Gritters costing £2.3m announced amid sunny weather


Somerset Council will spend up to £2.3m on new gritters - Image © Somerset Council

Many minds in Somerset might be on the sunshine and beach - but the council has announced up to £2.3m will be spent 14 new gritter lorries.

Somerset Council currently has a fleet of 23 gritters, which are used primarily in winter to spread salt and grit on roads to melt snow and ice. Two new gritters entered service last winter, which were named Basil Salty and Gritney Spears by local schools South Somerset Partnership School and Bucklers Mead Academy in Yeovil.

Ten of the existing vehicles are reaching the end of their active service life, with much of the fleet suffering "significant deterioration" and costing the council increasing amounts of ongoing maintenance.

Jeremy Fry, the council's infrastructure and transport officer for highways operations, explained in his written report: "These assets suffer significant deterioration due to excessive abrasive corrosion resulting from the salting operations. The oldest gritters in our fleet are now experiencing significant maintenance and repair attention, and next year these will be subjected to higher maintenance rates. Furthermore, the risk to service delivery due to ageing of the fleet is a significant concern due to time off road for repairs and maintenance."

The council currently spends around £200,000 on servicing and maintaining its fleet of winter service vehicles, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Up to £2.3m has been committed to purchasing the new vehicles over the next four years as part of the council's capital programme.

The council has entered a contract with Romaquip to buy the vehicles, which includes an option to buy an additional five vehicles in the third year of the agreement, though this will require additional funding.

Mr Fry said it was not possible to simply hire in vehicles on an annual basis, stating this would put additional pressure on the council's revenue budget. It would cost the council more than £218,000 to hire out seven vehicles over the coming winter to cover for getting vehicles which are unusable or undergoing maintenance.

The council has not indicated how soon the new vehicles will enter service.

Also now I think about it, I was on the curve round from Old Oak Common to North Pole Junction that the old Brighton Cross-countries used to take. Short but sweet.

Oh, and does the original connection between HS1 and the Southern third-rail network (when Waterloo was international) count?

I usually buy my rail tickets from my local station but if I am making a longer journey with multiple split tickets and/or advance tickets, I use the GWR website.

However, it seems that following the GWR website update earlier this year, you are now limited to purchasing only one journey (single or return) per transaction. To book multiple journeys, you must complete them as separate purchases as the "add another journey" feature is no longer available.

This is a real nuisance, especially when trying to book a long journey using split tickets! 

Somerset Council to launch new bus service to Castle Cary station


The new 667X bus service will run throughout the week, including Sundays

A council has set a date for when a new bus service to a train station will start running.

Somerset Council will launch the 667X bus service, linking Glastonbury and Street with Castle Cary railway station, in June 2026.

It is due to run throughout the week, including Sundays, alongside the 667 service, which already runs from Street to Castle Cary station.

Councillor Richard Wilkins, Somerset Council's lead member for transport and waste services, said: "Hopefully it will prove popular, as it gives people the choice to leave their car at home and save money."

The 667X will connect specifically with trains to and from London, Exeter, Plymouth, Paignton, Salisbury, Weymouth and Gloucester, the council has said.

Wilkins said: "We are delighted to be able to provide this trial service linking Glastonbury and Street to train services at Castle Cary. The aim is to ensure the route is sustainable in the long term and well used, so we need people to make the most of it. We have taken care to tailor the timings so the buses link up with the trains."

The council is also planning to offer a service from Somerton and Langport to link with trains at peak times.

During off-peak hours, passengers will be able to book the Somerton Slinky to connect with the 667X at Keinton Mandeville for travel to and from Castle Cary station.

And, like many members, Blackfriars-Holborn Viaduct.

However, it seems that following the GWR website update earlier this year, you are now limited to purchasing only one journey (single or return) per transaction.

This is a real nuisance, especially when trying to book a long journey using split tickets! 

Calls for 'neglected' railway station to be saved


The Victorian Society said the Strand station and club was a "focal point" for Barrow for more than a century - Image © Thomas Ollivier

A "neglected" Victorian former railway station and railwaymen's club should be reclaimed before it is lost, a group has claimed.

The Grade II-listed Strand Railway Station was Barrow-in-Furness's first railway station in 1863, evolving into a railwaymen's club in the early 1900s and serving as a social space until 2008.

The Victorian Society, which campaigns to preserve heritage, added it to a list of endangered buildings and said it stood "vacant and deteriorating" despite being a "focal point" for Barrow for more than a century.

Campaign for Real Ale's (CAMRA) Pub Heritage Group said its "prolonged closure is a tragedy for the town and its heritage, and must serve its community once again".

