Peak fares are set to be scrapped ‘for good’ by ScotRail services in three weeks’ time.

The policy reversal announced by the Scottish Government in May this year will take effect on Monday September 1, with officials saying they aim to make train fares simpler, more flexible, and provide better value for money for rail users, as well as getting more people to leave the car at home and travel by rail instead.

Removing peak fares will mean significant savings for customers, with some journeys set to reduce by almost 50% as people pay the same fare no matter what time they travel, or the day of the week.

The price of a return ticket from Helensburgh Central to Glasgow, leaving before 9am, will fall from £14 to £8.90.

Peak fares were dropped in September 2023 but then reintroduced 12 months later, with Ministers saying it would have required a 10% increase in passenger numbers for the policy to be self-financing and they would only to reintroduce to if given more money by Westminster.

But today Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: “Public ownership has created the opportunity to deliver a railway which is run for the benefit of the nation. ScotRail is one of the fastest growing operators, with one of the best passenger satisfaction rates and we are building even further on this success by removing peak fares for good.

“We want more people to choose to travel by public transport for work, study and leisure but we know that many are still struggling with cost-of-living pressures.

After twenty to seven in the evening, the Cardiff -> Portsmouth service is not going to be rammed - any chance of dropping 2 cars of one of the longer ones to maintain service?   

18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56
21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 21:58
22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12

22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

Design teams are working hard to come up with a solution to strengthen the tunnel floor so the planned track and drainage renewals can take place.

This additional design work has delayed the August and September work, with the tunnel expected to be closed for several months.

A spokesperson for GWR said: "We're pleased to hear that the customer wasn't more seriously hurt in this incident, and we commend our station staff for their swift response. While accidents can happen, the railway presents significant risks. For everyone's safety, passengers should never enter the track. Instead, please immediately contact a member of staff who can safely stop all trains and assist you."

EasyJet has suspended one of its captains after he was reportedly seen roaming a luxury hotel drunk and naked.

The unnamed pilot was witnessed walking through common areas of a five-star resort in Cape Verde without any clothes on in the early hours of the morning on 5 August, after an extended drinking session in a bar, according to the Sun. He was due to operate a return flight to Gatwick more than 36 hours later, but was grounded after the budget airline received complaints about the incident and a replacement pilot found.

An EasyJet spokesman told the BBC the pilot now faces an investigation and that the safety of passengers and crew was its "highest priority".

The captain arrived at the Melia Dunas Beach Resort and Spa in the West African island nation on 4 August and proceeded to begin drinking, the Sun reports.

At around 02:30 local time (04:30 BST) the following morning, hotel guests reportedly saw him strip off and wander into the reception, before moving on to the gym and spa, according to the newspaper.

"The pilot did not have a stitch on and reeked of alcohol," an anonymous source inside the airline was quoted by the paper as saying. "Anyone who saw the pilot cavorting naked in the early hours on the day before a flight would not dream of getting on a plane with him at the controls."

He was scheduled to helm the 2,332-nautical-mile (4,318km) trip back to Gatwick on the afternoon of 6 August, but was removed from the flight.

An EasyJet spokesman said: "As soon as we were made aware, the pilot was immediately stood down from duty, in line with our procedures, pending an investigation. The safety of our passengers and crew is EasyJet's highest priority."

The airline's code of business ethics states that staff must behave "with integrity when dealing with our people, our customers, our partners and the communities within which we operate".

February 2017 ...

The "Save the Train" campaign was created in 2005 at a time when the whole future of passenger trains calling at Melksham Station was in doubt. Services held on by a thread through to 2010, with a strong local campaign. Objectives were to establish a permanent, appropriate train for Melksham's station, the line through it, and the communities served. Steps towards that objective:
* to raise awareness of the issues (2005 to 2009)
* to evaluate what's an appropriate service (2009 to 2011)
* to work towards that appropriate service (gain) (2012 and 2013)
* to ensure that an appropriate service is retained (2013 onward)

Over the years, the group moved from being protesters to being partners, working with local and central government, businesses in the area served, train operators and the rest of the rail industry, other user and community groups. As we shifted from protest to partner, we formed the "TransWilts Community Rail Partnership". Initially TransWilts worked as a group working within the community, then with First Great Western (now GWR) support, adding Wiltshire Council and central government though a Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) grant. Once the service was up and running on a trial basis, TransWilts was able to join ACoRP (the Association of Community Rail Partnerhips) - a Department for Transport sponsored organisation to help put new life into local lines. And as the service became permanent in December 2016, the service has become "designated" with gives the partneship some further authority / input, in particlar allowing local variation of national standards and policy where that works for the towns served.

Passenger journey numbers to, from and through Melksham - that's the line section unique to the TransWilts - were about 18,000 per annum when we started and are now up to a quarter of a million. Train service is up from 2 each way per day to 9 each way per day, passenger journey numbers at Melksham Station up from 3,000 per annum to around 60,000 per annum. The original trains still run - but where they had 2 or 3 passengers they're now conveying up to 30, and some of the new trains are full and standing (but if you're a potential passenger, there's still room for a few more on board).

There's still campaining and collaboration work to do - modelling suggests that Melksham passenger journeys can rise 5 times more to around 300,000 per annum - and for that we need a longer platform (project underway), longer trains (also underway) and more of them. And we need to improve access to Melksham station away from the tracks, and get the town's bus service to connect with the train rather than ignoring it.

Yes - the campaign has been successful - but that very success tells us that we're not where we should be yet and need to keep working for more and longer trains - and indeed link them into other trains beyond Westbury to Salisbury, and to Southampton and the airport.

-- Update by Graham Ellis, February 2017

Seems Alaska Air is coming to Heathrow

https://news.alaskaair.com/destinations/alaska-airlines-continues-international-expansion-with-new-flights-to-london-and-reykjavik-from-seattle-with-a-first-look-at-our-new-global-experience/

Back on again.............

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj6yz77nlw4o

I say "when" rather than "if", because it will be the only certain end to this long-running saga. No other outcome will be anything other than a postponement unless a practical alternative to the large aircraft can be found for international travel within the next 5 years.