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The island platform buildings at Newport have looked like a building site with hoardings and scaffolding since the electrification work began years ago now. Does anyone know what they are doing, and when, or if, the work will ever be finished?

The generally reliable North Wales Coast website (North Wales Coast Railway Notice Board) is reporting that a new open access operator, Clwydian Railways, is planning to run services Bangor - Marylebone via Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton, using class 175 units. Not sure this will be going...

Users of this line may remember the guy on the refreshment trolley who offered items such as newts, badgers etc a few years ago. He has a new rival - the singing conductor who, to tunes including Ghost riders in the sky, tells us we are leaving sunny Shrewsbury, to settle back in our comfy...

TFW have announced today (https://news.tfw.wales/news/transport-for-wales-signs-deal-to-purchase-pullman-rail-limited) that they have purchased Pullman Rail, who of course operate out of Canton. The idea seems to be to provide greater capacity for supporting both the Metro and other TFW services.

Local media are reporting that two carriages were delivered to Barmouth by road yesterday (June 9). From the (small) photos it looks to be a 158. Is this connected to the work on Barmouth Bridge...

The BBC are reporting that work is starting on the new station at Bow Street on the Cambrian line. It is scheduled to open later this year. Work on £8m railway station at Bow Street gets under way

Just bought an off-peak return Bangor to Cardiff for next week. I asked for an upgrade for the return and the booking office were unable to issue it, although they seemed surprised. Checked with TfWRail Twitter, and since November upgrades have been on-train only due to numbers of passengers...

BBC are reporting numerous cancellations across the TFW network yesterday, blamed on staff shortages and “work on the new timetable”. Doesn’t bode well for the increased services planned from today. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50794666

From the TFW stock shortages thread in rolling stock “One of our key commitments was to speed up journey times between north and south Wales. From December this will be in place, shaving off more than 40 minutes on the current journey time.“ I’d not seen that before. Anyone know if it is all...

At Chester yesterday there was a 30 minute delay announced to the Cardiff train due to lack of crew. An American (I think) passenger slipped off for a coffee or a fag, not sure which, leaving coat and bags behind. Train left after 12 minutes without said passenger. Fortunately the guard was...

Took a trip down the coast yesterday to take advantage of the good weather. Passing Fairbourne, it struck me that I have heard nothing of what the implications for this line are when the flood defences for the village stop being maintained in the next decade, as the line is pretty close to sea...

Mark Barry has some interesting ideas in a recent blog post, in particular using “adapted medium distance tram trains” on a route from Amlwch to Dolgellau, picking up several short-distance flows. He also discusses a potential new alignment to link Aberystwyth to South Wales via the Heart of...

If I bought an advance ticket for a service that offers particular facilities, for example a restaurant car or hot food, and that enhanced service is withdrawn (eg for maintenance issues) before I travel, would I be entitled to change the advance booking without penalty? It seems to me that it...

There seemed to be an awful lot of these, going west from Chester all the way to Llandudno Jct on Saturday. Does anyone know why, and how long they are for?

I travel fairly often down to Paddock Wood from Bangor, and if I buy a through ticket the itinerary is invariably via London Bridge, whereas to my mind the more convenient cross-London connection is via Charing Cross. I have a couple of questions around this: 1. Is there a particular reason why...

The morning WG Express from Holyhead to Cardiff was diverted via Crewe instead of Wrexham, and lost around 40 minutes on the journey. I understand there was a track problem between Crewe and Shrewsbury, but does anyone know why was it diverted in the first place?

Just back from a trip to Kemble on the Golden Valley Line. I was amazed how much weed growth there was, on the down line in particular, between the tunnels and Stroud. In places you couldn’t see the sleepers at all, and weeds were encroaching over the tops of the rails. I have seen sidings like...

Last night’s Gerald from Cardiff to Holyhead was held up about 10 minutes at a level crossing between Hereford and Shrewsbury. It must have happened before, but it is the first time it has to me in decades. No reason was given - does anyone know please? Incidentally the train was much busier...

This screenshot from the ticketing system has just turned up on the ATW twitter feed as part of a thread on pricing between Ludlow and London. It shows routing and fares information for an advance ticket (Restriction VR) by VTWC and connections. Travel is NOT allowed via Banbury, Bedford...

Severe flooding across the island means no trains between Bangor and Holyhead. VT have cancelled from Crewe, and ATW are starting eastbound services at Bangor. Not sure how long this will last, but the rain yesterday up to about midnight was cataclysmic.