By having an RSSB account.

A comfort score is Dimensional features + Pad & Back Rest thickness + Compression.  Maximum score 100

Dimensional features includes:
a) seat height (target 440 mm ±10 mm above the floor)
b) Seat depth (good practice value to be 435 mm ±10 mm)
c) Seat width and gap between armrests (highest attainable score  for 460mm - 503mm with or without armrests, but a without score is handicapped)
d) Backrest width (highest attainable score for >549mm)
e) Armrest height (highest attainable score for fully adjustable, second highest 230mm - 250mm if non adjustable)
f) Underside of headrest to seat [distance from the seat's sitting surface to the passenger's acromion] (highest attainable score for 660mm - 680mm)
g) Angle of seat (highest attainable score for -6° to -9°)
h) Angle between seat and back (highest attainable score for 100° - 105°)
i) Legroom (highest attainable score for >766mm) [legroom is measured from the back of the seat to the back of the seat in front]
j) Bay seating arrangement (higest attainable score for > 1531mm) [measured from back of seat to the back of the seat opposite]
k) Clearance under tablet (650 - 690mm)
l) Tablet depth (151 - 200mm)

With regards to the seat pad, some choice figures are:
"It is good practice for the minimum seat pad thickness to be 50 mm."
"The seat pad's target minimum compression is 40% of the overall seat pad thickness." at 500N
"The maximum allowable compression is 70% of the overall seat pad thickness." at 1000N
"The minimum target is 5% or less of deformation after 50,000 cycles."

 
Saturday February 22

 
Thinking about the subsidised secondary routes near me - both urban and rural...

There are a few dominant local operators - primarily First, but also some other major plays. Mix of commercial and subsidised routes, mostly moderately frequent, or at least regular through the day. Day/weekly tickets useful as they can be used on all routes as long as the same operator is used. People know these companies run several routes in teh area, and a look at the websites shows the routes available. A lot of flaws with the service provision, but  essentially there's a well-known service provision.

Then there are the 'fiddly little routes'. In some cases 1-2 hourly, in some cases a few each day. Several companies involved - fine for pass-holders, but not so useful for those on day tickets. In many cases, the route varies a bit with each journey. Some are designed to connect with 'main' routes, but others aren't.

In reality the 'urban circular' type routes are probably are only useful to pass-holders, because the able-bodied will walk to the nearest main road for more frequent services, but they would probably be more useful if they were set up better. There's one that goes past my house, but I couldn't tell you when it runs. There are no designated stops, and my road doesn't appear on the rudimentary maps. The only designated stop is one by a nearby pub, which is shown in the timetable and on maps/planners; even that one doesn't have a sign. Which is fine for rural and occasional routes (and indeed more the norm in deep rural areas) - probably cheaper than maintaining stops - but without even the odd waypoint added to maps/planners/timetables, only regular uses would know where to wait for it! The map doesn't even hint that it passes my house, and many locals wouldn't even have heard of the company if only really familiar with the big players! If someone living on my road were shopping and a bit tired and happened to be ready to leave town when the bus is due, they might pick it over a route to the nearest main route, but as there isn't integrated ticketing they wouldn't unless they were a pass-holder.

It strikes me that if several of these 'urban circular' type journeys were linked, maybe into a 'city circle' type service, they could run to a more regular timetable, rather than sporadically (often a few journeys in a row, then none for a bit, then the afternoon batch - perhaps partly because of shift/lunch patterns, and partly because of swapping between the routes). And if there were integrated ticketing - be it an area-wide franchising model or one company just running hte whole lot - they would be more useful to everyone.

It's great that a particular market segment is served by these buses, but when I've seen them they aren't full to the brim, and if someone put the time into reviewing them perhaps they could be that bit more commercially useful.

The rural 'fiddly extra' routes are generally better - more defined routes, run by the same operator as the main axes, and designed to connect therewith, and quite useful for tourism so there is some marketing, although it's inconsistent. There are however some oddities - one or two (not sure how much they've survioved post-Covid) that run on certain days only for shoppers etc, and one that I've seen advertised at stops - possibly run on a voluntary or 'community' basis of some sort. The only way I know about it is from seeing advertising sheets at stops in that area. The photos (not sure if token/clipart or actuially representative) show coaches - not sure if a coach co runs it, or if someone has basically hired the coach. It runs on certain days only, between main axes so that it's useful for popping to shops etc - and the advertising at the stops says it's for pass-holders only. I can understand why in a way - perhaps avoids some sort of additional admin hurdle - but it could be more commercially useful if they could carry fare-payers as well. Again, perhaps if this type of route were linked into some of the others it could run daily, carry all passenger types etc.

 
Anyone seen a copy of RSSB GMGN2696 ? - which presumably is a standard method for measuring "comfort". How does it do that?

 

Did you really think that? Or (as I once read somewhere) is it April 1st already ??

That Railway Gazette explains it:

So no need for spring steel to be more flammable, or have a greater combustion energy, than foam.

 

As seen at the rail innovation exhibition:

 
2M24 (see above) is running. 

