I wonder if GWR might have been more agreeable if the Welsh Assembly pushed for and contributed to electrification of Filton Bank into Temple Meads?

I think you are a little optimistic about the prospect for traffic for Bristol beyond Gt Malvern **snip**

New bridge will 'solve decades-long problem'


Residents have told the BBC they have been "scraped by lorries" and "whacked by wing mirrors" using Town Bridge - Image © Bradford-on-Avon Town Council

A new bridge, costing about £440,000, will make a town centre "safer for pedestrians and cyclists and solve a "decades-long problem", council chiefs say.

Under the plans, a footbridge will be built in the centre of Bradford-on-Avon to offer an alternative route to Town Bridge, where pedestrians have reported being scraped by lorries and hit by wing mirrors.

Wiltshire Council has now secured about £50,000 for the bridge's design and business case.

The town's mayor Jack Vittles said the new route could solve a "decades-long problem", adding if you are using a pushchair or using a wheelchair, the current bridge is "borderline unusable".

Councillor Martin Smith, cabinet member for highways, said: "We know that crossing the river can be particularly challenging at busy times, and concerns have been raised locally about pedestrian safety on the Town Bridge, especially for those walking close to traffic. A new pedestrian and cycling bridge would provide a much safer alternative route, helping people to avoid traffic, encouraging more active travel and improving everyday journeys around the town," he added.

Wiltshire Council said the bridge will connect Bridge Street on the south side to Bridge Yard on the north.

A draft four-year plan has been submitted by the council to Active Travel England (ATE), which includes allocating more than £440,000 for the bridge until 2030. The initial £50,000, which has been approved by ATE, could mean the design is submitted within the next year.

Vittles said the current bridge "puts people off" going into the town centre. "We've consulted on this for a number of years...and there's a real need and a desire for this," he added.

It has just struck me. "They" (Treasury who control everything, including bankrolling the Scottish government's deficit) can allow expenditure to electrify the rail connections from Edinburgh to Galashiels (pop. 10,060) and Tweedbank (pop. 2,101), but not the rail connections from Exeter (pop.138,399) Plymouth (277,695), Gloucester (pop. 132,416), Cheltenham (pop. 118,836), Oxford (pop. 166,034, nearest connection just 10 miles away), Worcester (pop.103,872) to the national network, never mind that small station at Temple Meads.

Tell me again about how all the money stays in the south.....

In terms of road crossings, on the GWML there's the terrible twosome at Steventon, and on the line to Oxford there's an 'Authorised user only one with a not-particularly-helpful road arrangement at either side - recorded on a Google Streetview from 2011 with a sort of vehicular dance in progress and which can't fill anyone that sees the image with much reassurance.  c. 2016 it received a pair of gantries at either side but I don't know what those were for. (Streetview link below shows the most recent image...)

Mark

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qna9Cq2HHiaDtV9E8

What will stop is tax payers money paying the bubbly and canopies at the share holders meeting  Grin

The Cowley branch is set to reopen as a result of the multi-billion-pound EIT facility being developed at Oxford Science Park. The project is expected to create up to 7,000 jobs, and EIT has also helped fund the reopening.

Interestingly, the push for the scheme came from the Treasury rather than the Department for Transport. The DfT had previously stated that there was no further funding available for rail improvements, so the announcement of the reopening came as a surprise to many industry observers. I suspect there was a conversation between Ellison and the Government regarding transport links to Oxford Science Park, given the scale of the investment being made there and whether those investments would continue.

But I agree that the line to Marchwood line should be an ideal candidate to reopen given the housing growth in that area and the difficult of traveling by car/bus to Southampton.

Disabled woman 'forced' to use stairs on Megabus


The megabus service at Bristol Airport has one row of accessible seats behind the driver

A woman with mobility issues said she was told she had to climb up the stairs on a bus because the driver did not want anyone to sit near him.

Jenny Rowe, 77, was getting a Megabus coach from Bristol Airport to Wellington, Somerset, after a cruise holiday. She has mobility issues, including problems with her spine, and has had a hip operation.

