If you add up the deceleration time down Rattery Bank for the 25mph switch to Totnes Up Platform Loop, the station dwell time, then the acceleration time to get up Dainton bank instead of hitting it full on, then stopping at Totnes can cause a significant delay.

3. Treasury figures show the South West gets ^41 per head spent on rail compared to ^294 in London.

Whilst there may be barriers at stations between Paddington and Bristol TM^‡(resolve) served by high speed services, excepting some platforms at PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) and all of Chippenham, there still should be regular checks on board. Barriers aren't intelligent enough to check someone is on the right train with an Advance, they can't check that someone is dumb-belling, they are of no use checking someone who has started at an unbarriered station and has interchanged at say, Reading or Didcot, they can't prevent someone travelling in 1st Class on a Standard ticket.

I travel between Swindon and Nailsea daily and probably get my ticket checked around 1 in 3 journeys. When I travel from Swindon to London I get my ticket checked most times. So I'm very surprised at your comment that you've never had your ticket checked.

The SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening) system on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) seems to vary from train to train. Here at Hanborough we have a 3 car platform. Some HSTs can stop with coaches A, B & C, doors unlocked. However some only allow the doors on two coaches to be unlocked. I am told that this is because on some trains the door unlocking is contolled for pairs of coaches and on such a train unlocking the doors of coach C would also mean unlocking the doors of coach D which would be off the end of the platform.

Strewth, that must be hard to identify to whom it is for!