Couldn't they have just reduced the frequency of both buses without changing the routes?

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47

Facilities on the 06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 2.

Further Information

If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay
Last Updated:23/07/2025 05:04

Consistency being maintained.....

Delays to services between London Paddington and Reading

Following a broken down train at Twyford some lines will be reopened shortly. Disruption is expected until 17:15 22/07.

Train services between London Paddington and Reading may be delayed by up to 15 minutes.

We have decided to change the 30 and 205 bus routes because there is no economic or environmental reason to run more buses than is required at the busiest time of day, location and direction. Usage of both has markedly reduced since the pandemic

•Weekday usage on route 30 has decreased by 25% weekdays, 13% on Saturdays and by 13% on Sundays
•Weekday usage on route 205 has decreased by 19% weekdays, 15% on Saturdays and by 12% on Sundays

Timelapse shows heritage railway track repairs

Timelapse footage has been released showing engineers completing repairs on a section of track after a landslip closed a heritage railway line.

The Severn Valley Railway, which runs for 16 miles (26km) from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, to Bridgnorth, Shropshire, suffered a landslip in January.

It meant trains could only run to Hampton Loade, cutting out the Bridgnorth section of the line.

On Friday, the line will officially reopen as the famous Flying Scotsman locomotive steams into Bridgnorth.

Airport's new £60m transport hub officially opens


The new facility was officially opened by airport CEO Dave Lees (left), MP Sadik Al-Hassan (centre) and council leader Mike Bell (right)

A new £60m transport interchange has been officially opened at Bristol Airport.

The facility, one of the largest of its kind in the region, can hold an extra 2,000 parking spaces, as well as significantly expanding the number of bus and coach spaces. It will also home the airport's new "drop and go" zone and offer better pedestrian links to the terminal.

Dave Lees, chief executive of the Airport, said the new development was "really important as it represents a milestone in terms of improving the facilities for our customers". "Gone are the days of passengers having to walk up slopes here," he added, explaining that the number of bays for coaches and buses had been doubled, as well as the addition of new covered access routes, covered seating and toilet facilities. This signifies the airport's "level of ambition" as it "looks to the future", he added.

The project has taken more than two years to complete, and is part of a wider £400m "airport transformation programme" to improve transport links. Currently only about 15% of airport customers arrive at the site by bus.

North Somerset Council leader Mile Bell said the new facility was a "fantastic new piece of infrastructure" for customers but stressed that there was still work to be done. "I think we all recognise that we've still got more to do to make the access routes easier and introduce mass transit, particularly from Bristol city centre so people can get here easier, faster and cheaper using public transport," he said. Meanwhile, he added, passengers should "give public transport a try" and avoid antisocial parking in local communities around the airport.

His comments were echoed by North Somerset MP Sadik Al-Hassan, who also called for a mass transit to the airport and urged any further expansion of the airport to be "balanced with the views of the community". Telling the BBC there were "swings and roundabouts" with any airport expansion, he said: "This is allowing more people to come here by sustainable means, so I'm hoping it will help. but it's part of what needs to be a larger plan to look at how the airport sits within the wider economic area."

Train services on a Highland rail line have been cancelled after the tracks were submerged by flood water.

Silt was washed onto the line at Achanalt, east of Achnasheen in Wester Ross, during heavy rainfall overnight.

ScotRail said all services between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh had been suspended.

Replacement bus services have been arranged and train tickets are being accepted on Stagecoach North bus services between Inverness and Dingwall and CityLink buses between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh.

There was also flooding reported at Garve, on the same line.

Met Office weather warnings for rain were in force across the region on Monday and overnight until 06:00.

Engineers arrived at Achanalt on Tuesday morning to carry out inspections.

Network Rail said they had a team on site to clear the debris and inspect the track and level crossing. "Floodwater has subsided, but the debris it's brought with it is blocking the track and the station area," it said in a statement.

ScotRail said they would provide an update on Wednesday's service later.

The rail company also closed part of the train line between Inverness and Aberdeen while repairs, which are now complete, were carried out on the track between Inverness Airport and Nairn.

Replacement buses were provided to take passengers from Aberdeen to Inverness and train tickets were accepted on Stagecoach buses while rail services were disrupted.

In practice it wont make any difference as the date on the railcard itself is correct. Just check the date on your renewed railcard/receipt is correct. As you probably know you'll need to fill in a new application form.

I believe a new design of cushion is being considered/trialed for the 'quarter life' refurb that'll be coming up soon.  Worn ones are being replaced ad-hoc.  If you have a 'good' train manager if you mention it to them they can log that seat into the fault app.

I hope that refurb also includes proper buggy space provision and a redesigned bike space hook allowing for thicker rimmed bike wheels.  Normal USB and USB-C charging sockets would also be very useful - Chiltern's ongoing Class 168 refresh is featuring those.

Never trust anything you read on the internet. 

From Monday 28 July, until further notice, trains will not call at Crewkerne due to temporary speed restriction.

A connecting bus service will run from Yeovil Junction to Axminster calling at Crewkerne.

  We are experiencing some of the driest conditions for around 200 years, and in the Crewkerne area this has dried out and shrunk the clay soil embankments that support our tracks. This is a problem known as ‘soil moisture deficit’, which Network Rail explains here.

Because track levels have been disturbed, our trains cannot travel safely at their normal speeds, meaning we have to implement a 40mph speed restriction on four miles of track. Unfortunately, track levels cannot be restored to normal until ground conditions improve.

