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Apologies if it has already been linked, but there's a new BBC Wales documentary "How to Fix a Railway" on the Metro upgrades. It's available on iPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jypp

It did sound that something falling from the tunnel may have caused the derailment, but looking at the pictures, I would imagine they would also be checking the points to see if they hadn't somehow moved while the GWR set was going across the junction.

If anything highlights how absurd the current fares system is, it's the reaction to the suggestion that, "If you travel further you should pay more." So we have the silly situation of an Anytime Single from Hereford to London Paddington tomorrow (via Newport) costing £121.90. But if you start...

I think more than anything I'd like to see a simplification in fares with fixed prices based on distance travelled and a simplification of all of these various Advance ticket options. I'd have the following structure for standard class: Single IC journey - (priced per mile) (With a minimum...

Even before coronavirus, I'd been caught out a few times by non-existent GWR trolleys on Paddington to South Wales services. It only has to happen a few times before the message sinks in to buy before you board the train. The other thing which is weighing down on leisure travel, is the absence...

Another vote for the XC cheeseburgers. I quite liked them and would always get one on my trek between South Wales and Durham. I did once get a lasagne on one of those XC trains. It was a microwave slop - could have consumed it through a straw. The bacon baguettes on the FGW Travelling Chef were...

I think I'm feeling quite optimistic with respect to these plans. Good to see that there are at least outline plans to deal with Cardiff's local transport issues and that the SW Metro proposals weren't the end of the line, so to speak. If I were Cardiff Council, I'd have levied a charge on each...

There's a better image of the map on an updated Wales Online page: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/cardiff-crossrail-map-transport-trams-16529975

Well, I still don't see that it follows that Westminster would necessarily want or care whether the WAG used their borrowing powers or not for this road. Borrow and build or don't borrow and don't build - not really sure why Westminster would care either way. If the Severn Tolls abolition...

Why exactly would the Westminster Government want to force the Welsh Assembly to build a motorway in Wales?

The wider issue here, is that the public - encouraged by the media - believe that season ticket fares are excessive, and thus you have pressure on the Graylings of the world. Polly Toynbee over in the Guardian has a column today, highlighting that a Peterborough to London King's Cross ticket...

Well - is it better to have an interchange station or not? I'd say it is. Most people would think that too...

The planned service patterns can remain, and any future, incremental "tram" routes which are in addition to the new service patterns can utilise any street diversions that they may build.

Interchange with all national destinations. You cannot not serve the principal railway station in Wales...

Yes, but bus links are meh. And that bus link is hourly, I think. There's no way I'd get a train from Cardiff to get to Blackwood relying on an hourly bus link. The 26 bus is half-hourly from Cardiff to Blackwood. That would surely be a better bet. Of course the reality is, that anyone...

While I can see the long term benefits of a central Valley rail link, the cost must surely be prohibitive? With the exception of Ystrad Mynach to Nelson, there's no track remaining, so it would all have to be new build, or roads dug up to lay tram rails. What would such a project cost? A...

Who are these die-hard LRT enthusiasts that are missing from all three threads? I'm surprised that we have not heard more complaints from people who previously cited concerns over 'a lack of toilets', breaking services between Pontypridd and the Vale, or diverting services to the Bay (forcing...

The bay platform at Pontypridd may see some use in turning around late running services in the event of disruption, particularly given the 12tph frequency.

Hmm - perhaps you're right. Maybe it is just the map that is misleading. Why not have the thick blue line from Rhymney pass through Central at the same point as the VoG line arrives? All the others match up and can be followed from end to end. The Rhymney/Barry services look like they are...

Now that I've had a day to digest this, while the rolling stock is all good news, I can't help but feel it's a little less ambitious than I might have hoped. From looking at the presentation it would appear that the pluses and minuses for the wider Metro area are: Pros: New rolling stock...