I never said it was good value and you’ll note my full post you quoted included the word ‘farce’.

But it has provided a new bridge for Platform 5, together with another one for a future extension of Platform 2.  Those improvements will follow on on due course, but couldn’t happen without the works.  So, no immediate improvement would be a better statement.

That is being very generous given £237m has been spent (yes that is not a misprint £237m for a small road bridge) and there has not been a single improvement for rail passengers, which was surely the objective.

It makes HS2 look like a bargain 

From a search I have just done ... I have learned than "Iona" may be found within "exceptional".   And Iona is, truly an exceptional place to visit.  I visited Iona in - it must have been - the early 1970s - a day trip from Oban as a late teenager, taking my Grandmother on The King George V from Oban, sailing around Mull into the bay at Balamory, close to Staffa to see  Fingal'a Cave and then to be landed by tender onto Iona where we had a brief couple of hours to see the Abbey and enjoy the gentleness / quietness / atmosphere of the island.

A much more recent visit, taking Waverley from Oban, was a lovely day out ... but we were frustrated from landing because the swell meant that they wouldn't risk the transfer into the tenders to get ashore.  Ruefully I though back 30 or 40 years; there was a swell then too, but a more relaxed attitude.  I remember saying to Gran (in the 80s at the time, but game for an outing) "don't worry - there will be a couple of burley sailors to help you down" and her repost afterwards of "the one on the left wasn't all that burley".

Simon Calder on X/Twitter


Oh happy days! Dynamic Pricing = the end of the Off-peak return then....

NOBODY KNOWS HOW MUCH THE 11:20 COSTS ANYMORE

We all know that Europe and Asia are the home of modern passenger rail, while North America lags far behind. Canada’s mainline railways move about 36 passenger-kilometres per capita each year, while the European Union’s move 984. What many people might not know is that North America dominates in freight rail, while Europe largely lags far behind. The EU moves 833 annual rail freight tonne-kilometres per capita each year, while Canada moves 10,660. Canada alone moves more tonne-kilometres of freight by rail than the entire European Union combined. And that’s not just heavy natural resources in the West. It’s also vast amounts of intermodal and industrial goods. North American freight railways get thousands of trucks off the roads and that is something we should be genuinely proud of ...

What is stopping more freight moving from road to rail?

The government has set a new target to increase the amount of freight going on trains by 40% by 2040.

The plans have been welcomed by councils and business leaders in the East of England, who say it will be good for the economy and the environment and tackle congestion on busy roads such as the A14 and A12.

They would have a big impact in Suffolk, which has the country's largest container port in Felixstowe and one of the largest rail freight terminals in the UK.

But ministers have been warned that the growth in rail freight will not happen unless there is significant investment in rail infrastructure.

I'm posting this here, as I can't find any more relevant place to put it  - stop sniggering, you at the back of the classroom.

From the BBC:


That's an interesting way to start a case for claiming refugee status in the United Kingdom ... 

A big improvement on what was there before.

Man charged over stolen bus and driver attack


Armed police were deployed to Court Street, Telford on Friday - Image © Andy Smith/Telford Live

A man has been charged after a single decker bus was stolen and crashed into a row of parked cars in Shropshire.

Ali Balhad is set to appear in court over aggravated vehicle taking, driving a motor vehicle dangerously, robbery, thefts from a store and three counts of criminal damage.

The 33-year-old is also charged with assault, attempted grievous bodily harm and threats to kill over the incident.

Armed officers were deployed to the scene in Court Street, Telford, at around 18.35 BST on Friday.

West Mercia Police said the bus driver was treated by paramedics for minor injuries after he was assaulted, and confirmed that no-one else was hurt.

Balhad, a Yemeni national believed to have been in the area for about a week, has been remanded in custody and is due to appear before Telford Magistrates Court on Monday.

... So hopefully rail disruption will be minimised. That will change when platform 5 is commissioned.

18:10 Castle Cary to Swindon due 19:34

18:10 Castle Cary to Swindon due 19:34 has been cancelled.
This is due to train crew being delayed by service disruption.

Sweepstake on the (likely short) amount of time before the first bridge strike?