It does include Fleming Way and the shopping area of the town centre as well as the GWR park which has been a bit of a disorder hotspot.

There was a PSPO for the town centre in the past which concentrated on public drinking, begging and pedal cycles in the pedestrianised area.  However it was rarely enforced and ultimately not renewed.   This latest one has already seen some scooters confiscated and destroyed. 

 
To go with it. One of Swindon's new PSPOs https://www.swindon.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11646/town_centre_and_broadgreen_public_space_protection_order_-_2025-2028.pdf
Which I presume includes the new facilities.

 
It called! Report to follow - I have a meeting in 20 minutes and will write up overnight.

 
The Chairman and founder is Dr Andrew Seedhouse who, many years ago, was my predecessor here at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership.

More about them here https://www.talktosam.co.uk/about-us

 
..and another two due to call - and on the screens

 

It is and not a one off.   However it wasn't announced until 16:39.   That is 15 minutes after the cancelled TW service would have left Westbury and the time it would have been at Melksham.    So unless someone was very on the ball at Melksham they would have unaware.

This is better news - announced an hour in advance.

 

 
Date was in my diary - now booked. I have a powerchair....

 

SUPERB step in the right direction!

 

Why do they cancel the trains on the next line across (yeah, I know, because the West County trains are more important).  Are there alternative arrangements for Melksham passengers? Such as the IETs stopping there?

 
On Eventbrite

 
If you go to this portal, it says this about itself:


In one place this site identifies itself as Travelwest, but mostly it doesn't - so it is? Or is "what exactly is Travelwest" just not an easy question to answer?

 

 

Oh drat and double drat!  Why didn't I think of Lubeck?  Mum trained there as a physiotherapist when she was in her late teens.

 
Not sure which section to put this, so apologies if wrong

South West Smart applications (a membership based central purchasing body) has issued a tender for 8 years covering:

1) Content Management systems (value £20m)
2) Ticket Vending machines (value £20m)
3) Electronic Ticket Machines (value £20m)
4) Assessable Rail Information and support units (£20m)
5) Transport and Data managed Services (value £20m)

https://bidstats.uk/tenders/2025/W36/853737845

Not really sure who they are, or how it might affect anyone in South West, does anyone know more ?

 
It's a long time since I got off the train / took a look around Frome.   Anyone fancy joining me and other members of the West Wiltshire Rail User Group Committee on Thursday of next week?

 

As has already been pointed out the figures quoted are since Oct last year - not from the introduction of technology over the past umpteen years.  I somehow doubt all the things you mention have been introduced just in the past 11 months.

 

I somehow doubt recruits for the latter would be drawn from the ranks of the former,  however they do seem to be being used as a useful scapegoat for a good number of the country's shortcomings at the moment.

I'm sure Rachel from Accounts will be glad of the distraction from the consequences of her policies.

 

I have been "trialling" Kagi - it certainly sorts out a lot of the junk that normal search engines drag out with annoying regularity. Of course............. is it worth paying a subscription for ?

 
That (care homes) probably has as much to do with ability to find staff willing to do the job now that visa regulations are so much tougher that the source has dried up  and there’s little home-grown take up. After all - painting red crosses on mini-roundabouts is a much more valuable contribution to society than cleaning incontinent geriatrics, isn’t it.

 
Not one of our most participated polls - and no clear results that give a statistical bias one way or the other.    As pointed out, there IS a danger of judging others countries by our own standard and that is indeed a danger.  Firstly, all parties there may be happier with it than you might think as different does nt necessarily mean bad.   And secondly, who are we to impose our views and standards?

 
Here are the results ... with percentage of total voters selecting each option:


The thing that shouts out to me is that only one in three of you would gamble on being able to get home if your service was cancelled without alternative.   Which talks to me of the huge danger to actual traffic done by announcing that a train is cancelled, only to re-instate it later.   And the danger of having an unreliable service.  I note that our voting was skewed and in my view are members are resourceful and hardy - so that double up the sentiment to say that people will not risk the train if there's anything but a minimal change of it not being available.

It seems that most gambling is a minority interest only to members. Two specific area - investments (including premium bonds) and raffles do attract the majority of us.   I will admit to holding some premium bonds, and very sadly I haven't won a major prize this month so no million pounds to [inset life plan change] so life goes on.  And for the first time I took part in the Omaze drawn for the £3 million Cornish home and once again failed to win.  Looking at the house on Streetview and GoogleMaps, I don't actually know what we would have done with it had we won it; I suspect that the change to our daily norm would have been challenging which - I observe - is something of a norm for major prize winners.

 
DuckDuckGo is my usual choice. I've also toyed with Swisscows. At the moment it takes some coaxing to get it to come up with Coffeeshop on the first page of results.

 
One of the sleeper sets is now on its way from Reading to Penzance ready for tonight's up service.

 
Many years ago, I boarded a crowded 125 train at Paddington (a strike had been called at very short notice and everyone was rushing to get home) and was using my raised hand to support myself against the frame of the doorway into the next carriage. More people pushed onto the train and, to my horror, a young lady's breast pressed against the back of my hand. I didn't dare move my hand, lest that be misconstrued.

And on crowded Tube trains I was very careful about how I held my briefcase.

In my latter days of commuting, in the early 1990s, a harassed-looking middle-aged man scampered down the aisle pursued by an irate young lady, who returned a couple of minutes later looking satisfied, only for her to u-turn and exclaim "I haven't finished with him yet".

 

RAIB write (email)

 

I'm sure thay won't be offended ... for a guest from Germany coming to the the UK, failing to guess "Peterborough" as the final destination of a local connection from the Kings Cross / St Pancras ... I can think of many other places I would guess at with a population of around 200,000 before Peterborough, even through Peterborough has its attractions.

 
https://busandtrainuser.com/2025/09/02/swindons-33-million-new-bus-station/

This week sees a raft of bus services improvements with new Bus Service Improvement Plan funded routes in many areas as well as major changes to the TrawsCymru network and other services in Powys. I hope to sample many of these changed routes over the next few weeks but first up was a visit yesterday to see the long awaited new bus station in Swindon which opened on Sunday.

...........snip..........

 
Well, I am now on my way back passing through the pleasant rolling countryside from Lubeck!

I hope the citizens of this historic Hanseatic city will not be offended that no forum member guessed that it was my destination.

I also have a DB delay/repay form to file for my outward journey,  albeit that I was just 3 minutes short of going from a 25% refund to a 50% one. And as the fare for the entire Amsterdam to Lubeck journey was only €37-99, it's materially impacted by the postal cost!

Puts Scotrail's fares (never mind Belmond's) into perspective....