Only the 18:10 from Castle Cary has been cancelled again because crew were delayed so the 19:43 is also a non runner.

Which means the 19:43 from Swindon to Westbury will now also run.

18:10 Castle Cary to Swindon due 19:34

18:10 Castle Cary to Swindon due 19:34 has been cancelled.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

19:43 Swindon to Westbury due 20:25

19:43 Swindon to Westbury due 20:25 will be cancelled.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

Due to overcrowding because of an event between Newquay and Par the line is disrupted.

In the limited time available I suspect Control went for the defensive option.

Yesterday (Saturday 9th August 2025) was one of those days where so many trains were cancelled and some of it was bit by bit that I have used Real Time Trains to summarise:



The first cancellation was understandable due to "person hit by train" though that happens far too often and at dreadful cost.  The second train should have run with the empty going up to Swindon for it from Bristol rather than through the closed line at B-o-A.  The later cancellations were TOC failures to provide enough trains or staff to work them.

18:10 Castle Cary to Swindon due 19:34

18:10 Castle Cary to Swindon due 19:34 will be reinstated.
It will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Castle Cary, Bruton and Frome.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

5Z86 0705 Laira T.& R.S.M.D. to Newquay (9 cars) was late leaving Laira, and arrived Newquay 40 minutes down.
It left Newquay 52 late, showing overcrowding (1Z86).
Journeycheck now offering ticket acceptance on local busses.
The local unit from Par to Newquay was held somewhere on the branch awaiting 1Z86 passing.
It left Newquay 54 late.
This being a 2 car unit.  Yet 2Z89 1235 Par to Newquay (5 car) still sits at Par.

Hardly a surprise there are huge crowds to move from Newquay, yet the 2 car unit is running.

13:32 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:45

13:32 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:45 has been delayed at Westbury and is now 10 minutes late.
This is due to the train departing late to maintain customer connections.

"We're not checking/selling tickets on this journey - we don't actually have the equipment to do so with us" ... first hand comment to me, and recent.

If selling tickets on the train earns a commission why does there seem to be a marked reluctance by on board train staff to venture out and do so ?

I would be amazed if we don't have an election - let's put it like that.  Quite a few people have written in, even from within the electorate of this particular ward which is perhaps just 12% of the population of Melksham.  I don't know who will fill the vacant seat - but I know we will have given the opportunity to whoever it is to have the moral backing of the democratic process of voting, and will be answerable to the voters. 

Are these ticket scanning additional payments, which in a normal world would be regarded as a complete nonsense, specific to XC or have they been agreed more widely? I don't recall seeing them mentioned before.

It is my view that all format on-train ticket checks should be a contractual obligation on the Guard / Conductor / TM except when the activity would impinge on safety critical work.

Scores of foreign Transport for London (TfL) staff could be deported because of rule changes which mean they no longer qualify for visa sponsorship.

More than 60 employees who came to the UK on skilled worker visas may have to leave because salary thresholds have gone up and key transport roles have been taken off the eligible list.

TfL said it was "working with all colleagues affected by the changes... to understand whether they have other routes to work in the UK available to them and to support them where possible".

Some London Assembly members called the move "unfair and short-sighted", but the Home Office said its immigration white paper was designed to "restore order" to immigration. It added: "Under this approach, every sector will be required to implement a workforce strategy focused on training British workers, or risk losing access to the immigration system, as part of wider efforts to reinforce the integrity of the points-based system and end dependence on lower-skilled international recruitment."

TfL is obliged to comply with the changes, which took effect on 22 July and will remain until at least the end of 2026.

It is believed many of the workers took jobs on two-year graduate visa schemes thinking they could later move into skilled worker positions, according to the RMT union.

The transport body currently pays a £31,000 starting salary for graduates and advises candidates who need sponsorship to see if they can get this before applying.

Trainee station staff are believed to earn between £35,300 and £41,800, the latter of which is only £100 above the new £41,700 per year minimum salary threshold.

RMT general secretary, Eddie Dempsey, said: "Our members took these jobs in good faith, on the understanding that they could progress and continue building their futures here. Now the new government rules risk shattering these workers' lives and leaving gaps in employment for London Underground."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, an anonymous at-risk employee said they just wanted a fair chance to work and loved their job. They added: "What did I do wrong? What did any of my 60 colleagues facing the same fate, do wrong? I have seen them go above and beyond their normal work duties, even preventing vulnerable members of the travelling public from committing suicide on the network. Getting the news that my job was now not on a list which would make me eligible to stay in the country, has taken an enormous toll on me and my family. It was like a nuclear bomb going off in our household."

The leader of London Assembly's Liberal Democrat group, Hina Bokhari, said: "Deporting vital Tube staff because of sudden last-minute rule changes is unfair and short-sighted. London relies on the skills and commitment of these people."

Green Party Assembly member Caroline Russell said: "The government should withdraw these cruel changes that are going to ruin lives by sending away the workers London depends upon."