A further update, from the BBC:

 
Can’t beat the traditional signaller’s duster/tea towel.

 
I think rather a high level of spit and polish right up to the end. Quite traditional, and I noted that too from the photos.

 
From the BBC

Politicians have welcomed a trial of a new hovercraft route, describing it as a major step towards improving cross-Solent travel.

The proposed service, which would connect Lee-on-the-Solent with the Isle of Wight, is being tested as part of efforts to explore faster and more flexible transport options.

The proposed route will set off from the slipway at the Hovercraft Museum and will take place on 28 June, 22 August and 5 September.

MP for Gosport, Caroline Dinenage said: "The trial could help change how local waterways are viewed."

She said: "For too long the waterways around the Gosport peninsula have been seen as obstacles, not connectors.

"The Hovertravel trials are a step in the right direction towards genuinely innovative transport solutions across the Solent.

"If the trials prove popular, and I am hopeful that they will be, we can have conversations about expanding the coverage."

The trial forms part of wider efforts to improve transport links between the mainland and the Isle of Wight, with hovercraft seen as a potential alternative to traditional ferry routes due to their speed and flexibility.

It has also been backed by Conservative for Harbourside and Town councillor Lesley Meenaghan, who said it could bring economic and tourism benefits as well as improved commuting options.

She said: "The hovercraft trial is great news for Gosport.

"Improved connectivity with the island is welcome – whether residents are visiting for a 'trip out' or commuting for work, reduced travel costs and quicker journey times will be genuinely welcome."

"My message to residents is simple – use it, because demonstrating the demand is the best way to secure this service for the future," she added.[/quote]

 
From the BBC


Using Elon Musk's near satellite broadband, you can kiss goodbye to peaceful train journeys. Web seminars/meetings/calls & streaming TV & audio - all without headphones.

"I'm on the train, dear!"

 
Surprised the lever handles were so... corrosion-free in those photos, if the box has been out of use since February 2024. Perhaps there were a variety of different metals used for signal lever handles though.

Mark

 
During the time of the works to Bridge Street, it's good to be aware that Northgate Street (i.e. past Waitrose and heading for the Guildhall)... at busy times it doesn't provide a good experience on foot.

It's still open to traffic one way northbound, closure of the pavement on the west side means that the east side (barriered) pavement is very busy indeed, while some people on foot are simply using the road. The one-way system is pushing drivers of private cars through the bus gate (bridge street being shut they cannot turn right to avoid it) - hopefully the fines ANPR has been turned off as by the time people pass the signage they have no choice but to proceed.

Mark

 

The tone of comments, II, is a real issue that worries me.   And, I know, I am a critical one and very much so at times; I feel it as I log various happenings.   I *try*, personally, to at least offer constructive criticisms, to help explain and be pragmatic, but it can get really difficult - and good news at times is no news.   

Touring "Sur le Continent" as I am at present, to the extent of boring my social media friends and making them jealous, confirms to me that some the issues we report in the UK that are frustrating and discussed exist here too. As an example, yesterday, my journeyplanner-offered connection failed and as I pulled delayed in to Amstetten, I watched the train I wanted to carry onto pulling out across the station.   And we were asked to vacate first class - very politely - after having our tickets checked.  We pointed out that they are first class passes ... and (oops!) the ticket inspector was rather apologetic at having assumed.   But there I go again - this time in Austria - picking on things which go wrong.

We had a lovely trip today and rode the Wachaubahn from Krems to Emmesdorf an der Donau ... post to follow?  Weather has been very hot and we had storms yesterday in which the sky went so dark I thought I had misread sunset (but it got light again after) and then another unbearably hot middle of the day today, broken also by a storm.  I'm new to the area so don't know if this is typical here for May ...

 

My wife presents me with that option whenever I tell her I'm going to Twickenham! 

 
Not keen on SNCF presenting passengers with a choice between 'Risk dying' or 'Pay a €200 fine'. Hope their internal investigation resolves this.

Mark

 
I meant it was reassuring for me on a forum where, sometimes rightly, the majority of comments on GWR and the British rail network are negative/critical.  YMMV.

 

I'm not sure that GWR's (or other TOCs customers) will find it "reassuring" after the last week's performance.

"Reassuring" would be hearing a plan from the industry to address the UK railways apparent inability to cope with late Spring/Summer weather, for which the trend has been getting hotter year on year for well over a decade now.

Surely we should aspire to do better, not simply seek to take solace from others problems?

 
Always reassuring to hear that the railways of mainland Europe have just the same issues as we do.  We just wouldn’t get to hear about them if it wasn’t for Stuving!

 
The Green Party's development from a "single issue" party into one that covers all aspects of governance interest is a natural one and indeed is one that is a necessity for them to be taken seriously as a national party fit to govern or to be party, perhaps, to a coalition or to meaningfully holding a balance of power - either in Westminster or in regional authorities.

