Generally the service is very reliable even with the need for 2 units at each peak.  More often than not its the units that fail and not the lack of crew of lineside equipment.

Thank you for that ET. That is a most useful document that allows me to fully understand how it all works. I must say though that the concluding paragraph on page 6 might be somewhat prophetic.

Correct.

It's a huge 45t dump truck that can haul 65t (for a combined mass of 110t) of lime and marl off the side of a mountain in Switzerland and take it downhill to a cement factory. The regenerative braking going down provides enough energy to charge the batteries for the climb back up empty.

'We're fighting a two-week fire from world's smallest fire station'


Jack Atkinson, who also helps to run a hotel, was one of the first firefighters to attend a wildfire on the North York Moors

Two weeks since a wildfire broke out on the North York Moors, firefighters remain on scene, and are likely to be there into next week.

Due to the remote location of the blaze on Langdale Moor, the first crew to attend on 11 August were from a fire station thought to be the smallest in the world.

At first glance, Goathland Volunteer Fire Station looks like a shed with red wooden doors, in a small village with limited mobile phone signal and sheep grazing opposite the driveway.

Measuring 13ft by 20ft (4m by 6m), the building only just accommodates its unique custom-built Land Rover fire engine alongside firefighters' uniforms, equipment and the system used to send them to emergencies. But it is home to a dedicated team of volunteer firefighters, who have spent a number of days helping to extinguish and maintain the moorland blaze, which has been declared a major incident.

"It's been very hot, it's been tough, and it's been something out of the ordinary," said volunteer firefighter Sarah Little. The fire was "pretty spectacular" when crews arrived for the first time. That evening, they "came back, had a little bit of sleep, went back out again", she added.


Sarah Little is on-call for the fire service on days she works from home, but not when she is in the office

When not fighting fires or responding to other emergency call-outs, Ms Little, 30, works for food producer Whitby Seafoods. She is on call for the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (NYFRS) during nights and on the 2-3 days each week that she works from home in the village. "My employer's quite supportive of that."

Another volunteer firefighter, Jack Atkinson, said he was "quite lucky" to be able to be on call during most daytimes, although evenings are trickier. He helps to run a hotel two doors down from the fire station, the Inn on the Moor. Working on the moorland fire, however, has caused a "juggling act" between the fire service and work. "We're quite lucky in that our crew is quite diverse so it gives us very good cover throughout the week and throughout the day," he added.


The first crew member to arrive at the station will drive the Land Rover out to create space for firefighters to change into uniform


(BBC article continues)

The slightly earlier entry stated that it WAS full and standing from Reading.............did everyone sit down?

I haven't made very many train journeys in the past year. Partly this is because the experience on the journeys I had made (with GWR) were so frequently stressful and uncomfortable (train cancellations, overcrowding, noisy football fans, mediocre in-train environments).

Unusual entry on Journeycheck (seen 09:32 this bank holiday Monday morning):

23:45 London Paddington to Penzance due 07:55
Facilities on the 23:45 London Paddington to Penzance due 07:55.
This train is no longer full and standing.

Excellent use of taxpayers money!

It would affect people in different ways. Less of a problem for someone living in a conurbation with good public  transport, far more for anyone living in a village with two buses (if that) a day.

From the BBC  news article:

The council said a replica will be built on site to ensure the historic importance of the chimneys will be recognised and memorialised.

Not sure about staffing a cafeteria as such work gives many opportunities for petty thieving. Litter picking and simple cleaning sounds an excellent idea.
Also removing refuse from the lineside, when the line is closed in any case for engineering work or other reasons.

Looking at Google Maps I see that the points at Bourne End are now sporting new electric point motors. Are these part of the problem, having replaced the Victorian aged (and quite reliable) mechanical ground frame?

In much the same way as those banned for drink driving are forced to use public transport?