The water levels have now dropped and Network Rail have been able to inspected the bridges. It has been found that some repair work will need to be carried out before we are able to run trains again. A further update regarding this repair work and when the line is likely to reopen will be given on Wednesday 7th January 2026.

Passed through just now on the way home - those 'pillars' on the platform between the main entry/exit barriers and the track have gone. It now feels very open, with no bottleneck of people going in opposite directions.

Don't know if it was like that this morning; if it was, I was obviously still half asleep

According to other sources the sausage rolls had been cooked for an order that was cancelled.  They were then disposed of.  When a subsequent order was received he removed the cooked and cooled sausage rolls from the bin and warmed them up instead of cooking fresh sausage rolls.
I am sure the bacteria enjoyed the ride.

Council shares 'gritting mythbuster' after confusion

A council has shared a "gritting mythbuster" after many motorists complained that some roads appeared to have not been prepared for snow and ice.

Liverpool City Council has been accused of failing to grit some main roads in time for the recent icy blast. However, in a statement, the authority said 372 miles (600 km) of roads had indeed been gritted over the past two days - but shared a list of reasons for some of the potential confusion.

It also posted details of common myths about gritting and how it actually works on X and said it would continue over the coming days. "Once grit salt is laid on the road, it requires the movement of traffic to help work it into the ice," the council said. "When there are low traffic levels, roads can remain icy for some time."

The council said common misbeliefs included that adding salt to the road means the ice instantly melts. It explained how gritting is only the start of the de-icing process and that traffic moving over it is needed to make help clear the snow and ice.

It said another myth was that salt on the road stops new ice forming. The council said salt lowers the freezing point of water and does help prevent ice from forming on roads when temperatures drop below 0°C. However, it loses its effectiveness at -5°C and stops working at -10°C.

Neighbouring Sefton Council had also faced accusations of not gritting but confirmed it had gritted about 290 miles (470 km) of roads across the area. A spokesman echoed the Liverpool advice and explained how gritters are deployed when the road surface temperature drops below 0°C. "We have been out gritting on a number of occasions over the weekend, including three times on Sunday, and have spread over 150 tonnes of grit. We have also been out again today," he said.

"Gritting helps prevents the formation of ice at 0°C, but doesn't prevent snow from settling on the road, and during extended periods of sub-zero temperatures and snowfall the effectiveness of the grit can be diminished. Last night some Sefton roads reached as low as minus 7°C, below the temperature at which grit works best, which is down to minus 5°C." He added that weather conditions were being monitored "24 hours a day, seven days a week" as part of its Winter Maintenance Policy.

Liverpool City Council also responded to claims some community grit bins in the city had been empty. Community grit bins are large yellow containers on public roads and footpaths which are provided to help local people keep public areas safe from ice and snow.

"There are 191 grit bins across the city, which are refilled twice over winter," it said. "If they run out of grit salt between refills, people can report it to us, and we will refill them as soon as possible. This should only be used for pavements and other public footways."

The authority said crews also grit pedestrian parts of the city centre and hand grit key footpaths.

Rail replacement transport is running on the following routes:

    Between Inverness and Aberdeen (operated by D&E Coaches and RS Coaches)

    Between Dundee and Aberdeen (operated by RS Coaches, Bay Travel, and Dochertys Coaches)

Coaches will aim to depart as close to the train times as possible.

It's a BBC video news clip, 24 seconds long: click on this link to view.

It may be logical for WBC to call this footviaduct (it's a bit long for a bridge) their "Earley station footbridge". But it's not Earley station's "Earley station footbridge". That's a much more modest affair - only one span rather than eight.

I note that the existing one has those worst-of-both-worlds stepped ramps (or ramped steps). I think those are now deprecated, so I wonder what they will be replaced with.

'York-Leeds railway upgrades mean we get no trains for a month'

Major works are under way on one of the busiest sections of railway in Yorkshire.

The Transpennine Route Upgrade engineering scheme closed the main line between Leeds and York at Christmas, with diversions in place from Monday.

For one North Yorkshire village at the centre of the work, there are no trains for 32 days.