The single issue of the environment - IMHO (and this whole writing is IMHO) is enormous such that for the future it dwarfs so much else, but issues such as our fiscal management, how we interact with the rest of the world and how we treat the beings of the population in which we live need to be outlined as a policy objective framework at the least.   

Policy frameworks are going to, naturally, be led by environmental concern but must take the full picture in too.  They are going to gain the trust of the electorate in getting support which would be absent if they limit themselves to only environmental issues; if the answer to questions were to be "we don't have a policy on that" then they would not get the support of more than pockets of keen voters, though (as it is) setting out a policy framework is fraught with risk too in that it alienates people who disagree with the policies chosen.   

There is an opportunity for the policies to rethink what is accepted norm of the establishment, and in some places / cases that has been done.   The fact that elements of the mainstream establishment and other who disagree too are highlighting some of the framework and being less than kind / polite in how they do so shows how serious their concern might be to oppose this new party, when perhaps what we need is a step back and ask "why" and "what would that mean" through logical discussion and argument.

From what I read and hear, aspects of the Green Party policy are to the left of where I feel comfortable. At the opposite end, there are aspects of Reform policy are to the right of where I am very uncomfortable indeed.   I welcome the chance to discuss, and I wish there was a good way of ensuring that the discussions might result in policies and implementation of policies that are good for - well - the world as a whole, and co-herent too, rather than being formed with one eye on votes, support from those (all) of us who are only partly or patchily informed rather than being best for the common good.

Enough written on politics - we are a transport forum.   But transport is key environmental issue, and one in which government takes a key role.  I was in the Netherlands at the start of the week just gone, and I am now in Austria.  I am seeing both how public transport works to get people around, and how it links up to make that getting around easy.  I am seeing largely pedertisniased areas and with plenty of cycles and scooters around as people actively move between their activities.  I'm seeing lots of school parties out and about - polite children with clearly a mix of backgrounds.  At some times we are in with the tourists, but at others certainly not and seeing and learning - the intent being in my narrowed specialist travel and transport view - of how "they do it here".  It's not only about the travel and transport - it's also about how you locate your population to be practically transportable and indeed how much you need to do so.   

I am in a town that's got a population of about a third of that of Melksham Town.  It has a main line railway station - 2 tracks, 2 platforms with fast electric trains calling 3 times in the hour - same time each hour.  The station is unstaffed, but clear and well cared for, and the ticket machine looks usable.  Lots of bikes using the trains, buses connecting from the front of the station and signage in the trains telling you dynamically of connecting buses as you arrive.

The town has a number of apartment blocks all within easy walking distance of the station - 3 or 4 stories high as might well suit a society where people don't need private powered transport.   There are footpaths, cycle ways, and much green.  But don't let me give you a picture of Utopia - it isn't; there are aspects which could do with improvement.  My train yesterday was 6 minutes late - and as a result as I arrived at my first change, I saw my five minute longer distance connection pull out. In walking around, I've yet to find a convenience store (and I must find an ATM this morning), and the centre here is historic - cobbled and difficult to negotiate mobility wheeled. We are in the only accommodation I could find which has a lift to upper floors - stairs are a struggle these days.  But the place is a tourist Mecca ... more to be written on that.  Oh - and the tourists (at least the distant ones) are NOT arriving on the trains or buses - those are being shared / used by local traffic. 

The cost model for the public transport? I don't know. The investment is there; the station modern and with lifts - and ungated with checks on some trains. 3 or 6 car trains, passenger density not terribly high at the times I / we have travelled in the region. There are intermediate halts, and one on the trains each hour will call at those on request - you press a button on the train if you want it to stop, the display and announcements (German and English) give clear directions and the timetabling of it works.  The station here is flat access, with a step extending out as the door opens to allow cycles can mobility devices access; other devices on board or at stations where the level seamless access is not implemented.

I have gone absurdly off topic here - but perhaps it's an illustration of how the transport systems are fitting in to the environment and for the quality of life of the wide variety people who use it too.  And I can't help thinking that much of that is to do with the governance and how the local and national authorities provide an environment under which such a setup has been able to come about.

 
He's joining The Telegraph.

 
Since it's him, this is a bit of a read...

Mark

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/travel-correspondent-independent-simon-calder-recollection-b2985590.html

 
The locking trays look empty so I think that S&T might have recovered these increasingly rare and valuable interlocking nibs, etc.

 
This year the "train chaos in the summer" competition has new rules: it's for single trains stuck with no electricity in for hours in the heat of the sun or overnight. And with the opening of the network to competition, non-SNCF trains can compete. Note that these reports are hard to tell apart, so this list might not be complete, just for the last week!

On Monday (25/5/26) two TGVs (one a Ouigo) to Marseille and Nice were caught by an OLE break during the afternoon, when the temperature on board shot up to "dangerous" in an hour. Passengers were allowed out to sit on the shady side after an hour - of course whether that's possible depends on the track orientation.  Both arrived about 8 hours late; several other trains were also delayed but not by headline-earning amounts.

