currently chained close! Have they hung the gate the wrong way around?

It's a shame that these are gated emergency accesses only. While there may not be many of them, the residents of Searle's Farm Lane and roads off it face quite a long detour to reach the station, as do those going fishing or birdwatching at the nearby gravel pits.  

Agreed, and in fact the same comment could be made about infilling the North Downs with third rail too. Overall, the increased safety risk for such modest schemes must be immaterial in the light of the current extensive third rail network on the old Southern Region.

Definitely safer than a horse. And they don't bite or kick!

Isn't there a practical problem here?

The Scottish provision is only possible because there are a few redundant single coach diesel units around, compatible with their current trains, and available for conversion for this use.

Any more widespread adoption would eat into the already limited diesel passenger fleet.

From my recent trips to West Scotland, I'd say definitely this is for visitors, not residents. Understandably in the light of the terrain and weather not many locals are seen on pedal cycles.   

For those of us who used the DFDS services to Scandanavia, it brings back happy memories of past trips - in my case three trips to Esbjerg or Gothenburg between 1979 and 1988.

Would be nice to see them back - little or no chance I expect

My immediate reaction was - why not send Reading-Guildford passengers via Basingstoke and Woking - but checked SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)'s website. Not headlined on the Plan my journey page, but buried in the Engineering Works "button" was that due to engineering works busses replaced trains between Woking and both Basingstoke and Guildford today.......

Has someone in NR^» (Network Rail - home page) "got it in" for those trying to get round SW London to Gatwick?

What would Hitachi offer for 19 class 769s, very little used, by way of a part-exchange deal?

The road closure was for a triathlon event (I hasten to add I was not participating!). I travelled to and from the site on foot.

When I last posted a picture back in March, I foolishly predicted that it would be the last time before the station opened. I was back there today, and this is what I saw. There are indeed two lines of tactile paving down each platform and it looks like (at least on the east side) either some making good behind the outer (furthest from the track) edge or perhaps a linear drainage grid to cover a gully.

To my untrained eye it does look almost ready to go. Does anyone know if the period for testing mentioned previously has passed and the testing completed?

Does this include the full Hitachi maintenance package?

A quick "google" revealed this - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/concessionary-bus-travel-applications-proforma. Note that it seems there's a few links to follow from the page you land on to get a fuller picture.

An acquaintance of mine used to work for one of the First bus companies and mentioned to me that the process of gathering information on use, organising it and claiming the income was far from straightforward, and implied it became an annual horse trade with the local authorities involved.