Bump ... anyone have an answer for our new member?

I had a look at the web site of the Maidenhead and Marlow Passenger Association to see if thy have anything that might provide an answer.  https://www.mmpa.org.uk/index.html . Clear sign of recent updates to the site including upcoming changes to train times in March for engineering, but no whisper I could see on ticketing changes.

Expect exactly what I got - which is a wonderful selection of ideas.    Thank you - exactly what I needed!

I hadn't cycled for 20 years until last autumn ... simply none of those middle distance day-to-day journeys for which the bicycle is ideal, and so much else to do on leisure days and trips.  Also the effects of age on energy and (in my case) balance put me off.   Triggered by various changes (electric assistance moved forward including folding bikes, need for exercise within the area, parking charges on a previously free car park) I hired a bike for the day and after feeling how I got on, I'm now a re-cyclist!

Had ours (Lisa and I) a week ago. Qualified on age. Very efficient indeed - whole process - booking and then at Spencer's Sports and Social Club here in Melksham. No medical side effects (sorry you have had some, BNM, but small price, I think!) - but in sitting there for 15 minutes after the injections, I did get to start thinking about something ... which (being transport related) will be subject of a new thread ...

Full report ((here)) for those odd ones amongst us who are used to reading these reports.  I remember going along to the Stationary Office in High Holborn to get copies 50 years ago - interesting how they have changed over the years.

The Lonely Planet has published its top ten day trips from London.   Some destinations which are no surprise at all, one or two such as Margate could be a slight surprise.

Can you suggest some contenders for day trips from YOUR home station - in the early summer, when we're less locked down but while accommodation away (apart from self catering for single bubbles) is still unavailable.

Let me try some from Melksham ... Pangbourne, Mottisfont, Marlow, Heyford, Topsham ...

And I moved on from that specialist blog to "The Horse's Mouth" of around 4,500 articles over a dozen years. I have  been archiving transport-relevant ones to the Coffee Shop mirror.
 
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/Z501.pdf - Public Transport, Rail - 2006 to 2018
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/Z511.pdf - Public Transport, Road - 2006 to 2016
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/Z531.pdf - Public Transport, Walk and Cycle - 2008 to 2013

Amazing to look back at all that writing, and how much remains relevant today too, and to avoid flooding you, I have just listed 3 of the 9 archive files uploaded. The ones done today are whitelisted to be available in public as well as to members, and the are all in the document search system too - search for Warminster, just for example, at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/?search=Warminster and you'll find a wide variety of documents located ranging from my blog articles to posters, timetables, DfT service level commitment and consultant's reports on the future of rail in Wiltshire.

I have been on the phone around the MRUG team this morning, and the subject of spring and summer promotion / what people may and may not be allowed and/or encouraged to do or not do.

Personally, and assuming the dates stick, no more than a short hop on public transport over Easter - train or bus in one direction and walk or cycle back, which gives you my idea of "local" - and it's not Weymouth.   That's from Melksham - if you're in Yeovil I could give you Weymouth as local.

There is a danger that the meek will follow the spirit of the request, with others not so inclined pushing the boat out; we save summer crowds on beaches last summer, and those were not the meek and cautious - having said which, it's suggested that neither beach crowds nor public transport were "superspreaders" or even spreaders.

Noting that GWR enhancements for the summer to Newquay and to Pembroke Dock are in the plans for this summer, but from reading through extras to Weymouth on Saturdays and Sundays are not.  Let's see early next month when we should have more details of what's planned from mid May.

This topic has been moved to Across the West.

Moving from "Fare's Fair" to "Across the West" as this is very much about when we can use the trains again and what will be running ... the fares perhaps being only a very small part of that bearing in mind that we have been saved money that would have been used for last year's travel!

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=24702.0

And alongside those changes ... what changes will there be to what GWR is running?

8th March - a handful of extra trains to support school journeys

Easterish - some re-instatement of needed trains

16th May - summer timetable changes as discussed at various meetings a month ago. 
To be finalised "early March". 

Key expectations for the summer of 2021
* Remains just hourly to South Wales (some extras London - Bristol Parkway for operational reasons)
* South Cotswold line (Swindon - Cheltenham) running as a shuttle off peak, not through to London
* No superfasts
* Saturdays - more extensions to Weston-super-mare; Pembroke Dock and Newquay to run (if can be staffed)
* Saturdays - core hourly Westbury - Gloucester, some cut back of extended services. Extra DMH calls in CDF-PMH
* Sundays - no more changes planned; reductions in place already for BRI works to remain.
No specific confirmation I can recall, but I think Paddington to Bristol may be back to half hourly, and London - via Taunton back to hourly express and every-two-hours semifast from May

December 2021 - bids in to Network Rail by July. Changes expected to be very limited in scope nationally.  So it would be a surprise if there's super fasts in early 2022.