A passenger on that Ouigo opened an emergency exit after an hour to get some air. She was issued with a €200 fine which SNCF, challenged about that, first supported and then "suspended" during internal inquiries.

On Thursday (28/5/26) SNCF announced a number of cancellations in advance of Intercités services. The explanation was that the aircon in these old Corail trains (scheduled for replacement next year) has a high failure rate. They are undergoing a planned spring maintenance campaign to help them through the summer, but of course this year the (very) hot weather has caught them with only part of the fleet done. It has also meant that aircon failure now has to be taken much more seriously than in the past.

Last evening (29/5/26) two Trenitalia services in the evening from Lyon to Paris were diverted off the LGV and then the OLE failed and they (841 passengers) were stuck for ... 10 hours, for a total delay of 14 hours. Support was provided by the gendarmes in situ, with no evacuation or rescue train. Not being able to call on SNCF resources might be relevant to that, of course.

I wonder whether in the future clued-up passengers will make sure the service they are booking will use a TGV-M - you know, the latest ones with batteries big enough to keep the aircon running or even limp to a station.

 
And there it was - gone. And all rather brutal, of course - but that's demolition.

This is the best picture I could get of the interlocking in situ, which suggests it was still doing something. But it was not to last much longer before it was dumped in a heap awaiting its booked Uber skip. And then it's all gone, near enough. You can see what scaffolding was put in - there's a protective cover around some cabinets that are staying. The others around the front of the box have all gone.

Someone was sweeping the concrete base of the shed, so I guess that's being kept. For what? I suppose it will make an extra patio - for ceremonial purposes? But we are not even 20 hours into the promised 48 hours of work, so what will they do with the rest of the time? Dunno - now, having sent the last tipper home unused, they are taking up the top layer of baulks - with some scrap still to shift. Oh well, we'll see ...

 
A north bound service failed in April 2026 on the Dutch HSL shortly after leaving Rotterdam on a long distance service. NS and Prorail arranged the use of a rescue train by cancelling another using the rolling stock released to effect passenger rescue by bridge from the failed unit across to the rescue vehicle. The rescue is documented by one of the superb NS Driver YT videographers who was driving the rescuing vehicle.

Remember that the Dutch running side is the opposite to the UK north of Rotterdam. The HSL being closed to traffic to effect the rescue operation, the rescuing vehicle travelling on the 'wrong side' tracks.

Video -

https://youtu.be/2oL_JqnA8aw?si=wK46ysC9txUYvIej

 
Has anyone got a list of the 2% of services cancelled, or could this figure largely be down to natural fluctuation for things like engineering works (which can decrease, and in some cases increase, the daily service plan)?  For example, that can be the only thing that led to Caledonian Sleeper's 0.3% increase surely?

I ask, because the next figure in the stats John D linked to, covers the whole year (April 2025 to March 2026), and shows a very marginal increase for GWR of 0.2% over April 2024 to March 2025?

 

Indeed, and those exposed, and soon to be scrapped levers, especially sad for this amateur signalman.

 
Yeah the 175s avoid the cooked sewage problem, but there is a stale urine smell on some units, probably linked to their storage.

 
Always something disturbing about signal box demolition photos, but thanks for these.

Images of the before times, showing the interior, here:

Mark

https://www.branchline.uk/fixture-report.php?id=1490

[Edit] ... but is that the same box? Just counting the levers...

 
From my email ...

 
The crew turned up long before the trains stopped last night and started being noisy. The demolition of the structure didn't start until this morning, so I wonder what was going on last night. Clearly they were putting down timber baulks over the tracks for the big mincing machines to clatter about on, hence the fleet of Collard's spoil tippers rather than a train. I'm sure I heard the characteristic sound of scaffolding - an impact driver coupled to a very long orchestral chime - of which there is no sign.

I didn't quite match the view from last time, since thew sun stopped me seeing the viewfinder, but it's close. The relay shed has indeed been flattened. But did no-one want the lever frame, or does NR just make it too difficult to arrange to recover it? Of course recovering the interlocking frame (assuming it has one) would be the real challenge.

 
Your first link: on the Green party leader's policy towards drug use, it can be instructive to reflect on Portugal's approach - decriminalising drugs, done right, and treating the issue as health-related, can kick the legs out from under the criminals who supply them. (Though I note that alcohol is legal and at 9.30 this morning there were a group of people in the local park rather the worse for wear from drink, and necking the stuff from wine bottles...)

The Guardian article, more wide ranging - but it's always good with any article to be wary of the headline and often the subheading, as these don't necessarily reflect the content - indeed they often do not, and content authors are often wearily resigned to the fact that they have not input to headlines/subheadings.

That aside, tropes that are intended to weaken the qualities that hold a society together, identify people as members of outgroups, and make them the targets of hate, these should be seen for what they are.

Mark