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Train RunningCancelled
16:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
17:48 Reading to Gatwick Airport
17:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
17:57 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street
18:04 Bristol Temple Meads to Filton Abbey Wood
18:04 Bedwyn to Newbury
18:08 London Paddington to Frome
18:26 Newbury to Bedwyn
18:37 Westbury to Swindon
18:51 Filton Abbey Wood to Bristol Temple Meads
18:55 Bedwyn to Newbury
19:24 Newbury to Bedwyn
19:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
19:33 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill
19:55 Bedwyn to Newbury
20:13 Swindon to Westbury
20:16 Frome to Westbury
20:49 Newbury to Bedwyn
20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington
21:16 Bedwyn to Newbury
Short Run
14:49 Plymouth to Cardiff Central
15:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
15:15 Plymouth to London Paddington
15:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
15:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
15:42 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
16:19 Carmarthen to London Paddington
16:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
16:35 London Paddington to Plymouth
16:50 Plymouth to London Paddington
17:03 London Paddington to Penzance
17:20 Reading to Gatwick Airport
17:30 London Paddington to Taunton
17:30 Warminster to Bristol Temple Meads
17:36 Swindon to Westbury
17:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
18:18 Newbury to London Paddington
19:06 London Paddington to Bedwyn
20:42 Bedwyn to London Paddington
Delayed
13:59 Cardiff Central to Penzance
14:15 Penzance to London Paddington
14:36 London Paddington to Paignton
15:03 London Paddington to Penzance
16:03 London Paddington to Penzance
Additional 17:17 Exeter St Davids to Penzance
Additional 17:26 Castle Cary to Penzance
17:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
17:59 Gatwick Airport to Reading
An additional train service has been planned to operate as shown 18:25 Shalford to Reading
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Author Topic: The "Coffee Shop" - changed over the years, and looking forward  (Read 1444 times)
grahame
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« on: January 16, 2023, 16:00:16 »

Here we are, just a fortnight into 2023, and 137 of our members have been logged in to the forum already. 79 of those members have been registered members for over ten years. Looking right back to when the forum started, the 137 members between them have posted 196,106 messages.

From a disparate group looking for better information about passenger train services and how best to use them in the Thames Valley and west thereof, we have grown into a knowledgable resource.   From a protest group we have grown into a group that looks to partner with the rail industry and government where we can to help advance mutual betterment.  From a bunch of individuals we have grown into a family of colleagues and friends with many shared standards and ideals, and an understanding and appreciation of one another when our views do not align.

Three years ago, when Covid "hit", most of our members suspended their travel; for some of them, commuting 5 days a week has never returned. The forum remained buoyant with all the news of changing circumstances, and as webmaster I found myself spending a great deal of time in the hitherto-untried realm of online meetings, and in phone chats with comrades who were likewise adapting to new circumstances.  It has pulled the group very much closer, even if we have not seen people with whom we met frequently since the spring of 2020.

Lisa and I were delighted to meet on Saturday with a member and his wife who we have not seen in real life for three years; it felt just like old times and was really enjoyed. On Sunday I was messaging with a member about a totally different topic to public transport / a friend made in the forum. And then this morning, an incoming email from another friend who I have not seen in years and who had worryingly disappeared off our radar. 

I don't know what our next three or 10 years will bring; I know there are challenges in the public transport sector in the UK (United Kingdom), but I look forward to facing those challenges with friends here, and enjoying doing so in your real, electronic, virtual or etherial company.

And finally, then - if you are a friend or member - thank you. If you are visiting us as a guest - please join us.  It's free, it's free from adverts, and we would love to have you alongside us and adding power to each other's team elbows in the future.
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Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
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