GWR to get all the class 175s.  It be great to see them in service they are good units.

The part I am amazed at is how planning got approved to have these extra vehicles being on the Bath Road bridge.
That roundabout and area is congested at the best of times, but to have entry and exit to the car park must add additional problems

5Z13 shows 175011 allocated from Par, and RTT has reports of it from Par to (so far) St Germans. How it got to Par, and why it's not showing on Traksy, is another matter.

It has just popped up at Wivelscombe on Traksy. But how it's already got past Saltash on camera, I have no idea.

There have been many complaints on social media about cold buses on the First bus services that radiate (sic) from Taunton. The complaints have been about the new electric fleet not having sufficient warmth.

175011 is back at Laira somehow??
It is out an about and due to do the 1340 Plymouth - Penzance. I did a snip of the train at Saltash. It may not appear here.

This begs a question- what happens to these units when GWR's management contract ends later this year?

I think we've been told that GWR/First Group actually own these trains. Are they obliged to hand them over to the temporary DfT body running the network pending GBR finally being formed and taken over? Does this experiment simply come to an end leaving First/GWR to dispose of them as best they can?

While it’s too much to expect that the canopies at the Eastern end can be reinstated to their original length (now that the Royal Mail “bridge” has gone), I hope that the truncated ends can be finished with something rather better than the current decaying plywood - which as yet is untouched.

For those of us less mobile than we used to be, busses not serving the harbour is a massive problem.
Yes, the walk is 'only' around 500 or so yards, but it's very steep; encounter traffic each way. and will be soaking wet when it rains.
Three Sprinter 'vans' currently used by First will be replaced by a half hourly decker service, which will turn just pass the Old Coastguard Hotel.
That turn is tight, and can be problematic with traffic and pedestrian flow, especially when summer traffic comes in.

Kier have apparently won contract to build the 379 space 7 storey multi storey car park (and 3 storey 530 space bike shed) that will replace all the car parking scattered around in the old station shed at Bristol Temple Meads

https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2026/02/13/kier-set-to-bag-35m-bristol-station-car-park-job/

BTQ LLP requires a Main Contractor for its Bristol Temple Meads Southern Gateway Car Park project.

The Southern Gateway is a strategically significant infrastructure project forming a key component of the Bristol Temple Quarter (BTQ) regeneration programme-one of the largest city centre regeneration schemes in Europe. The Southern Gateway will deliver a new southern entrance to Bristol Temple Meads Station, enhancing connectivity, enabling sustainable transport modes, and unlocking development potential in the southern part of the BTQ area.

The scheme is being delivered by BTQ LLP, a joint venture between Bristol City Council, Homes England, and the West of England Combined Authority. While Network Rail is not

a formal member of the LLP, it is considered a critical delivery partner due to its role in station infrastructure and operational integration.

The key elements of the proposed development comprise of the following:

A 7 storey multi-storey car park (MSCP) at the centre of the site, providing both car parking and motorcycle parking;

A 3 storey cycle pavilion at the north-west of site, providing a mixture of secure Sheffield stands and two-tier cycle parking;

The creation of a high quality public realm between the MSCP and cycle pavilion, with dwell spaces and areas for temporary pop up uses. As well as hard and soft landscaping and drainage;

A new walkway and entrance into Temple Meads Station

An improved fully segregated full width pedestrian footway and two-way cycleway adjacent to Bath Road which is intended to connect into future active travel improvements along this section of the highway; A cycle route to the cycle pavilion from the improved cycleway adjacent to Bath Road;

1no. new bus stop with waiting facilities and layby adjacent to Bath Road; A signal-controlled vehicular access junction to the MSCP from Bath Road;

A Network Rail service yard and a relocated RRAP adjacent to the proposed Network Rail service yard.

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading

Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between London Paddington and Reading fewer trains are able to run on some lines.

Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 08:45 13/02.

Buses will be replacing trains between Yeovil Pen Mill and Weymouth on the Heart of Wessex Line between 28 February and 8 March.

A rail replacement bus service will run, calling at all stations between Yeovil Pen Mill and Dorchester West before continuing to Weymouth. Buses are unable to stop at Upwey so passengers will need to use South Western Railway train services from Weymouth.