 
I thought that the original reason for moving from springs to foam seating was the fire risk on seats with springs was a lot higher than the fire-retarded foam. These appear to be made with small pocket springs in these - what changed?

 

https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/spring-has-sprung-for-gwr-passengers/68315.article

 

HS1/St Pancras has a programme to increase passenger capacity. Last year Active Thinking led a study for them into how much of an increase was possible, and what "modern approaches and technological solutions" could be used. Railway Gazette reported:

Then earlier this year a PQQ came out for an implementation study based on that. That closed last week, so while the contract notice is still on line the document defining the study has now disappeared.

The only bit of the BBC report I can see that might be called news is

This agreement with Getlink is another bit of the same overall programme, and must have been agreed some time ago even if only signed now - and even then it's only an agreement to have an agreement.

 

On RTT, it has acquired "VCN" status, so you need to select the "CAN" option to view cancelled services. The reason given is ZW - unknown cause.

Also bearing a VCN status and ZW code on RTT is 2M34, the 20:14 Swindon-Westbury. There's nothing on Journeycheck about this service, and it is currently (at 19:22) shown on TIGER as "on time". Watch this space! 

Incidentally, the 18:37 Westbury-Swindon was delayed at Trowbridge for about 25 minutes (due to a "broken down train"). It lost a further 5 minutes due to missing its slot on the single line through Melksham.

 
There are plans to expand the check-in at St Pancras I believe. Featured in the news 6-9 months ago?

 
How do these plans fit in with the UK government requirement for entry checking before boarding?  or is there a secret plan to join Schengen?

 
Seems GWR were making up for earlier cancellations.



I'm imagining what the Journey Check message would have said?

"Facilities on the 1518 Worcester Foregate to London Paddington due 1729. This train will be formed of 18 coaches instead of 9. We apologise for any inconvenience."

 
Strangely, it seems to have disappeared from Real Time Trains altogether.

 
From Wikipedia:

 

Which got me wondering who St Pancras was / is ...

 
With thanks for starting this topic, eightonedee, I've moved it to this board, rather than our 'entirely overseas' board.

I'll also quote some detail from that BBC article:

 

You'd have to factor in the costs of endless strikes too once the Unions got wind it was going to happen.

 
This topic has been moved to The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom.

https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=29934.0

 

There are other hints at the tightness - such as the suspension of the Bristol - Oxford Saturday trial in the summer while an IET is going to Newquay.  As the new^(*) 175 units enter service, it will be very interesting^(*) to see whether / how much they are used to relieve the tension on the IET fleet, how much they are used to relieve the tension on other fleets such as the 158s, and how much they are used to displace the other very oldest trans on the fleet rather than adding any extra robustness into the fleet.

 
That answer is public - held within the contract for IETs by GWR. There is a specified number of units on standby to cover failed units, and I can't remember the number  but I recall that they are in low single digit numbers per day,

 
It would be very interesting to know what suggested availability of these IEP units was, at the time of acquisition, compared to what is achieved.  It looks as if there is an extremely thin amount of cover for failed units.  In a lot of cases, it seems to me, no cover at all.  A breakdown means a cancelled diagram, and that's that.  And to hell with the passengers' plans

 
Later:

The 18:02 is formed of the stock of this morning's failed 08:56.

 
OK - I think I have something in place to turn away the distributed spamspiders without interfering with members and guests.

Here is how busy the worker machine has been - overloading during the night, but with my tweaks doing better


And here is the day by day relentless rise.   Days end at 03:30, so only part of the traffic from last night is yet seen - I expect it to look the same when I look tomorrow morning, but hope to see it eased off by Sunday.

 
Not sure if this is the correct board, but this has cheered me up considerably-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg5d6l5lz4jo

 
Living a bit further up the Thames, I think the answer is "no", but with a qualification.

We have a community bus (actually some elderly minibuses that look like they started life as semi-ambulances) run by a public spirited local person with volunteer drivers, and it is promoted through our monthly community newspaper, the Goring Gap News.

Apart from that there's hardly anything. I'm vaguely aware that Oxford Bus run something called the River Rapid service between Oxford and Reading, but don't see any publicity locally. I had to go on-line to find out where the nearest Reading Buses service gets to (it's Upper Basildon). But here in Goring & Streatley we are lucky enough to have a half-hourly train service that gets us into the centre of Reading in about 12 minutes.

I very seldom use a bus locally - I think I have been on more in France in the last few years! I have used one in Didcot to get to and from the garage that services my car if they cannot offer a courtesy car, but go on-line to find out what is running - which to be fair seems quite a comprehensive network covering a lot of the Wantage/Abingdon/south of Oxford area that's not so well served by rail.

I think the reason for so little publicity is that those who run the services simply assume that we all look everything up on-line, which is actually probably correct. With the severe decline in local newspapers, and the increasingly fractured nature of social media, it must be hardly worth the effort to do anything else. Tough though if you are elderly and not on-line.

 
Ian visits reports on some figures from the Mayor of London on TfL report reveals the cost and challenges of introducing driverless tube trains
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/tfl-report-reveals-the-cost-and-challenges-of-introducing-driverless-tube-trains-79316/


Which raises the old question Ooose gonna pay?