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If you had carte blanche with the area around Kempston Hardwick/Wixams and with the EWR project in the back of your mind, what would you do and why? I see two options (other than the status quo, which will probably involve shuttle buses from Bedford/Flitwick to the park) 1 a) Build Wixams as...

Interested in a fantasy building a circle line which uses the Crossrail route Paddington to Liverpool Street then calls at as many large towns/cities as possible before looping back round to Paddington. The rules are that there must be no reversals, it must be circular in both directions...

Similar to the New Stations Calendar thread, I thought it would be a good idea to start a Closed/Under Threat Stations master thread. With the number of stations mothballed recently due to infrastructure issues and therefore temporarily closed by stealth, combined with stations which haven't...

The discussion about figure of 8 circuits in the Milton Keynes thread got me curious as to whether it would be possible to create (adjoining) circle lines connecting the major towns and cities of the UK. As an extra challenge, no reversing is allowed, and the circles must connect somewhere in...

Last night there were issues with Thameslink services to/from Brighton due to overcrowding following the Pride event. In Central London, trains to Bedford which originated in Brighton were 30-45 minutes late, but there were trains to Bedford on the "all stop" Sutton route. These slower trains...

Despite asking both Thameslink and APCOA (the car park operator) for a copy of their terms and conditions for parking at Luton Airport Parkway, neither of them could provide it online and APCOA said to refer to the signage on site. Am I allowed to park at Luton Airport Parkway Station then get...

GatEx has been suspended since March 2020. With the likely permanent reduction in business travel, coupled with the fact that GTR already offer an overlapping service between London, Gatwick and Brighton which takes the same amount of time - albeit from London Bridge rather than Victoria, and at...

GTR have announced today there will be a reduced timetable in operation from Monday. No Milton Keynes to Clapham Junction service No Southern services at Beckenham Junction or Birkbeck No Southern service between Crystal Palace and Dulwich Down to 1 train per hour in both directions round the...

I wondered what pairs of contrasting stations (by any measure - service level, number of destinations, age of trains, architectural style, geographical location...) we can come up with which have one letter different in their CRS codes. For example MAN (Manchester Piccadilly) is extremely...

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/may/10/train-firms-worker-bonus-email-is-actually-cyber-security-test

This train departed Penhelig 26m late but arrived at its destination 3 minutes early, two hours later. https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/G96377/2021-05-08 What other examples do you know of where the timetable padding is so extreme that this would be possible?

Inspired by the thread about what Dire Consequences Might Follow in the event of a TOC not running a parliamentary service (say, Stockport<>Stalybridge), I pose a question. What actions would need to be taken, and how much would that cost, to remove passenger service from a line like this...

Was waiting for a train yesterday evening which was billed to be an 8 car train (instead of the usual 12). Through experience I know that the 8 car stop board is before the end of the platform but the train fills there right to the other (rear) end of the platform. So, waiting at the rear as...

Just been on a Thameslink train into London and had a manual driver announcement - "Ladies and gentlemen, may I remind you that this is a no smoking train." Clearly it's been illegal to smoke on trains for decades, but I've no doubt it still happens regularly. Indeed I've been on a stationary...

https://www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/further-consultation-called-for-as-opposition-grows-to-chosen-east-west-rail-route/ Also has this interesting quote: I assumed the proposed Wixams station was now dead and buried, especially after "Bedford South" (a potential station on EWR, near to Wixams...

I wonder if anyone can explain what exactly "Service stop unadvertised" means? On the Worcester Parkway thread there is discussion of this appearing before the station opened - presumably to allow staff to practice stopping and starting from there. But on (for example)...

Just for fun (for now - I might actually attempt this in future!) I have put together a "race" to get round every UK mainland plus Isle of Wight station in the fastest possible time. I have more fun planning this (in my head it's a cross between my two favourite games Tetris and Pacman!) but...

Let's say you happen to find a couple of trains complete with driver and crew in your back garden one morning in 5 years' time when passenger numbers have largely returned after Covid*. Where would you start your new Open Access operation, where would it terminate, which route would it take and...

Third day in a row that Thameslink services through the core have been severely impacted by electrical problems at Farringdon. National Rail disruptions page says the fault is intermittent and that engineers are basically there 24/7 ready to fix when the problem re-occurs. Any idea what the...

We're off to Tenby in a few weeks' time with our Thomas The Tank Engine-obsessed 3 year old. Is there anywhere within an hour or so drive where he can see, or even better ride, on a steam train?