Saying that though I am just 51 and my eyes have gotten much worse in the past 12 months

Tamar crossing charges 'critical' for commuters


Regular travellers with a Tamar Tag pay discount crossing fees

MPs are calling for a rethink to a proposed 150% increase in the monthly fee for the discounted toll and ferry scheme over the Tamar.

The proposal would see the Tamar Tag admin cost rise from 80 pence to £2 a month for the service which costs between £15m and 18m a year to run.

South East Cornwall MP Anna Gelderd said the increase proposed by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee would affect "predominantly local people" and wanted to see them pay cheaper tolls.

Speaking ahead of a debate about the proposal at Plymouth City Council on Monday 12 January she said a solution needed to consider "critical growth" in Devon and Cornwall.

Gelderd is one of three Labour MPs calling for a rethink and said constituents told her "this is critical" for them.

The proposal came seven months after toll fees went up to plug a hole in finances.

The committee said it proposed the changes as it needed to maintain a "prudent reserve" of £3m.

Campaigners said the crossing was crucial for people who cross the river for work, education and appointments at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

The committee told the MPs it rejected other options including reducing the TSG discount, increasing the toll or reducing the number of ferries or toll booths.

Co-chair Andrew Long said the Tamar Crossings Company had to cover the bridge and ferry costs as they do not get funded by either Plymouth City Council or Cornwall Council and the Department of Transport does not contribute to the bridge's maintenance.

He called on the councils and central government to "step up" and support the service. "We've got to get the income from somewhere," he said. "At the moment the only way of getting through doing that is charging tolls."

He added the public will be able to submit questions about the proposals at this month's meeting when councillors would be "looking at all the costs, all the income".

Storm Goretti likely to bring heavy snow leading to disruption and difficult travelling conditions.

A deep area of low pressure will move across the south of the UK during Thursday and into Friday bringing a mixture of rain, snow and strong winds.

A spell of heavy snow is likely to develop over higher ground in south Wales later on Thursday before rain turns to snow more widely over parts of England and Wales during Thursday night. In some areas, 5-10 cm of snow may settle with the potential for up to 20 cm in some locations, especially over higher ground. Strong winds may lead to some drifting of snow. Rain and snow will then clear eastwards during Friday.

This system has been named by Meteo France as the strongest winds associated with Storm Goretti are most likely over northern France.

London & South East England
Buckinghamshire
Milton Keynes
Oxfordshire
West Berkshire

South West England
Bath and North East Somerset
Bristol
Gloucestershire
North Somerset
Somerset
South Gloucestershire
Swindon
Wiltshire
Wales
Blaenau Gwent
Bridgend
Caerphilly
Cardiff
Carmarthenshire
Ceredigion
Conwy
Denbighshire
Flintshire
Gwynedd
Merthyr Tydfil
Monmouthshire
Neath Port Talbot
Newport
Powys
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Swansea
Torfaen
Vale of Glamorgan
Wrexham

++

Trains delayed after wartime bomb found

Rail passengers have been warned of delays and cancellations after a suspected unexploded wartime bomb was found near a line in Birmingham.

An old mortar device was discovered at Duddeston Mill Trading Estate, on Duddeston Mill Road, Washwood Heath, at about 09:45 GMT on Tuesday.

A bomb disposal team attended and put a 100m exclusion zone in place which included the line.

There were delays and cancellations on services between Tamworth, Derby and Sheffield, and although lines later reopened, National Rail said disruption through Birmingham New Street was expected to last until 15:00 GMT.

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: "We are currently supporting West Midlands Police as they deal with an incident in Duddeston. As a result some train services are currently disrupted. We will keep you updated with information as we receive it."

Rail services resume following upgrade work


A mile-long section of track was worked on between Milton Keynes and Northampton

Trains are running once again on a stretch of railway that was upgraded over the festive period.

The Network Rail project involved four railway lines at Hanslope Junction, between Milton Keynes and Northampton, with work beginning on Christmas Eve.

Faults at the junction had caused delays in recent years, and it is hoped the work will reduce disruption for passengers using the West Coast Main Line.

All lines were reopened at 04:00 GMT on Monday.


Work was also carried out on one of the platforms at Milton Keynes Central Station

Network Rail said the junction was used by up to 500 trains a day, and the project – which cost £26m – took nearly a year of planning.

