Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 14:15 11 May 2025
 
- 'Perpetual honeymoon' for stranded cruise ship couple married at sea
- Long queues at Stansted airport as 'IT issue' causes delays
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 13/05/25 - Melksham TUG / AGM
14/05/25 - West Wiltshire RUG
17/05/25 - Summer Timetable Starts
18/05/25 - Portishead RNLI 10 anniversary

On this day
11th May (1898)
Lynton and Barnstaple opened (link)

Train RunningCancelled
Additional 13:32 Swindon to Westbury
14:36 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
17:40 Cardiff Central to Westbury
18:10 Weston-Super-Mare to Severn Beach
19:26 Taunton to Bristol Temple Meads
21:05 Weston-Super-Mare to Bristol Temple Meads
Short Run
10:50 Penzance to Cardiff Central
10:55 Cardiff Central to Penzance
12:55 Gatwick Airport to Reading
13:32 Swindon to Weymouth
13:35 Severn Beach to Weston-Super-Mare
13:45 London Paddington to Carmarthen
13:50 Warminster to Cardiff Central
14:25 Cardiff Central to Warminster
16:50 Warminster to Cardiff Central
17:00 Cardiff Central to Taunton
17:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
17:48 Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth
18:20 Warminster to Bristol Temple Meads
18:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
19:20 Carmarthen to London Paddington
20:11 Weymouth to Bristol Temple Meads
20:28 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
Delayed
11:50 Penzance to Cardiff Central
13:13 Exeter Central to Barnstaple
14:00 Cardiff Central to Penzance
15:41 Bristol Temple Meads to Warminster
An additional bus service has been planned to operate as shown 17:29 Bristol Temple Meads to Weston-Super-Mare
17:35 Severn Beach to Exeter St Davids
An additional bus service has been planned to operate as shown 20:11 Weymouth to Westbury
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
May 11, 2025, 14:23:58 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[148] Champion Reflections
[109] [otd] 13th May (1985) - Melksham Station re-opened
[64] Two plus Three seating in class 150?
[51] Day trip to Chetnole - and a walk to Maiden Newton - report an...
[30] Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsew...
[26] Shortage of train crews on Great Western Railway - ongoing dis...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: First rail trip after Covid  (Read 4633 times)
bradshaw
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1588



View Profile
« on: September 04, 2023, 19:13:30 »

I had a business meeting in Bristol, five minutes from Temple Meads, convenient for travelling from Maiden Newton.
The meeting was at 11.30, meaning, with the new timetable, a 0759 departure. Next stage look to buying a ticket online. GWR (Great Western Railway) fare placed the cost, returning the same day, at £40.80. Stating that this was the cheapest for my journey.
However, by scrolling down the page, Other return tickets available with one at £31.20.
I decided to simply by buying the ticket on the train.
The day arrived and the 0759 was cancelled, traction fault. This meant I had to catch the 09.55. Luckily we live just 20 minutes from the station so I was able to delay my leaving the house. Those living not so near would have a long wait.
The bonus was that the 0955 day return fare was now £21.50.

The train scheduled as a two car but arrived as a five car, picking up the now working failed unit. This was just as well since the train was very busy with levels easily more than pre Covid.
Behind me a passenger wanted a return to Stockport from Yeovil PM. The conductor spent five minutes advising him of the possible fares. The cheapest was via Hereford!  A very good example of the complexity of the current fares system which needs urgent reform.

Of the journey, the dominant thought was the advance of vegetation to the extent of carriage bashing. A number of the views were obscured by this.

Sadly the return was by car as the others at the meeting wanted to see the Dawes Twine Work and I was the historian there to explain.
Logged
Electric train
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4536


The future is 25000 Volts AC 750V DC has its place


View Profile
« Reply #1 on: September 05, 2023, 07:12:40 »


The train scheduled as a two car but arrived as a five car, picking up the now working failed unit. This was just as well since the train was very busy with levels easily more than pre Covid.

Off peak travel according to the data within the industry looking to be higher than pre lockdowns, in part probably to the change to hybrid working


Of the journey, the dominant thought was the advance of vegetation to the extent of carriage bashing. A number of the views were obscured by this.


Vegetation growth this summer, to quote the Off Track team on the Route I work on, has been very aggressive, this is due to the wet weather this summer.  Add to this the change to the rules to access lineside areas to do work, line blocks are required the use of Lookouts to warn staff of trains now consigned to the history books

"Leaves on the line" delays are likely to be a key issue this autumn

O
Logged

Starship just experienced what we call a rapid unscheduled disassembly, or a RUD, during ascent,”
Clan Line
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 995



View Profile
« Reply #2 on: September 05, 2023, 09:28:03 »


Vegetation growth this summer, to quote the Off Track team on the Route I work on, has been very aggressive, this is due to the wet weather this summer. 
"Leaves on the line" delays are likely to be a key issue this autumn


To "blame" one poor summer for the state of trackside vegetation is disingenuous to say the very least.

I recently tried to recreate an old railway photo - I couldn't take the new one from exactly the same position as the the old one because of............you've already guessed it !  The photos speak for themselves.................

I seem to recollect very similar photos appearing after the Salisbury tunnel accident.

Logged
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 13356


View Profile Email
« Reply #3 on: September 05, 2023, 11:17:13 »

Steam trains very usefully used to kick out hot rocks that set the vegetation alight & kept it under control....
Logged
Witham Bobby
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 751



View Profile
« Reply #4 on: September 06, 2023, 10:53:02 »

Steam trains very usefully used to kick out hot rocks that set the vegetation alight & kept it under control....

I think it was the PW (Permanent Way - the railway track) gangs that used to keep the vegetation under control (cutting back and controlled burning) in order to avoid the accidental ignition of undergrowth by ash and sparks from the locomotives.  I suspect the green lobby would have a paroxysm of fury in the event of Network Rail returning to this policy
Logged
Clan Line
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 995



View Profile
« Reply #5 on: September 06, 2023, 13:49:05 »

I suspect the green lobby would have a paroxysm of fury in the event of Network Rail returning to this policy

Undoubtedly !....................but what is/was the true "original" vegetative state of the track shown in the photos ?  The green lobby would be loud in their claims that the bushes/trees were the true state and they must be afforded a similar preservation status to Stonehenge, but the 1938 photo would seem to disprove that. I think we can say with some certainty that there was no vegetation along this track from 1856 (when opened) until some years after the 1938 photo.

How much to buy & run a fleet of RHTTs (Rail Head Treatment Train) ??
Logged
Mark A
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 2009


View Profile
« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2023, 09:16:59 »

Grassland is itself a valuable habitat, especially as many railway earthworks may be nutrient-poor and species rich. A visit to the GWSR is instructive as they're not keen on the tunnel-of-trees approach and do their best to mitigate it.

Mark
Logged
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 ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules via admin@railcustomer.info. Full legal statement (here).

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page