And also ...
Okehampton looks like it's getting closer ...
I will be very interested to see what happens to fares on 1st March - i.e. what it will cost us to travel

Essential use only at present

Use train to get to / from school from 8th March

Lockdown and legal limits end on 29th March; you can use the train or bus - but not stay away and limited what you can do at destination.

From 12th April, you can also start away at a holiday let or your second or third home. Theme parks, zoos, outdoor eating re-opened so train a bit more useful

From 17th May, hotels, cinemas, etc,  open; international travel allowed (depending on the destination country) . Two households can meet indoors, so train more useful again to visit friends, etc.  Also major sporting venues open though some limited on crowds

From 21st June, remaining hospitality to re-open and most restrictions removed. 

Various social distancing and other reviews along the way - unclear / not yet decided on social distancing into the future, nor on facemask rules - to go, or with us permanently?

All dates are "at the earliest" - may slip if medical numbers aren't working

I'm sure we'll get an answer in due course ... for the moment, we have a promise to ensure that any school-critical trains not running at the moment will be restarted for the return to school:


I will be writing up a few things tomorrow and putting up a "returning" thread.

From 2005 through 2008, I wrote a daily blog specific to the Save the Train campaign and in tidying up documents and saving for the future, I have archives a complete set of posts into the Coffee Shop archive at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/stt_blog_archive.pdf - and that is a whitelisted document so it's available there to everyone.

Various generations of home pages for Save the Train are as follows:
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/stt_wa_001.pdf - Save the train, final front page - Mar 2010
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/stt_wa_002.pdf - Save the train, front page to Mar 2010 - Mar 2009
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/stt_wa_003.pdf - Save the train, very early front page - Oct 2004
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/stt_wa_004.pdf - Save the train, early front page - Nov 2005
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/stt_wa_006.pdf - Save the train, our case in a letter - 2 Oct 2005
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/stt_wa_007.pdf - Save the train, ORR letter giving us data - Jan 2006
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/stt_wa_008.pdf - Save the train, about the web site person - Feb 2006
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/stt_wa_009.pdf - Save the train, case for a service above spec - 21 Apr 2006

By mirroring the pages on The Coffee Shop, we have made them searchable in the document mirror search at http://www.firstgreatwester.info/mirror to come up in context with other documents we hold from other sources.

Excellent question, and welcome to the forum.   I'm afraid I'm just saying "welcome" - don't have an answer for you, but lots of members visit the forum over a day or two and chances are that someone will know, and will follow up.

There are times it's good to be leading edge rather than bleading edge.   Predictions / suggestions for them entering GWR service is in a few month's time but that's slipped a few times already and while various formations are reduced across GWR due to covid, sensible to get it right rather than rush it.    Looking OK is a bit of a cosmetic view - they need to work reliably too; inevitably there will be a learning curve for the maintenance teams at first so there may be a struggle to maintain reliability just at first, but we should (I think) be happy that experience is being gained in Wales.

There is an awful lot of meat in that post, Robin and Lee - so many good points / items to answer in general that I have selectively quoted.


Indeed it is cheaper and less risky to talk, engage consultants and report. It's also a way to get some quick positive outcomes - at least in the ether - in the current election cycle, while passing the bigger spend on implementation on to the next generation.   There is a wonderful upcoming opportunity to take another cycle of talking and reporting on so many projects now, as source assumptions are incorrect due to coronavirus ... at the same time and with the looming climate friendly / zero carbon agenda, there should be an opportunity to rebuild different and there should be incredible community help into that - win the hearts of the community, please - they are you future customers and they now have a choice as to what to do for their new normal. 

Not sure I'm 100% optimistic on that one, but that does not preclude making every effort.  Can't be worse than not trying, can it?

Coming back from macro to micro, looking at Melksham's town bus (services 14 and 15). Log jam has been "but the people who use them at the moment don't want to go to the station, and a bird in hand is worth ten in the bush". Well - hardly anyone is using them at the moment, so what better time than to changes the routes to be fit for the 20s?   

I note Lee's comment about our train service being inappropriate before it was introduced (witness the train manager  walking up and down the side of the train, banging on the windows and asking people to move up so more could get on) and really don't want to wait for bus service changes for the 20s to only be implemented just before the 30s. For sure, it's likely that a service in the 30s that was designed for the 20s would be better than a service designed for the 10s still running at that time - but how about (a novel idea?) an appropriate service for the current time??