As the late Eric Morecambe would have said "it's the way you tell them"

This must take a prize for failing to communicate clearly. It starts by saying that they are trying to serve two popular events and then seems to largely be a list of cancellations!

How many would get no further than , assuming that the line has been closed, and you cannot get to Newquay by train?

Then there's  . Extra above what? You have just told the confused punters that there are no trains between Par and Newquay. Presumably what they mean to say is that trains will be running all the way from Plymouth to Newquay instead of just starting at Par. For heaven's sake say so, and why not give the departure times as well. It looks like a classic case of railway industry mentality "ooh, no Newquay branch trains today" was clearly at the front of the mind of the person who put this together without giving a moment's thought to how what they had just written looks to the uninitiated in the context of a revised service. 

And presumably those trains will go back from Newquay to Plymouth? It's not clear, and not something either the infrequent or  experienced traveller could be confident about.

Then there's the confusing list of alterations between Penzance and Plymouth. Surely a simple statement that a number of through services to and from Penzance will be replaced by services between London and Plymouth and between Plymouth and Penzance might give some re-assurance to passengers that this is not a butchery of the time table.

And why are random announcements about a Paignton train and buses replacing trains to Gunnislake buried in the middle of these Boardmaster and Falmouth related changes? 

My immediate reaction to Bob's post above - if there's insufficient, scrap Heathrow's third runway and build a second Channel Tunnel instead!

If this is extended to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) along the same principles, (motorways only), it will miss many of our key freight road haulage routes to and from ports which governments have failed to upgrade to motorway status for decades - the A12, A34 and A14 all immediately come to mind.

Sometimes if you are stuck on a train that has been stopped for ages with no information available for crew or passengers as to what's wrong and when it will be fixed you wonder if it resolves problems anywhere......

I think it means Town Clerk!  Ironically the type of job title that fell out of use because it has connotations of pettifogging bureaucracy, and of course in the modern world there's more to do so jobs have to be split - no doubt there's also a Director of Inclusivity, Sustainability, Risk and Accountability to help too 

Three comments here-

Firstly I think there are too many generic ones not relevant in terms of keeping the passenger informed about what's happening to his/her train. Abolishing these entirely and confining them to notives on separate boards that do not interfere with "real time" train information (instead of such irritating practices as when the platform train information disappears to be replaced by a message telling you they will be running a special timetable this Christmas just as you arrive at a point when you can read it) would be a good idea.

Secondly, it has been noticeable over the years how the level varies form day to day. For example at Reading there is one announcer with a distinctive voice who generally seems to take pains to keep passengers informed about problems, but when he's not on duty chaos can unfold without any additional information as to what's gone wrong, what the best information is about when it will be fixed and what the effect on expected trains might be (insofar as anyone at "Control" has deigned to favour us with such information) and what alternatives are available to those affected. Surely up to date relevant information like that given by our helpful friend at Reading should be the priority on the station sound systems. Better still, having a system whereby such information from "real people" can be relayed to all stations, instead of being a priviledge only for the largest stations.

Thirdly (on a lighter note) there was a phenomenon at Reading after the "new" station came into use whereby the specific announcements for two adjacent or close by platforms would be "let off" almost simultaneously at considerable volume so that nothing could be heard of either. Mercifully this became less frequent after a while, but is still not unkown (or at least was not when covid put an end to daily travle through Reading last year).

Dare I suggest that this would not have happened at one of the main stations on the network, and certainly not at Paddington?

It is only tweaks to reflect the Boris Government's policy announcements last autumn.

If you are interested in working out where the changes are, try having a look at this comparison version published by MHCLG as part of the consultation - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/961769/Draft_NPPF_for_consultation.pdfunderlyin

(I did compose a longer less charitable explanation but it seems to have failed to "stick"! - in summmary my view is that the original 2012 NPPF was generally a good piece of work, but subsequent revisions have diluted it, particularly in the latest revisions with woolly poorly thought through platitudes that add little to the underlying policy thread).

.....and on today's expedition to London.....

I took a stopping train to Reading, changed to an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) from Cheltenham for Paddington then Circle/Hammersmith & City to Faringdon - same in reverse home leaving after 6 pm (the IET being Swansea bound).

On stations, most were not wearing masks at Goring but duly donned them on boarding the trains. My onward train to Paddington had quite a high (but not universal) proportion of passengers complying. As neither train was crowded (perhaps 20-25% occupancy on the IET) it did not feel threatening.

Similar proportions complying on the return GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) legs of my journey, the IET being somewhat fuller, but not quite 50%, so everyone could distribute themselves in accordance with guidance about not facing, and only twos travelling together side by side.

On TfL^» (Transport for London - about) surprisingly considering the publicity in the press and notices on trains and stations the mask wearing was no higher on either trains or platforms. Insofar as there was any pattern, there seemed a slightly higher proportion of the "holiday maker with suitcase" type passenger not using masks. There were quite a few who still have not got he message about mouths and noses to be covered - and not all were confused elderly folk, which seems the case elsewhere. On the tube there were a few healthy looking young men without masks sitting conspicuously on the middle seat of three with no face covering - is it just a way of increasing their personal space? The other common factor was some using mobile devices with earphones, usually with masks around necks/beside them or in hands, as if using their devices was equivalent to eating justifying taking the mask off.

I saw no hostile reactions either way (in favour of or against masks).

Oh, I can reassure GWR 158 that the aircon on all GWR trains was working fine!

It is escaping! Perhaps it wants to run away and live with a 230 on the Isle of Wight!

I am enjoying the nostalgia of this thread, but it has drifted a long way away from the headline topic.

Moderators - can we have a Tilehurst Bus Nostalgia thread please?

Young man - some of us are old enough to rememeber Turnham's Farm at the junction of City Road and Little Heath Road! I think it was developed in the early 1970s. I cannot remember if buses started before the farm was developed (I'll take RG's word for it!) and the housing estate that was built was I think known as the Turnham Farm estate in its early days.

I have also had my first "post freedom day"  public transport experience today.

I travelled back from Milton Gate to Didcot Parkway by bus, then train to Didcot.

On the bus, the only person not wearing a mask was a driver, although it was quite lightly loaded. At Didcot almost all were wearing masks, the same for those boarding at Cholsey. At Goring there were 4 out of the dozen or so joining without masks, one of whom was wearing an exemption card and lanyard. The non-wearers were a young chap who I'd guess was a worker in the building trade from his overalls and what he was carrying, a girl (late teens?) and a woman in her 20s or 30s carrying a suitcase onto the train - no "yob element" discernable!

Tomorrow I have to go to London for the first time since before lockdown.....

Once again, it appears not just to be a UK^▸ (United Kingdom) problem - see

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvLpycG2P5Y

I really hope that this is not the case! It is beyond appalling if Plymouth at least does not get OHL^▸ (Over-Head Line) when places as diverse as King's Lynn, Harwich, Clacton, Norwich and Skipton already have it.