There have been quite a few cancellations over the last few weeks with the Didcot -  Oxford/Banbury services for the same reason; so I assume that they GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are having problem maintaining these units. And they certainly don't have enough spare capacity.

FirstGroup’s proposal is for two return journeys a day (one on Sundays) between London Paddington and Hereford, calling at Bristol Parkway and Severn Tunnel Junction as well as providing direct London services at Cwmbran, Pontypool & New Inn and Abergavenny.

Further details can be found here https://www.firstgroupplc.com/news-and-media/latest-news/2025/06-06-2025.aspx

Only 2 journeys a day but is there room for more OA services into Paddington?
And if all the proposed OA services run won't there be a loss of service to all the places east of Bristol that these and the other First Group OA services don't stop at?

Deep joy, RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) are introducing an overtime and RDW ban on Cross Country from June to October, excluding Sundays.
From the Oxford Clarion https://bsky.app/profile/oxfordclarion.bsky.social/post/3lq6gu6s4sk2f

It is great that people are using this service but the tickets are really cheap i.e. an anytime single Newcastle to Ashington (about 13 miles) is £2.60; in comparison a Didcot to Oxford (10 miles) anytime single is £8.70. 20p a mile compared with 87p a mile.

Northern is the English TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) with the highest subsidy so not sure how this is affordable, of course ideally we would like all services to be as highly subsidised.

Lets hope that as the fares rise the service continues to be used.

And I do wonder with EWR^▸ (East West Railway (Oxford to Bedford), or possibly East Worthing station, depending on context) whether 2 car trains are going to be big enough.

They are listed on this website http://www.railtourinfo.co.uk/locohauled.html

But they don't appear to have been updated for the May 2025 timetable change, if there were any.

According to the Oxford Clarion https://bsky.app/profile/oxfordclarion.bsky.social/post/3lnuhiadpd22q Chiltern have signed a deal to run 10 locomotive hauled Mk5a sets to replace 4 locomotive hauled Mk3 sets.

They were previously used by Trans Pennine Express (TPE^▸ (Trans Pennine Express)). TPE had 13 5 cars sets made up of 4 standard class and 1 first class coach. It is unclear to me whether TPE actual used all the sets as the most number of sets they had running at the same time was 4 and they also suffered from cracks similar to IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)).

I assume that as well as replacing the Mk3's they will either replace some existing Class 165/168 services or even some additional services will be added.
Will we see a return of the Oxford Flyers?

I saw someone say it was planned to use class 180 units.

Due to signalling staff illness there are no trains between Cardiff and Swansea from (24/4/25) 23:00 to 07:00 (25/4/25).

I am quite surprised that  a mainline railway can just shut down completely at such short notice; where is the resilience? Is this why the railway is being used more for leisure these days as those travelling to/from school or work can't rely on it.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are apparently trying to source road transport.

Of course those of a certain vintage will remember the role 'The Jolly Sailor' played in the 80's TV^▸ (Thames Valley, or TeleVision, depending on context) Show 'Howards Way' as well as other locations in the Southampton-Hamble-Bursledon area.

You should try it, I booked a seat on the 07:23 Southampton Airport to Oxford Cross-Country service and I also booked a seat on the 08:41 Edinburgh (EDB) to Glasgow Queen Street, so it isn't just GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services and you don't have to buy a ticket at the same time.

The steps to reserve a seat are as follows:
1) Select 'Online Booking' option from https://www.gwr.com/your-tickets/seat-reservations
2) Login to your account.
3) Go to Bookings - View Bookings
4) Select Make a seat/bike reservation.
5) Enter the details of the service you wish to book seats on
6) When it asks you for ticket type you can select any type.
7) Confirm booking
You have reserved a seat.
And the service is free.

You can book seats on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) website https://www.gwr.com/your-tickets/seat-reservations it will ask what ticket you have; but you can select any type and it will reserve a seat at no cost.

Looks like there is a shortage of stock this morning.

1A14 Bristol temple Meads to London which is normally a 9-car IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) is today formed of a 3 car 165, at least according to RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website). https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:Y21906/2025-04-02/detailed

RTT does say the 165 is only operating as far as Swindon, it doesn't say what happens after that.

If batteries are added to trains so that electric trains can run between Didcot and Oxford instead of not completing the half-finished Didcot-Oxford electrification then I would suggest that we no longer live in a serious country.

Do we know whether GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) (or whoever is responsible for procuring these trains) have even signed a contract for the 175's yet?

If they haven't then I guess we can't be sure that these trains will ever arrive, especially as the Dft/Treasury/Government are looking to save money.