Why can’t trains call at Crewkerne?

If trains continue to call at Crewkerne it will create delays that will quickly spread along the West of England Line, leading to cancellations and large gaps between services.

As a result, we have had to make the difficult decision for trains not to call at Crewkerne.

When will trains call at Crewkerne again?

We will restore train services as soon as we possibly can, but until further notice, trains will not call at Crewkerne.

As hot and dry conditions are set to continue, we are warning customers that additional speed restrictions and further timetable changes are likely to be necessary west of Salisbury over the summer. We are carefully monitoring embankment and track conditions to understand when changes will be needed.

... and wonder, if they are only learning of that now, how poor was the reach of their consultation or them taking note of the inputs it generated?

Fair play to the SWR managers concerned for pitching up given the circumstances, it must have been quite uncomfortable for them. Would be good to see Hopwood et al at Paddington (or indeed anywhere!) doing a similar session during a GWR meltdown, seeing (and hearing) what their customers have to put up with at first hand may concentrate a few minds.........

I have dropped TfL a note asking for official advice ... let's see how / if they respond.

Ref: 21753394

22 July 2025

Dear Mr Ellis

Thank you for contacting us on 15 June regarding the recent changes to bus route 205. We truly appreciate hearing from passengers like yourself who not only use our services but also advocate for others, especially those with mobility and sensory needs.

We understand your disappointment at the withdrawal of the through service between Paddington and King’s Cross, and we’re sorry to learn of the inconvenience this may cause to your journeys and those of the community you support.

Your concerns have been shared with our Network Development Team, who have provided the following explanation.

We have decided to change the 30 and 205 bus routes because there is no economic or environmental reason to run more buses than is required at the busiest time of day, location and direction. Usage of both has markedly reduced since the pandemic

•Weekday usage on route 30 has decreased by 25% weekdays, 13% on Saturdays and by 13% on Sundays
•Weekday usage on route 205 has decreased by 19% weekdays, 15% on Saturdays and by 12% on Sundays
 
There is therefore excess capacity even at the busiest time on the combined corridor between Baker Street station and Paddington on routes 27 and 205, with six buses required to meet demand but twelve scheduled. We have a duty to make best use of public money and many competing objectives to fulfil with a limited budget. We have not cut frequencies on the City Road as part of this scheme.

It does mean that some journeys newly require the passenger to interchange or use a different route. All such trips can be made with one change of bus using same-stop interchange at stops that have facilities such as seating, lighting and shelter. We are also increasing frequency on route 27 at the busiest times. We also fairly newly have the wholly step-free Elizabeth line which parallels some of the route. The Circle and Hammersmith & City line have been upgraded as well between Paddington and Whitechapel. We have also invested in step free access at various stations along these lines such as Paddington, part of Euston Square, Kings Cross St Pancras, Moorgate, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel.

The consultation on this change ran between 21 October 2024 and 10 January 2025. A total of 1,359 responses were received of which 22 were from stakeholders, including MPs, parliamentary bodies, politicians, local authorities, statutory and advisory bodies, accessibility groups, community groups and charities, local business and user groups. Detail on all this can be found in the consultation report can be found herehttps://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/30-205-bus-proposals

Thanks again for contacting us. If there is anything else we can help you with, please reply to this email. Alternatively, you can call us on 0343 222 1234 and we'll be happy to help you.

Kind regards

Katie Childs
Customer Service Adviser
Transport for London Customer Services

we’re sorry to learn of the inconvenience this may cause to your journeys and those of the community you support.

Bus driver arrested after 20 injured in bridge crash

The driver of a double-decker bus that crashed into a canal bridge injuring 20 people, including three who were seriously hurt, has been arrested.

A passenger was thrown from the top deck when the vehicle's roof was torn off as it struck the Bridgewater Canal Aqueduct on Barton Lane in Eccles, Salford on Monday, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

The force said a 19-year-old woman, and two men, one aged in his 20s and another in his 40s, sustained serious injuries and remain in hospital in a stable condition.

The driver, a man in his 50s, was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by careless driving and has been bailed pending further enquiries.

Police said 17 other people were also treated at the scene for injuries that were "non-life threatening or life-changing".

Barton Lane has since been reopened, and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) said it has launched an "immediate and urgent" investigation into the circumstances of the crash. This includes why the 100 service bus was "not taking its usual route", a TFGM spokesman said.



Police said there are height restriction warnings in place by the bridge, including hanging chains and signs.

Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester Vernon Everitt said: "We are working closely with the investigation team at Greater Manchester Police and the bus operator, Stagecoach. This is clearly a distressing situation for everyone involved and we'd like to thank emergency services for their swift response."

The road was closed into Monday evening with diversions in place as authorities worked to move the damaged bus.



Labour MP for Worsley and Eccles Michael Wheeler said the crash was "unacceptable".  "It's not the first time this has happened, so after understanding what's happened we need to do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen again," he told BBC Radio Manchester.

A bus has previously had its roof ripped off after striking the same bridge in April 2023.

Am I correct in thinking that this forum is predominantly male?Not sure why nature has decided that one in 12 males should suffer from the condition,

Am I correct in thinking that this forum is predominantly male?

11:52 London Paddington to Hereford due 14:44 will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:22/07/2025 03:43

See also: https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=30475.msg363433#msg363433 

CfN.