And the lack of spare Turbos.

Wait till you see the price of tickets in the South compared to the North.
Check how many tram/light rail services there are south of Birmingham compared to north of Birmingham.
And while I am on a roll, guess which part of England currently has its main lines being electrified?

And Scotland does get more govt funding per head than England.

The gantries are part of the aborted electrification scheme to Oxford, cancelled 10 years and no sign of it ever being finished.

The Cowley branch is set to reopen as a result of the multi-billion-pound EIT facility being developed at Oxford Science Park. The project is expected to create up to 7,000 jobs, and EIT has also helped fund the reopening.

Interestingly, the push for the scheme came from the Treasury rather than the Department for Transport. The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) had previously stated that there was no further funding available for rail improvements, so the announcement of the reopening came as a surprise to many industry observers. I suspect there was a conversation between Ellison and the Government regarding transport links to Oxford Science Park, given the scale of the investment being made there and whether those investments would continue.

But I agree that the line to Marchwood line should be an ideal candidate to reopen given the housing growth in that area and the difficult of traveling by car/bus to Southampton.

And they wonder why the railways cost so much to run.

I have also noticed that you have to re-enter a username/password each time you use it. The login screen is not mobile friendly and probably doesn't meet accessibility guidelines.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) also appear to have removed the option to pay via Google Pay/Wallet.

Didcot, Newbury and Southampton.
Swindon, Andover to Romsey
Southampton Terminus -  I may have done this as I was born before it closed and I did live in Southampton.

LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) faced a similar issue last week, reportedly someone climbed a gantry, and the resulting disruption affected train services for two days. I’m not sure what the solution is, but it seems wrong that a single individual can cause such widespread inconvenience to tens of thousands of people.

So costs have increased by 33% in 14 months, although it still undercuts the £234m price tag for just replacing Oxford’s Botley Road bridge.

With costs like these, it’s hard not to question whether large infrastructure schemes, rail especially, remain value for money.

I’m curious where the money ends up, though perhaps that’s best treated as a rhetorical question.

And even more misery, must be because the weather got a bit warm today.

Due to a fault with the signalling system between Oxford and Didcot Parkway all lines will be blocked.
Impact:
Train services running through these stations will be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 20:00 08/04.
Customer Advice:
-
What has happened?
-
Some axle counters, part of the signalling system, have stopped working in the Oxford area. Axle counters tell the signalling system if a section of track has a train on it. If an axle counter stops working, trains need to stop at the affected signal so that the Driver can speak to the Signaller to confirm if the track ahead is clear.
-
What are we doing about it?
-
All lines are blocked for 30 minutes to allow Network Rail to access the site to resolve the issue.

My understanding is that while the USA is largely self‑sufficient in crude oil, it still relies on imports of refined products. So any disruption would affect the US as well—perhaps more through higher prices than through shortages.

Well I would much rather see a picture of the LSWR^▸ (London South Western Railway) T3 than another green GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) 4-6-0 
Runs away quickly 

I believe the same thing has happened to a fleet of hydrogen buses in Liverpool in that they have been converted to battery electric.

Although it does look like the hydrogen fleet in Surrey are still working.

Thanks, ChrisB — this isn't aimed at you personally, and I appreciate you’re not speaking for RMT, Chiltern, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), etc. So the words you used may not be those used by those organisations.

That said, the phrase “the RMT require” is an interesting one and really ought to be challenged. Require on what authority? Since when do unions set operational requirements, and where are the management in this? Are the RMT funding these “requirements”, or are they simply being accepted? What about the passengers (nee customers) and taxpayers who pay for all this, do they get a say?

I get the desire to avoid industrial action, but management can’t keep deferring this indefinitely.  The unions must know this argument was settled decades ago. They should call the RMT's bluff and schedule some trains, of course that is wasy for me to say.

Sorry, it’s still not clear to me. I understood that the drivers are employed by Chiltern and are typically ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) members, so which employees at Bletchley — who are RMT members — are being asked to operate DOO?