Unless I missed it I didn't see any mention of simplifying tickets which I thought would be one benefit of bringing everything under one roof?

The bots is because the government developers can't respond quickly enough to close the exploits in the web page. As soon as they close off one another dozen scripts will appear. The block booking is also supposed to be closed off but again its probably profitable enough to develop workarounds. And unless its changed its will be a central team responsible for all the DVLA^▸ (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency)/SA rather than a gov.uk developer sat there responding to bots and exploits.

Having just recently sat my test and discussed this with my instructor I was quite surprised at how poorly paid examiners were. Apparently several of the instructors in my area were approached about becoming examiners and all laughed at the idea. Apart from a significant pay cut as mentioned in one of the articles above there was also an increase in the number of tests you had to oversee a few years ago and reduction in the time allowed for paperwork which caused a lot of resentment and stress. From memory it was an increase from 6 to 7 tests a day which if you allow each test being 45-50 mins including actually getting to the car itself and the 'chat' at the end doesn't leave long for typing it all up never mind destressing or taking a break. Its also a lot less flexible and as my instructor said if he doesn't like someone he can turn down the work.

I got chatting to my examiner on my test who commented on how nice it was to be able to have a chat with someone his own age (50+) and talked about why he was thinking of changing careers. When I mentioned I'd worked for the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) World Service there were loads of questions and I was just trying to think of a polite way of saying 'be quiet I'm trying to drive'.

I'm not sure I could cope with sitting in the car with mainly teenagers all day and trusting their driving.

Not quite sure where to post this but when I 'like' a post it opens a new page with a message and I then have to navigate back (well hit the back button) to where I was. I'm pretty sure this is new behaviour? Didn't use to just say 'yum' with no new pages opening or have I imagined it all?

I'm using Chrome and Win 11.

Didn't there use to be posters up at each station with the same information or is this something different?

And as John says not really sure what the point of this is. Feels a bit like the NHS reforms promised where you can chose you hospital except they all have the same waiting lists and geography is going to be the main factor for most people.

I've voted 'yes' but not entirely convinced. Are the roads suitable and does the traffic flow well enough to make it worth while? The Welsh Government seems quite against investing in roads and while I'd generally support more rail I'm not sure its practical from the other thread. Their track record on the M4 doesn't bode well for an Express Service.

I'd also wonder if there's enough demand if you don't include Cardiff or at least Swansea as the towns mentioned are all relatively small population centres. I've not caught the T1 for some time but is it that busy to need 8 more coaches a day outside term start time? It tended to be empty some runs and packed others which suggests a timetable tweak might be cheaper.

It was some time ago but I spent a lot of time living in Aberystwyth and working during the week in Pembroke. That meant a lot of bus journeys to Carmarthen. The 'express' timetable doesn't seem that much faster than the normal service although as I said it was a long time ago...

Now I've got my driving licence back (medical reasons rather than legal) I'm thinking about a road trip to Aber so will be interesting to compare the times.

Living in a rural area with two hunts it can be quite a divisive topic. It's one of the subjects along with tractors on the lanes that gets instantly closed down on the community Facebook page.

I'm not against drag hunting in principle but I did have a 'disagreement' with one hunt recently who had blocked the roads with their vehicles and weren't letting traffic through while they did their thing. I understand why they want to protect the horses and dogs but equally not impressed at being made to wait 20 mins before they eventually moved their large 4x4s to let people past. I think that and the number of 'accidental' trespasses has probably moved me into the banning it if they're not going to be considerate.

Not sure I quite understand how the current incumbent on a route buying the open access improves competition?

If GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) wanted to run more trains can't they apply to the DFT^▸ (Department for Transport) or propose a new timetable or is it like airport landing slots and they're all bought up?

Still seems to undermine the point of open access though.

I'm sure they'll emerge at some point but it would be interesting to see the detail. How were the potential numbers calculated as I wonder how much was "build it and they will come" was factored in. When I was at college at Aberystwyth there were a large number of students from south and west Wales which might provide a regular revenue stream and make the Colleges at Aber, Bangor and Carmarthen more attractive. Develop tourism. Working in an off licence we stocked a lot of Banks's for day trippers/weekenders from the midlands from where there was a reasonable rail link but not so much Brains for Cardiff visitors who presumably didn't fancy the journey.

I think there's also the whole idea of improving north-south links in Wales. The road links aren't great and are there bigger benefits than purely revenue? Would the North feel less disconnected from the Capital, less traffic? The A470 has very little dual carriage way which is another reason not to travel north-south.

Another vote for Aspen but as II says it is more expensive. I'm looking at getting a generator as my water supply (from a borehole) needs electricity to power the pumps but the logistics around storing 'fresh' petrol keeps putting me off and the cost of more Aspen is also off putting.

My job meant working on a bunker and looking at the technology to keep it and the services it supported running in the event of nuclear war or social collapse but apparently I didn't get a place. I also had to sign various bits of paper before I was allowed in despite pointing out there was a Wikipedia page that was far more detailed than the handover I'd received.

I'm sure I use to see the figures at Twyford station when I commuted from there. They were quite selective - only trains between certain times on certain days and arrival at the final destination rather than stations in between which were often dropped from the route.

Not really sure I see the point though as if I'm catching a train I generally don't have an option around alternative providers and all I want to know is will my train turn up and will I get a seat. If the service is improving that should be reflected in my perception of using it rather than stats telling me I was just unlucky there was no crew/power/its Sunday for that particular train.

Finally travelled on one of these from Carmarthen or at least I assume it was. Very new and shiny with flat panels everywhere (well a few places).

I didn't find the ride as bad as Mark did and in most respects a big improvement on what has gone before. There is a bit of information overload on the screens although there is also lot of useful info there but it can take a while to cycle through.

I would agree they're not great for long distance travel. I'm always surprised that the direct Carmarthen to Manchester train is a two carriage commuter train.

While I think they are a welcome improvement it doesn't solve the capacity problems. The one I was on was two carriages and its not enough as you start to get to the bigger cities.

I know the film version had location filming as there's a story about how ungracious James Bolam was about being back in the north east and wanting to go home to Fulham. I know there were some location shoots for the "Whatever happened..." but wasn't sure if the actors were actually on location.

Of course this is all going on near 40 year old conversations with people who worked on assorted programmes from the 60s and 70s wanting to impress the new person so I wouldn't be able to say either way with any certainty.

From memory pretty much all of the series were filmed in London so if the actors featured then unlikely to be Newcastle or Doncaster.