The line is closed between Exeter SD and Crediton, along with the mainline; the early morning services got through and there is a shuttle running Crediton - Barnstaple with a RRB^▸ (Rail Replacement Bus) between Crediton - Exeter.
However as the A377 - the natural road between Barnstaple and Exeter - runs through the exclusion zone, I'm not sure what route they're going to take either north to Tiverton and back down the M5 or risk the backroads south to Pathfinder on the A30.

All other services are running Penzance/Plymouth - Exeter SD and Paddington/Scotland/North England/Wales - Taunton/Tiverton Pkwy with RRB between Taunton/Tiverton and Exeter.

SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) are running Waterloo - Yeovil Jnc, with RRB Yeovil - Exeter plus ticket acceptance on Stagecoach service 4 Honiton - Exeter.

Exmouth - Paignton unaffected.

This is assuming the exclusion zone stays at the current limit, if it needs to be widened once the bomb is examined, St Davids station will come under the new exclusion zone.

I'm not sure what the official line is but I haven't seen a Pacer in service since the lockdown timetable change (commuting once or twice a week so I might not have seen if one or two are running); a number of them seem to be sleeping in Landore. Many/most Valley workings are to be 2 cars atm, so the Sprinters can cope; I think there are some 4 car 150 formations on the Rhymneys along with a 769 diagram but not enough 4-cars to need the Pacers, it seems.

As lockdown is eased 4 car trains will be needed for the Valleys to maintain social distancing - during the previous inter-lockdown periods the timetable was still reduced enough to allow this to be workable. Typically 150+14x, so there was always an accessible toilet, although it wasn't unknown for a double Pacer to turn up (which might not be allowed at all now). If lockdown is eased before enough 769s are in service I imagine some Pacers will need to return to service, unless some other solution is found. I can see the full pre-Covid timetable being a struggle if it comes back without Pacers around.

The railway magazines were saying 143's were being replaced by shortened 2+3 castle class in the Bristol area so 166's can come to Exeter. There must be a couple of 166s at Exeter plus one that seems to come down from Bristol and goes back in the evening. 166s will replace the 150/2s eventually as 165s as 5 cars go to Bristol.

The Paignton "branch" seems to be reduced to an hourly service with a couple of XCountries.

How many class 158s currently work this route?

Paddington Swansea is already hourly.   The ones that run only as far as Cardiff (leaving London at xx.18) in between have been removed - thus making trains to Cardiff hourly (on the way to Swansea).

In response to the change in Covid19 tiers, an ammended timetable will come in to operation on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) from 4 January.

Pad - Cardiff: hourly inc Saturdays

Pad - Hereford & Pad - Cheltenham: later start/early finish & some Pad - Cheltenham shortened to Swindon

Night Riviera cancelled until 10 January

Truro - Falmouth: reduced frequency Mon - Fri & 1 tph Sat

Greenford: 1 tph Mon - Sat

Windsor: 2 tph Mon - Sat

Pad - Newbury: reduced frequency Mon - Sun

Pad - Didcot semi-fast: 1 tph Mon - Sat

North Downs: 1 tph off peak Mon - Fri & 2 tph Sat

Reading - Basingstoke: 1 tph evenings Mon - Fri

Banbury - Pad: morning service cancelled Mon - Fri

Plymouth - Gunnislake: reduced frequency Sat

Pad - Bedwyn: cut to Reading - Bedwyn shuttle Sun

Pad - Oxford: 1 tph Sun

Exeter SD - Exmouth: 1 tph Sun

Lots of short forms on Bristol based services today:


Does this co-incide with an appearance of more turbos (you know, the sort that run regional trains in Wessex) in Devon ? 
Are there enough people travelling for it to actually matter ?? 
Will it be fixed in time for any return to work next week ???

TFW started to make moves when they took over from ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))).    Before the Welsh Government became responsible,  the responsibility lies with the DFT^▸ (Department for Transport)

When does it go back?  This seems so costly an exercise.

All cancelled due to staff shortage today;

06:33 Plymouth to Gunnislake due 07:19
07:29 Gunnislake to Plymouth due 08:14
09:21 Par to Newquay due 10:13
10:23 Newquay to Par due 11:12
12:36 Liskeard to Looe due 13:04
13:06 Looe to Liskeard due 13:34
13:36 Liskeard to Looe due 14:05
14:08 Looe to Liskeard due 14:33
15:40 Liskeard to Looe due 16:13
16:00 Cardiff Central to Taunton due 18:01
16:16 Looe to Liskeard due 16:42
16:55 Exmouth to Paignton due 18:31
17:00 Cardiff Central to Taunton due 19:02
18:08 Taunton to Cardiff Central due 20:25
18:52 Paignton to Exeter St Davids due 19:43
19:20 Paignton to Exeter St Davids due 20:05
20:37 Exeter St Davids to Exmouth due 21:10
21:00 Cardiff Central to Exeter St Davids due 23:37
21:12 Paignton to Exeter St Davids due 22:09
21:17 Par to Plymouth due 22:10
21:24 Exmouth to Paignton due 22:59
21:30 Cardiff Central to Bristol Temple Meads due 22:23
21:30 Plymouth to Gunnislake due 22:16
22:20 Gunnislake to Exeter St Davids due 00:20
22:20 Paignton to Exeter St Davids due 23:14
22:40 Exeter St Davids to Exmouth due 23:14
22:43 Taunton to Bristol Temple Meads due 23:47
23:19 Exmouth to Exeter St Davids due 23:50
23:20 Paignton to Exeter St Davids due 00:11
00:01 Paignton to Exeter St Davids due 00:47

Are 165/166s cleared to use the Falmouth branch?

Good to see some of the longer distance trains making extra calls at some of the smaller stations along the way to help fill gaps in the timetable


Now, please, can we have some extra calls at DMH^» (Dilton Marsh - next trains) to restore the timetable to something like usable from the pathetic sub-franchise-spec that's running at the moment