08:01 Weymouth to Cardiff Central due 11:23

08:01 Weymouth to Cardiff Central due 11:23 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

An advertisement for trainee drivers in Birmingham has stated applicants cannot rely on public transport.

London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway are recruiting "motivated and responsible individuals" to embark on their on our Level 3 Train Driver Apprenticeship at Snow Hill Station.

One of the stipulations is candidates should live within a an hour's commute into Birmingham city centre and the job advert adds "please note due to shift start and end times you cannot rely on public transport to get to work and own transport is recommended."

From Saturday 8 August, a programme of improvements will begin at Chippenham station, helping to improve the passenger experience and preserve key infrastructure.
Network Rail said it would replace the weathered and damaged canopies, as well as improving drainage and resurfacing platforms at the Grade II listed station. It added that this work would help maintain the historic site and ensure it continued to serve the local community well into the future.
To enable the improvements to be carried out safely and efficiently, up to 82 parking spaces in Cocklebury Road Car Park 1, opposite Sadlers Mead, will be temporarily unavailable while a contractor compound is in place from tomorrow.
The programme is expected to take around six months to complete, although not all 82 spaces will be required throughout the project.
Passengers can continue to use the other car parks on Cocklebury Road and Sadlers Mead, as well as the Union Road car park, all of which will remain open during the works.

Frustration is mounting among Swindon drivers as faded and missing road markings at several roundabouts raise safety concerns, confusion and reports of near-misses.

Photos show mini-roundabouts on Dorcan Way, Covingham Drive and Merlin Way, with faded paint, and the circle in the middle and arrows on the outside lacking visibility.

Story continues in the link

Reading your Google references -

West Hill
East Hill
My bet's on east Hill

The line finally opened in 1891

The line was opened in August 1902

Airport baggage issues leave hundreds without luggage


The airport issued an alert at around 05:40 BST warning passengers that baggage problems are continuing - Image © Birmingham Airport

Hundreds of passengers who have flown out of Birmingham Airport have been left without luggage due to issues with its baggage systems.

One described the situation as "absolute chaos" after the airport said it was experiencing issues affecting outbound flights.

In an update at 05:40 BST on Saturday, the airport warned passengers the problems were ongoing, but that engineers were on site working as quickly as possible to resolve it.

Hayley Chapman, from Northfield, who flew with her family to Turkey on Friday said no luggage at all was loaded on to the plane, and they had received no information as to its whereabouts.

She described seeing a "build up" of luggage at the airport, after problems with the luggage belt, but had been assured by staff that it would be loaded on to the plane.  But on arrival at Dalaman they were told by the pilot that no bags had been loaded.

"We have heard nothing about compensation, no communication when our luggage is expected, we've heard nothing about who is liable for it. Is it the airport? Is it TUI? Is it our travel insurance? Who are we meant to go to? We've had nothing from anybody", Chapman said.  "It's just radio silence from the airport, apart from literally telling people 'we've got an issue'".

The first day of their holiday was spent travelling to a shopping centre to buy essentials for "for the next few days" but she added "we have no idea how long this is going to last".

"There are families all over the world at the moment with nothing and no idea of what's going on," she said.  "It's really important that Birmingham Airport are held accountable, and sort this out."

(BBC article continues)

I have posted this before, here on the Coffee Shop forum, but it's a light-hearted spoof advert for Ryanair, from YouTube, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp4yczeiXwY

Watch until the end of the 70 seconds clip: it rather seems to sum it all up quite neatly. 

(With my apologies to any possibly younger readers here for the one sweary word).

Passengers 'stranded' at locked train station


Passengers on a late-night train to Newry could not exit the locked station - Image © Anne Greer

Translink has apologised after rail passengers were left stranded on a platform when a late-night train arrived into a station that was already shut for the night.

A group of about 30 customers were stuck on the platform at Newry Train Station for more than 45 minutes in the early hours of Saturday.

One of the passengers, Anne Greer, told BBC News NI it raised safety questions for the public transport company as the customers had no safe way to exit the station.

Translink said the firm was "looking into the incident" but added its train crew "remained with the passengers to ensure their safety while the issue was resolved".