Passengers using Church Fenton Station on a damp December evening told the BBC about the impact of the closure.

According to estimates by the Office of Rail and Road, almost 160,000 entries or exits were made at Church Fenton between April 2024 and March 2025.

On average, more than 200 people take the 10-minute journey between Church Fenton and York every day.

Bethan Vincent and Desmond Clarke use the station at least two or three times a week. "It's the reason we moved here," said Ms Vincent, 35.

She met Mr Clarke, 36, at university in York and they later married, moving to the village five years ago. He said the couple lived on a "problem road" very close to the station, which was also affected by road closures as part of the work, but that he did not know about the line closure despite attending an in-person consultation event. "They were mostly talking about the road closures. They didn't mention the station being closed for a month," he said.

Ms Vincent, who owns a marketing business in York, added that during the work, they would drive instead of catching the train. "That's really sad because part of the reason for living here was to drive less and reduce our carbon footprint. That's very important to me, very important to my business. So we'll end up driving and contributing to the massive traffic and parking issues locally."

Mr Clarke, an artist, added: "If both of us need the car at once, that's not going to work."

They both agreed that in the long-run, the work was important. "We as a country really need to sort out the transport and interconnecting issues in this country because it's just holding back other businesses I work with and myself," Ms Vincent said. "All we're looking for is just consistent communication."

Network Rail said it understood the importance of "clear notice".

"This is why we carried out early engagement with communities via drop-in events, advance notice letters and a paid advertising campaign, which covered electric advertising vans, local papers and radio, and online activities," said Sophie Leishman, sponsor for the Transpennine Route Upgrade.


Trains go from Church Fenton to stations including York, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and Bridlington

Rob Askew, 30, takes advantage of the "useful" railway station to travel into York or Leeds a couple of times a week. "It's a good little station to have. A lot of villages don't have stations and a lot of stations have closed down so it's worth having." He said the closure was "not ideal" and he would "probably" end up driving more.

Vicki Wickham, who used to live in Church Fenton but now lives nearby, said the station was "part of the popularity of the village".

"The number of cars parked up and down the road on the way into the station probably proves how many people use it," the 48-year-old said. "If this is the reason they moved here then it makes those 32 days very inconvenient for those people."

Steve Lambert lives in Tadcaster, which has not had its own railway station since 1966, but he uses Church Fenton every couple of months. "I've got some interests across in West Yorkshire, in Halifax. I've got some friends across in Halifax," said Mr Lambert, 73. "Sometimes it's more convenient if we're going out socially particularly, to get on the train here and go to Halifax and get a train back, then no need to worry about driving or anything like that. People could become a bit isolated out here and rely on the railway to get them in on a more regular basis than I do." But he said the upgrades were needed: "You've got to have a bit of pain to get some gain."

Jimmy Keinhorst agreed that the "long-term benefit" would be "worth it".

"It's been a long time coming in this part of the country if I'm honest. The investment in infrastructure has been somewhat hit-and-miss," said the 35-year-old, who lives in Church Fenton. He added that the station was "massively important".

"We're a small village but it's growing and growing. People look to Leeds and York to get into work and things. To be in the middle of two cities like that is quite handy."

Gemma Donlon uses the train a few times a month to socialise in Leeds and York, and said the station was "like a hub" for Church Fenton. "A lot of people move here because it's so easy to commute to York and Leeds," the 45-year-old added. She said the closure would have a "big impact".

"A lot of my friends get the train to work. They drop the children off at school, walk to the station and go straight to work. They won't be able to do that."

Rail industry officials said the closure had been carefully planned to coincide with the festive period, when railways were quieter, with phases to ensure disruption was reduced as people returned to work, school and college.

Rob Warnes, strategic development director at Northern, added that £100m had been invested by the industry into diversions. "Other routes can take more trains while this work is going on to keep our customers moving on trains," he said. "Journeys will be available, some by train, some by bus." He said the disruption would be "worth it in the long run".

