This has reminded me that engineering works in that era were planned to complete on late Sunday afternoon at which point the service restarted to meet the travel  needs of people who'd been somewhere for the weekend.

Mark

19:53 London Paddington to Hereford due 22:57 is being delayed between Worcestershire Parkway Hl and Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to congestion.
Last Updated:24/01/2025 22:12

19:45 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 22:24 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Last Updated:24/01/2025 19:10

20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 23:29 has been cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.
Last Updated:24/01/2025 21:48

22:00 Hereford to London Paddington due 01:20 will be started from Great Malvern.
This is due to a broken down train.
Last Updated:24/01/2025 20:40

My personal view is that, unless they suspend work on the platform until nearer the time that the bridge goes in, it will not take another 18 months for the platform to be completed (except for the track connection that goes with it). So it ought to be available as a bay platform to the north (EWR?) well before the bridge is complete

Great Western Rail train hits tree during Storm Eowyn

PASSENGERS heard a "massive bang" when a train travelling between Worcester and Hereford hit a tree.

The train, which left  Worcester Foregate Street at 6.34pm was delayed by half an hour, with others now also disrupted.

Charlotte Albutt, who was travelling on the train, said she heard a "massive bang" as the train hit the tree, followed by a "shudder", only two minutes into the journey.

The train came to a halt, making a "screech noise".

Initially, crews onboard told passengers that they had stopped at a red light, but then confirmed to passengers that the train had hit a tree, checks would need to be carried out, and the journey would be delayed.

Ms Albutt said she felt "frustrated" at the delay, with the train also being cold.

She added that the delay had affected her plans, with someone waiting for her at her arrival station.

On the National Rail website, the company is currently showing trains as delayed, with one delayed due to a fault on the train in front.

BMW Mini holidays being the problem, along with Network Rail having already notified all 2025 engineering works to TOCs & presumably the Government doesn't want to compensate for adding in another week's closure in August this year.
BMW only has one fortnight's holiday closure each year.

One dead and more than a million without power in Storm Éowyn

One person has died in Ireland and hundreds of thousands of homes are without power in the UK as Storm Éowyn brought record-breaking wind gusts.

A man died when a tree fell on his car in County Donegal, Gardaí (Irish police) said.  Ireland saw its strongest gusts ever recorded, and 725,000 properties there are without power.

Amber warnings remain in place in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, with millions of people urged to stay at home as gusts of 100mph (160km/h) were recorded.

One in five flights in the UK were cancelled and all trains halted in Scotland on Friday. Every school in Northern Ireland was closed as the storm damaged buildings and tore down trees.

Two red warnings were in force earlier on Friday in Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland.  Red is the most serious weather warning the Met Office can issue, meaning dangerous weather is expected and people are urged to take action to keep themselves and others safe.  There are also yellow warnings for wind, rain, snow and ice across the UK over the next few days.

Northern Ireland is in "the eye of the storm" with a real threat to life and property, First Minister Michelle O'Neill said.  The storm brought the strongest wind gusts in 27 years to Northern Ireland.  There are more than 280,000 properties without power in Northern Ireland - and the number is expected to rise, NIE Networks said.

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