The train was among a number of extra late-night services which are running to and from Belfast during the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (Music Festival of Ireland).  It was scheduled to leave Belfast at 23:59 BST on Friday and it arrived in Newry at about 01:20 BST on Saturday.

"To our surprise the entire station was closed, so we couldn't exit," Greer said.  "So we're all trapped on the platforms for over 40 minutes."

She said the train crew "helped as much as they could, but there was nothing they could do.  They were completely gobsmacked as to why they've arrived into a completely closed and locked train station."

Greer said she and other passengers tried to contact Translink but they could only find phone numbers for call centres which had also already closed for the day.  She argued it should be a "learning point" for health and safety as she felt there was no safe escape if there had been an injury or any kind of emergency.  "If something had happened.. the only options we had were the tracks in front of us, which obviously nobody was going to try walking on."

Shortly before 02:00 a worker arrived at the station and opened the doors to let passengers out.

(BBC article continues)

But part of me looks at certain services and worries about why they exist in the first place - in this case, the train really should be doing the job

Yellow card to TG, for mentioning barbeque anywhere other than on 'the lighter side'. 

A minor up side (for the airport) is that the charge to access the place is that high, will they possibly make a little money from people coming and going as a result of the disruption.

Mark

TfL defends pigeon culls 'when other methods fail'

Transport for London (TfL) has defended the practice of shooting pigeons on its stations with air rifles as necessary to "maintain a safe, clean environment for those using or working on our property".

It comes after freedom of information requests revealed that hundreds of the birds had been culled by TfL contractor Mitie in the past two years.  The transport body said its contractors ensured compliance with health and safety standards while avoiding animal cruelty.

Michael Britton, founder of London Bird Rescue, called the culls "an incredibly archaic, barbaric and unintelligent approach to wildlife management".

According to information gathered by wildlife group Manchester Pigeon Rehab, there were more than 120 organised shootings at Tube depots and stations between March 2024 and March 2026, and 655 birds were killed.

TfL said pigeon waste "carries risks of bacteria and insects, while nesting and waste material creates fire hazards and structural damage".

A TfL spokesperson said: "Our approach is focused on prevention, and the avoidance of animal cruelty is taken very seriously.  We continue to invest in preventative measures as our primary approach, exhausting all appropriate non-lethal methods, and have significantly increased our mitigations on stations and in depots as part of this work.

"Unfortunately, in a small number of cases, preventative measures are not always successful or effective, creating an unsafe environment.  When this is the case, we work with our suppliers to ensure that the removal of pigeons, or their nests, is undertaken with consideration and only ever as a last resort when other deterrents have failed."

Contractors use air rifles to shoot the pigeons, usually in the early hours when the Tube system is closed to passengers.

Britton said culling "has been proven to be an ineffective long-term solution, particularly at open-air sites, and, conversely, can actually increase population numbers".

He added: "Many companies and corporations have adopted a far more successful 'no-kill' approach, by making necessary modifications to infrastructure and utilising effective, humane deterrents such as 'anti-perch' slopes.  In countries with a more proactive and intelligent stance, such as France, Germany and Switzerland, the use of dovecotes has been proven to be a fantastic solution.  I would strongly urge TfL to immediately revise their wildlife management strategy and adopt a non-lethal policy."

All wild birds in the UK, including pigeons, are protected by legislation that makes it illegal to kill or injure them or damage their nests.  But the government issues licences allowing authorised individuals or pest controllers to control feral pigeons for reasons such as preventing serious disease or protecting public health and safety.

TfL said "humane bird dispatchers are used to make the process as swift as possible without causing unnecessary pain to the animal".

GWR having a vandalism field day today?


08:59 Plymouth to Newquay due 10:48
08:59 Plymouth to Newquay due 10:48 will be cancelled.
This is due to vandalism on a train.
(Not from Par Chapel sidings)!

 

Airport disruption a 'shambles' as flights restart


People were left trapped at the airport on Friday evening - Image © Paul Smith

Disruption because of a runway defect at Bristol Airport continues, as flights start to depart.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded on Friday evening after the decision was made to close the runway shortly after 18:00 BST. All flights were suspended until 08:00 on Saturday.

Flights have since restarted amid delayed take offs and diversions.

In a short statement on the airport website, a spokesperson said: "There will be some disruption to some flights today. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

(BBC article continues)