The Victorian Society said the Strand "stood at the centre of the transformation" of Barrow when it became a "major industrial and maritime centre, driven by the extraction of iron ore and the development of rail and dock infrastructure".

By 1856, 464,823 tonnes of iron ore were raised in Furness, of which 445,013 tonnes were transported via the Furness Railway and shipped from Barrow, the society said. Barrow's central station and a new through-route was opened in 1882, with the Strand being relegated to secondary uses. In the early 1900s, the building became a reading and library room for railway employees, with parts of the site being used as a drill hall.


The Victorian Society said the Strand Railway Station was "vacant and deteriorating" - Image © Thomas Ollivier

"It provided educational and social facilities and remained a focal point for the community for over a century," the Victorian Society said.

Its northern conservation adviser Thomas Ollivier explained: "For a long while the club was teetotal, reflecting the rise of temperance in working communities as part of non-conformist religious beliefs. Sadly, time was called at the club in the summer of 2008 after a 101-year history."

The society said the building was owned by an "absentee landlord and was in visible decline", calling for it to "be brought back into active use through sensitive restoration. You don't get early train stations remaining to the current day as they usually get replaced, so this is a rarity," it added.


The society said the site was in "visible decline" - Image © Thomas Ollivier

The director of the Victorian Society, James Hughes, said its "history of adaptation shows exactly the kind of sustainable reuse we should be championing today".

"What is needed now is a clear commitment to securing its future before further deterioration takes hold," he added.

Chair of CAMRA's pub heritage group Paul Ainsworth said the club played a "significant role in the town's evolution" and added it was "sad to see the club has been out of use since 2008. Its prolonged closure is a tragedy for the town and its heritage, and must serve its community once again. Our heritage pubs and clubs are an essential part of our social history, and must be recognised and protected for their incredible contribution to local communities and the wider beer and pub sector."

In August, the site was included in Westmorland and Furness Council's Marina Village development plans. Furness CAMRA pubs officer, Ann Summers-Glass, said the group "hoped the project would be successful and that any repurposing of the building included a community asset such as a pub or club". But the authority said, while the station was on the edge of the Marina Village boundary, it did not own the building and the site was not part of the plans.

I used to catch the 2015 Pembroke Dock to london Waterloo service a few times and it was busy even though it arrived into Waterloo at 0415. Certainly a good idea for a open acess service.

April 2026, and the through service Bradford** and Trowbridge to Waterloo gets a mention as it's a renewed aspiration. [Edit: the strapline beneath the photo isn't particularly useful]

Mark

https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/26048069.boost-plans-build-three-wiltshire-railway-stations/

** That's Bradford-on-Avon, not Bradford, Yorkshire of course. Next, someone will propose the introduction of a train service between Waterloo and Manchester, which would be silly.***

*** Not silly, as that service, the butt of jokes from newspaper hacks, provided a whole shopping-basket-full of interregional travel opportunities that grew railway business and in the case of Bristol to Hereford, loaded embarrassingly well.

Dear neighbour,

Rebuilding the Portishead to Bristol railway

I’m getting in touch to let you know about our latest stage of work to rebuild the
Portishead to Bristol railway.

As you may be aware, main construction has begun and we’re about to begin our next
stage of work along the disused line. We need to remove the old railway and prepare the
area for new track to be installed.

This will take place from Tuesday 5 May until August 2026. We’ll be working Monday to
Friday between 7.30am and 5.30pm.

The nature of our work means some additional noise and traffic is unavoidable. We’re
aware we’re working close to you and will try to minimise this as much as possible. We’re
sorry for any inconvenience.

I hope this information is helpful but if you have any questions, there are
several ways to contact us: call our dedicated 24-hour helpline on 03457 11
41 41, visit www.networkrail.co.uk/contactus or scan this QR code with your
phone for more information about living by the railway.

More information about the project can be found at networkrail.co.uk/portisheadline.

Kind Regards,
Niall Spencer
Senior sponsor, Network Rail

Disused line: We’ll be removing old
sections of track and tree stumps to create
space for the new railway line. We’ll put up
fencing, remove old track equipment and
reprofile culverts and ditches.
May 2026 to August 2026
Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 5.30pm.

...but can't see a corresponding (direct) return trip for the commute back...

For me I think it's just Dover Marine

Come to think of it, that last bit of the GWR line from Birmingham into Paddington at Old Oak Common as well. HSTs from Bath to London were sent to Oxford and then that way to Paddington. The train crawled the last few miles. That's now gone, hasn't it?