Allows the traveller to switch an advance ticket on one train to a different train that has capacity - but on that journey a rice bowl has to be filled. Would it be good if the rice bowl belonged to the railway, and would it be even better if the national ticketing system handled the task in house with the cost wrapped into the initial advance booking payment.

Mark

https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/special-offers/our-offers/train-swap

Thinking here of South West Trains - connecting to their on train wifi means that the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) then has your contact details - fine by me - and after travelling the TOC often sends out a customer survey - also fine by me. Trying to think if I've seen the same from other TOCs, it's certainly more common with South West Trains.

An observation on the the information the survey is after - it's focussed purely on the customer experience on their network, their stations and with their own staff, and avoids even the opportunity to collect journey start and end points. This reinforces the impression that a TOC evolves to provide an island of services in their own geographical area and undervalue the principle of the rail network as a coherent whole.

That immediately puts me in mind of different times, and Gordon Pettit's book covering the story of the battle to transform the Regional Railways ugly duckling into something considerably more swan-like. Nearly forty years later, some of the current TOCs still benefit from the trains purchased by Regional Railways even if the opportunity of the inter-regional services that were pushed at that time has in some cases withered away. In an age of the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)'s spectre of "Minimum viable product" inter-regional services are some way away from regaining that edge.

Mark

I feel sorry for Devizes: a station in a good location for the town centre and close to buses that involved some heavy lifting to put it down there, all swept away in the sixties turbulence before electric traction gained a foothold* as that's something that would have had the haul up Caen Hill for breakfast.

At the present day if the line had survived, and Melksham having grown to almost envelop it, people might be campaigning for a second station for Melksham too.

Mark

*Setting aside the issue that electric traction, while it may have gained a foothold...

Particularly good to look this morning of yours out on Google Maps + streetview.

Mark

Looking back at yesterday's travel, the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) train from Reading started out from there very quiet, picked up people and became busy on its way up, I left it at Clapham Junction - one of the effects of the industrial action was that all the information screens were stating 'Refer to timetables' and not many people travelling.

My destination being a bus ride from at least four stations on different lines, the travelcard allowed flexibility and it was a relief not to have been a couple of hours behind time. There's a whole discussion to be had on the ticketing for this of course, the travelcard option not being available from Bath at all I think (and the industry having recently attempted to dump it entirely).

The return trip started with a short leg on a train to St Albans from Carshalton, where there wasn't so much as a gap between platform and train, more of a void.

The 8:20 Exeter train from Waterloo, 6 carriages, terminating at Honiton with a rail replacement bus from there. Busy as it left Waterloo, many off at Woking so quieter after that, still a fair few off at Salisbury where three  carriages were dropped too.

This train has a 20 minute connection into a GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) service that arrives from the direction of Westbury around 10, which it did, in service, but I think no passengers aboard - and I was the only person waiting for it, Salisbury's large station being devoid of other passengers.

On 'Cross Salisbury' travel, not sure what it's like at other time of day, and a single snapshot is anecdote not data,  it might be that in the evening the cutbacks to the rail services there and then the year or so of very poor timetabled connections have just about slain what traffic there was. The connections are now much better than they were but the trains look to be carrying a lot of fresh air, something that could be addressed by marketing.

Off we went, the GWR train heading for Bristol. Just a couple of people boarding at Warminster, a few more at Westbury and then as many as 20 perhaps at Trowbridge.

Approaching Bath Spa, the usual *very*  upbeat recorded announcement that announces the extensive connections available by bus from the nearby bus station - but - the train arriving into Bath at 11:15pm, a quarter of an hour after the last bus local to me, and around thirty seconds before the departure of four or five 'Last buses' for various longer distance distance destinations - a couple of passengers did immediately dash for the bus station and were held up by the sight of this convoy of five or so buses as they departed across the pelican crossing at its exit (none of which stop at the Manvers Street stop opposite the station). Taxis available but I walked.

Mark

Update on the tree: it was removed in time to let the 8:38 from Bath through to Portsmouth, out of which connections to Waterloo are not brilliant offering an arrival time there of mid-day.

Mark

Ok, so, for today's trip, and what might by the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) be called a 'Minimum viable ticket' travelcard in hand, I headed for the 07:35 from Bath Spa to Salisbury.

At the station, the train was up as the 7:35 to Westbury rather than Portsmouth, and in due course there was an announcement that there was a tree on the line between there and Salisbury but not a lot by way of advice for onward travel.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) twitter feed had the disruption from this lasting till the end of the day - good that they're starting with a worst case scenario and then pulling it in as the issue is solved - but this wasn't encouraging as the advice from station staff was of the form 'Go to Westbury and catch the following train to Salisbury'. Fielding a question, they advised that ticket acceptance wasn't in place via Reading.

After watching the tail lights of the 7:35 to Westbury disappear round the bend, the 7:43 to Paddington came in, rather full, 50% of the morning peak trains being cancelled. It looked as though it was going to be an issue to find the train manager as the service was, unannounced, in reverse formation, but found they were and thankfully had no issue with taking me to Reading on their traind - and the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) train manager there has no issue with taking me on to Waterloo so thankfully I'm not even going to be particularly behind time.

So, pragmatism / front-line staff empowered to make decisions saves the day.

Mark

I'm hoping it isn't as I've just bought a London zones 1-6 day travelcard from there...

Mark

Harry Wilson made it to an age of 100 years and 11 months. Video interview from LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) (and for good measure, interviewed by one of their current train drivers)

Mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8vHnrUQ7wc

It's true, the National Rail website says so. Screenshot below.

Mark

... and it's not many years since Salisbury - Waterloo via Southampton was (for some reason) a valid route from the point of view of ticketing.

Mark

Is the ¾ mile distance or height?

Mark

And now, 11 year anniversary today, for good measure it falls on a Saturday.

A couple of photos: one of the opening day crowds, and another of ex S&D^▸ (Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway) footplate crew John Sawyer and Tim Hughes (who had a Bath Junction to Midford token pouch on his arm). Alas, Devonshire Tunnel is still closed for the time being, an... issue... with the tunnel drain still needs addressing.

Mark

Forgot to link the article. A bit of handwringing about drivers on the minor cul de sac there who unexpectedly find themselves going off a tiny tho invisible-from-the-uphill-direction cliff. Meanwhile the railway's had a 20mph slapped on it. I imagine that Network Rail have the section wired every which way though.

Mark

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1rx4qr9z1po

Article from BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news, a bit of ground movement there. (Folkestone Warren being beneath a huge splay of thoroughly incompetent 'cliff' across which the railway built one of the two lines to Dover, the line being closed by a landslip of nightmarish proportions during WW1, and the area has been closely monitored ever since).

If you're in the area it's worth heading for the 'Cliff Top Cafe', apart from their bacon butties you'll find the start of a path that leads down to the bridge in the second photo, unlike the first the second was taken at a time that the rail line there underwent a long period of closure while another unrelated horror was sorted out nearer to Dover.

The whole thing could make Dawlish look like a cakewalk. Fortunately though, unlike Dawlish, this isn't the only rail line into Dover and East Kent.

Mark