Workers replaced 130 track panels and renewed the foundation stone beneath the tracks. There were also improvements made to points, switches and crossings.

Follow-up work is scheduled for Hanslope Junction on 11 and 25 January, with trains between Milton Keynes and Northampton suspended while it takes place.

While the line was closed, other projects took place nearby.

Uneven surfaces on platform 4 at Milton Keynes Central Station were replaced. Elsewhere in Buckinghamshire, there was resurfacing work on platforms 3 and 4 at Wolverton Station to improve stepping distances between trains and the platforms.

At Roade, Northamptonshire, about 1,500m of new rail was installed.

That will include a stroll across the English Civil War battlefield of 5 July 1643, on the crest of Lansdown. I am a great fan of that, too.

Don't know if it was like that this morning; if it was, I was obviously still half asleep

The newer sections of OHLE are generally very robust.  Problems nearly always occur in the legacy OHLE from the 1990s from Paddington out as far as Heathrow.  Though that fragile area is the most important unfortunately!

Obviously the next problem will be finding enough qualified people to do these eye tests
But every three years seems a long gap for that age

One of my New Year's Day pictures showed diesel fumes - or was it steam - coming out of the pipes on an IET at Chippenham - no doubt just warming up has it come electric as far as Cocklebury Lane, and I mused sadly that it wasn't electric through to Bath, Bristol and beyond.   Seeing the problems that NR / GWR seem to have with the extra complexity of OLE, I wonder if I should be careful what I wish for.

Obviously the next problem will be finding enough qualified people to do these eye tests
But every three years seems a long gap for that age

Saying that though I am just 51 and my eyes have gotten much worse in the past 12 months

How often can I have a free NHS sight test?

If you're eligible for a free NHS sight or eye test, you can have a test every 2 years.

You may be able to have a free NHS sight test more often than every 2 years if your ophthalmic practitioner or optometrist recommends you do.

"Disruption is expected until the end of the day"

Dear Graham,

We're getting in touch to advise about current disruption in West London impacting GWR services operating between London Paddington and Reading, as well as Elizabeth Line services.  This is due to an issue with overhead wires in the Ladbroke Grove area. Network Rail teams are working quickly to repair the overhead wires and as a result, services are likely to be impacted until the end of the day.

Local stopping services between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway/Newbury will only run between Reading and Didcot Parkway/Newbury. Most of our longer distance Intercity services will continue to run between London Paddington and Reading, but may be subject to delay and some services between London Paddington and Cardiff Central will be cancelled.

For the very latest please visit our dedicated webpage at www.gwr.com/check. Delay Repay compensation is available for customers using GWR services who arrive at their destination 15 minutes or more later than scheduled, and can be claimed at www.gwr.com/delayrepay. 

We're very sorry for the disruption to passenger services today and would be grateful if you could share this information with your networks.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Best wishes,

Olivia & Ahmed

Drivers over the age of 70 will have to have their vision checked every three years, under plans to reform driving laws in Britain.
The changes are part of the government's new road safety strategy, which will be published on Wednesday.

Other proposed measures include lowering the drink-driving limit in England to match the limit in Scotland, and giving penalty points for not wearing seatbelts.

These measures were first reported in August and are expected to be confirmed in this week's strategy.

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading

Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between London Paddington and Reading fewer trains are able to run on all lines.

Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 12:00 06/01.

Damage has been found to the OLE in the Ladbroke Grove area. Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) is the name given to the overhead wires and other equipment on electrified railway lines that provides power to the trains.
-
What are we doing about it?
-
Whilst engineers are fixing the damage, our train service will have to be reduced between London Paddington and Reading.
-
The problem affects all of the four lines between London Paddington and Reading, so we are having to reduce the train service through the area to avoid congestion. Local stopping services between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway/Newbury will only run between Reading and Didcot Parkway/Newbury. Most of our longer distance Intercity services will continue to run between London Paddington and Reading, but may be subject to delay and some services between London Paddington and Cardiff Central will not run.

07:45 Westbury to Swindon due 08:34

07:45 Westbury to Swindon due 08:34 has been delayed at Westbury and is now 10 minutes late.
This is due to a points failure.