Ms Leishman from Network Rail said: "The work being completed, which involves installing and testing 70 new signals, laying 3km of track, realigning platforms 3 & 4 at Church Fenton station and constructing a new passing loop, is a vital step towards delivering faster, greener and more reliable journeys across the route. We'd like to thank customers for their continued support while this work takes place and encourage anyone travelling through the area to check before they travel via National Rail Enquiries."

It may be logical for WBC to call this footviaduct (it's a bit long for a bridge) their "Earley station footbridge". But it's not Earley station's "Earley station footbridge". That's a much more modest affair - only one span rather than eight.

I note that the existing one has those worst-of-both-worlds stepped ramps (or ramped steps). I think those are now deprecated, so I wonder what they will be replaced with.

Watch M6 Clifton Bridge get demolished as motorway reopens

A concrete railway bridge over a motorway has been demolished and the road has reopened.

The M6 between junctions 39 at Shap and 40 near Penrith was closed over the weekend as part of West Coast Main Line works, which have also seen disruption to train services.

The 130m-long (427ft) bridge has been removed and a new 4,200-tonne steel and concrete structure will be moved into place during a further 57-hour motorway closure this coming weekend.

Christian Irwin, Network Rail North West and Central director, said it had been a "mammoth task" to demolish the bridge. Irwin said: "This £60m project forms part of our major investment programme to improve journeys on the West Coast Main Line for passengers and freight for generations to come."

The M6 will be open to motorists this week before it closes at 20:00 GMT on 9 January until 05:00 on 12 January.



Rosario Barcena, Skanska UK rail programme director, said the team had completed all of the work safely and the foundations had been laid for the new bridge. He said: "It's been an incredible effort by the entire team to complete the demolition of the former Clifton Bridge, working 24/7 across the weekend to make sure that the M6 motorway could reopen on Monday morning. Technically it was a complex operation which we managed with great precision and care."

Barcena thanked drivers in the region for their patience while the road was closed.

Hmm.

At no stage in this BBC report, nor associated local news reports, is there any explanation as to why those sausage rolls had been consigned to the food waste bin.

If they were 'outside date', no excuses - even homeless charities wouldn't want them.

ScotRail said "route proving" was under way on Monday morning but some services are unlikely to operate until Monday afternoon.

The operator said services along the Highland Main Line, between Inverness and Perth, was running.

But those between Aberdeen and Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness and the Inverness - Kyle of Lochalsh/Wick routes were likely to be affected, it said.

Network Rail, which maintains the infrastructure, said trains could not run safely in snow depths exceeding 30cm (12ins) unless fitted with snow ploughs.

Appealing for patience, its route director Ross Moran said: "Safety of our passengers and our colleagues is our top priority.

"We'll only reopen lines and return to normal operations once we're confident it's safe to do so".


Network Rail posted this image of the line at Achnasheen on Sunday to explain why the Kyle of Lochalsh line was closed.

Network Rail, which looks after rail infrastructure, said heavy snow had seen snowplough locomotives dispatched in areas such as Kintore in Aberdeenshire as well as further north on the line to Wick.

One of its snowploughs encountered drifts up to 1.2m (4ft) deep near Laurencekirk.

Train operator ScotRail said it would be unable to resume some services until Monday afternoon.

Aberdeen – Dundee, Aberdeen – Inverness and Inverness – Wick/Thurso and Kyle of Lochalsh routes were most likely to be affected.

Service delivery director Mark Ilderton said: "Safety is our number one priority so it's very important we make sure all routes that have been affected by the heavy snowfall and low temperatures are safe before we run any passenger services."


The railway tracks were barely visible at Insch in Aberdeenshire


The Far North Line locomotive stopped at Helmsdale on the way to Wick

Ah, regarding the long footbridge, we have this. (There's a tender out for its replacement.)

https://rdg.today/earley-bridge-tender-launched/

Mark

Station staff at Chippenham did not (and it was implied cannot) use a local taxi themselves - taxis need to be book, authorised centrally as I sorta-understood it.   However, he was Chippenham based (may work from there for Bath Taxis?)    It was, thank goodness, a much much shorter wait, and one that was better informed and more friendly, than would have been a wait at Trowbridge with just a help point.