I don't believe there are plans to introduce one overall colour scheme for the trains - that would just make things very complicated. I believe the plans are to retain the separate TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) identifies, and management structures, it's just the ownership that will transfer. So rather than GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) trains having the 'A FirstGroup company' sub-branding, they would say 'A GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) company' (or something similar) instead.

That was the whole point in creating identities at arms length from the owning company (First Great Western to GWR). So the owning company could change with minimal impact.

If all the trains were branded the same, how would customers (and staff) be able tell them apart? e.g. at Reading there are four separate TOCs that operate out of the station - GWR, SWR^» (South Western Railway - about), XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) and Elizabeth Line. If all these trains were branded the same, it would be a nightmare.

Trying to merge all the TOCs into one conglomerous super TOC would be a monumental headache. It's too much for one single management team, so keeping the separate TOCs, just under one ownership, is the logical solution. LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about), TPE^▸ (Trans Pennine Express) & Northern are already nationalised, but they have all retained their separate identities and management structures. I could be wrong, but believe all others will simply follow suit.

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/somersets-newest-railway-station-not-9040446

Who knew that Penzance was in Somerset...

“We’re sorry that the damage caused to Network Rail’s overhead power lines by another rail operator’s train has caused significant disruption to our Elizabeth line customers as well as all train operators out of London Paddington."

This response from TfL^» (Transport for London - about) perfectly sums up the state of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail network. Fractured. Broken. Blame shifting.

It wasn't our train that done it guv.

"Everyone I spoke to and that was a lot of people said they were right behind the strikes because we MUST have a guard on the train and station staff available. They all said without the guard yesterday, things would have been a lot worse."

There are no plans to remove guards from trains or station staff. The plans are to re-specify job roles to allow staff to provide more customer service functions, so exactly what is being demanded.

I wouldn't read too much into it - it's just a concept drawing rather than an actual plan. Looks like it was drawn by someone with just a vague memory of what the area looks like.

Grosvenor Hotel near Bristol Temple Meads to finally be demolished

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/grosvenor-hotel-near-bristol-temple-meads-to-finally-be-demolished/ar-AA161FGt?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=1d2d12345358401f96829dc11c84682c

Amended TT due to strikes. CNM^» (Cheltenham Spa - next trains)-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) services set to resume next week.

No collapse, NR^» (Network Rail - home page) are removing ice.

From GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).com:

Due to a tunnel being closed for safety reasons between Kemble and Stroud all lines are closed. Disruption is expected until 13:00 15/12.

Impact:

Train services between Cheltenham Spa and Swindon will be suspended. Kemble, Stroud and Stonehouse will not be served.

Customer Advice:

We're sorry for any disruption this brings to your travel plans today.

Transport For Wales and CrossCountry are conveying passengers between Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa in both directions until further notice.

CrossCountry are conveying passengers between Bristol Parkway and Cheltenham Spa in both directions until further notice. Change at Bristol Parkway for GWR trains to/from Swindon.

Replacement bus services are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice. Replacement transport is advertised on journey planners (gwr.com/check) and advertised on the screens at stations.
-
Stagecoach is accepting GWR tickets on routes 10, 51, 63, 64, 66, 94, 94X, 94U, 87, 98, D. These buses run between Cheltenham, Gloucester, Stroud, Stonehouse, and Swindon. Visit stagecoachbus.com to plan your journey.

Additional Information:

Following low temperatures overnight, large icicles have formed in a tunnel near Sapperton (between Kemble and Stroud), in addition to ice on the rails. Network Rail are working to ensure all danger to life & trains is removed.

As mentioned, the majority of 'thefts' that customers report, turn out not to be thefts at all, but simply lost property.

Ultimately, the use of CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) to gather evidence is entirely down to the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police). In all likelihood they would determine that this was not a high enough priority to warrant the time and expense. 

CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) is not used as a tool for locating lost property – downloading and viewing CCTV footage is a very costly and time-consuming process, with no guarantee it will yield any results. GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) receive around 500 lost property reports each week, so it would simply be impractical to download and view CCTV footage for all of these.

Customers are entitled to request footage that train companies may hold of them – the key point being footage of them, not of their belongings.

Requests will be considered but not necessarily granted – there are many factors that will influence a decision.

The BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) can access CCTV footage, but realistically they are unlikely to do for a lost/stolen bag. It was a three hour train journey, so that's three hours of footage to trawl through for each camera. If somebody did take the bag, what help would CCTV footage actually be - the perpetrator would likely have their face obscured.

Customers regularly report 'stolen' luggage, and in most cases the items were not stolen at all - simply left on the train. It is very easy to become disoriented on a train carriage as both ends look the same. Customers will board at one end, place their bag in the rack and then sit down somewhere in the middle of the carriage. At the end of their journey they will head to the rack to find their bag missing, but it's actually exactly where they left it - at the other end of the carriage.

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/rail-rmt-strike-suspension-cancellation-b2218879.html

Suggestion that this might be a new RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) tactic. Announce a strike, but call it off at the very last minute, knowing it's too late to reinstate services. All the disruption with no loss of pay for members.

From Industrial Action FAQs^▸ (Frequently Asked Questions) issued this week by Richard Rowland:


"Sunday working

We want to make Sunday services more attractive for customers. The aim is to ensure coverage by establishing a commitment by colleagues to working on some – not all - Sundays. This will mean that cover for shifts is guaranteed, and train companies can plan more robust, reliable train services.

Enhanced overtime pay protected and opt-out options for current staff that want them and opportunities for additional earning opportunities will be maintained. These arrangements already exist in some places on the network, so this is about turning a patchwork of agreements into something more aligned across the industry.

More reliable Sunday services will help meet the growing demand from customers for leisure travel – Sunday is the one day of the week that is consistently seeing more customers travelling than they did pre-pandemic across the industry. Vital to the long term growth of the industry."

So no plans to remove enhanced pay for working on Sunday, just the ability to roster staff to work on Sundays, rather than having to rely on volunteers.

These toilets were originally gents, but they have been reconfigured into ladies, as the demand for extra ladies toilets is greater (you just have to look at the queues for the ladies).

Here's the link:

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/lost-toilets-brought-back-life-7441712

They actually opened on 1 June, so just a couple of months late Bristol Post!

They were also never 'forgotten' or 'lost'. Everyone knew they were there, there was just no cash to refurbish them, until now.