During this time, Network Rail engineers will be working to strengthen the embankments between Chetnole and Maiden Newton around the Evershot Tunnel. To do this, the team will be cutting through soil and rock to stabilise the slope by using soil nails and netting.

This work will protect the railway from landslips, which could cause longer closures as well as posing safety risks to our passengers.

Engineers will be taking advantage of the closure to:

Stress test the continuous welded rail to improve reliability, reducing the need for speed restrictions in hotter months
Carry out minor improvements to the track in the Thornford area following recent track renewal in September 2024
Carefully manage vegetation by selecting dead, dying and diseased trees that could cause delays to the running of trains between Chetnole and Maiden Newton stations

I hear Graham's point about bus routes sometimes needing to be changed, but when they're changed for reasons of traffic congestion, or in this case because the operator doesn't have suitable vehicles, that should ring alarm bells. The frequency's fallen too, is this route that ran every 20 minutes now stretched to every 30 minutes?
Mark

'No promises' washed away Devon coastal road will be reopened


Caroline Voaden MP spoke with the water and flooding minister and roads minister on Wednesday

There are "no promises" a scenic coastal road in Devon that washed away during stormy weather will be repaired, the local MP has said following talks with ministers.

Parts of the A379 between Torcross and Slapton were damaged when its sea defences failed during recent storms.

South Devon MP Caroline Voaden spoke at Prime Minister's Questions and then met ministers over how £10.5bn of funds to improve coastal and flood defences could be accessed.  She also said the Department for Transport was open to a submission by Devon County Council for the "repair and reopening" of the A379 "and/or" improvements to "the back roads", adding: "No promises were given but I will ask DCC to provide an estimate".

Voaden told BBC Radio Devon: "No decisions can be made until they had an idea of what that's going to look like financially."  She said parts of her meeting on Wednesday with Minister for Water and Flooding Emma Hardy and Minister for Roads and Buses Simon Lightwood were "positive".


The road was damaged by storms more than a week ago

Voaden also raised the possibility of an "ambitious coastal defence scheme", which could see the replacement of shingle into the bay and an offshore barrier to give the area "more stability in the long term and protect the shoreline from more storm damage". She told the House of Commons on Wednesday about the "complexity of the situation".

In response, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "I know communities have been badly affected by recent storms and damage to the A379 is very concerning."  He said the government was investing to improve coastal and flood defences. "I want to thank the Environment Agency (EA) staff for working hard right now putting extra protections in place and supporting people ahead of further wet weather," he said.

Resident and landlady of local business Start Bay Inn, Gale Stubbs, said she and her two children were born and raised in Torcross, so understood the importance of the A379. She said her biggest concern was the homes along the seafront, adding they had to be the "priority".

Stubbs said the community was grateful for the ongoing work but desperately needed more sea defences in front of the village "quite urgently".

Voaden added the Environment Agency (EA) owned the sea wall and teams had been working "really hard" to try and do what they could "to make sure the houses are safe".  At the meeting, she said she had asked the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to give the EA funding to do more repair work and restoration in front of the houses "more quickly" than if they went through normal channels.

"The EA has a long list of jobs that are on their list to do and, when something like this happens, there can't be something that goes to the top of the queue," she said. "I have been contacted by the head of the EA who is happy to meet with me."  Voaden added: "It feels to me everybody is being as proactive as they can be."

A Defra spokesperson has previously said: "We're committed to supporting coastal communities, including in the South West, through our record investment of £10.5bn in protecting against flooding and coastal erosion by 2036, benefitting nearly 900,000 properties."  It also has said that it inherited flood defences in the worst condition on record and had reprioritised more than £100m into urgent maintenance works across the UK.

I often ponder how I've got this far in life without ever having received training in how to hail a bus......

Apologies.
Re read before posting.
There are two or three managers in Cornwall who could run the outfit profitably.
They've never been promoted to any senior posts - it would be dangerous to have a senior manager who knew the business inside out!

The real trick comes when two buses on different routes approach a stop and the second one is intent on overtaking the first...