The coaches have a single row of seats behind the driver, with all other seats up a flight of stairs. Rowe said the driver told her to sit upstairs or "get off", which was an "awful" experience that ruined her holiday.

The company has apologised and said it would refund her ticket.

Rowe struggles to walk, which led to airport staff taking her by wheelchair from the terminal right to the bus stop. "I paid for my ticket and as I went to get on the bus I said: 'Can I get on to the seats behind the driver?' He said: 'No, I don't have anybody talking to me, I'm not having it. You either go up those stairs or you get off'. I can't do stairs. It's so painful to do stairs. I got to the top, absolutely in tears."

Rowe, from Wellington in Somerset, added: "Everybody on the bus was looking at me, I felt like I was two inches high."

Jet Gates, a disability campaigner said Rowe's story is "heartbreaking".  "We see it so much - disabled people being in situations where they feel humiliated and treated like a piece of luggage," Gates added. She said the situation was "completely unacceptable" and there was a reason the seats exist on the bus. "It puts her in a situation where she's severely vulnerable," Gates said. "It's 2026, we need to stop treating disabled people like this, we are humans. That is the main element to take away from this. There is more empathy to be had."

A spokesperson for Megabus Falcon, which runs the Plymouth-bound service, said: "We are very sorry for the level of service this customer received during her journey. It's clear that the service she received on this occasion did not meet our usual standards. We are addressing the issue privately with the driver involved as well as reinforcing among all employees our high expectations around customer service and, in particular, supporting customers with additional mobility requirements."

Spitfire crash death was accident, Oxfordshire coroner rules


The Spitfire was attempting to take off from Enstone Airfield near Chipping Norton - Image © AAIB

A former commercial pilot died after losing control of a replica Spitfire during takeoff, an inquest has found.

Peter Hughes, 71, died when the plane crashed and caught fire at Enstone Airfield near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire on 28 July 2024.

At an inquest earlier this week, a jury inquest at Oxford Coroner's Court ruled Hughes' death had been an accident caused by the ensuing fire. The hearing found that the plane had crashed after losing control soon after it had taken off, with the reason for this not being ascertained.

Hughes had been the only passenger in the model Spitfire, and no one else was injured in the incident.

The replica of the Second World War fighter plane had been built in 2013.

An investigation by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) concluded last year that the plane had pivoted to the left during takeoff, before flipping over and crashing. It found no technical defects which would have affected the controllability of the aircraft.

The AAIB report said CCTV and witness reports showed the aircraft "pitched up sharply and then rolled rapidly to the left" towards the edge of the runway. The left wingtip struck the the ground and the plane flipped over and caught fire, fatally injuring Hughes. The report said "no definitive cause" was established for the loss of control.

In a statement released after his crash, Hughes' family said they were "devastated" by his death. "Pete was an extremely good man who was deeply generous in so many ways; his love, his time, energy and spirit, and was an integral part of the numerous communities that he held dear," the family added.

The crash was the second involving a replica Spitfire from the airfield within 10 months. In 2023 Trevor Bailey, 68, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, died flying a replica Spitfire near Enstone.

Who designed a round room with two great pillars in the middle of the presentation area

Alexander also clarified on the BBC that nationalisation won't bring lower fares, given the amount of taxpayer subsidy still being ploughed into the railways.

Motability withdraws compulsory black boxes after criticism from drivers

Motability drivers will no longer need to have a black box fitted to their vehicles following criticism from users affected by the rule changes.

The Motability scheme - where certain disability benefits can be exchanged for a lease on a vehicle - had made the black boxes compulsory for new leaseholders, and all drivers aged under 30, in April.

Motability boss Andrew Miller said the "Drive Smart" programme was introduced to help reduce accidents and manage insurance costs, but had been paused amid concerns and "anxiety" from users. He said drivers reported the app was inconsistent, did not understand their driving adaptations and that the rules and guidelines were confusing and restrictive.

The black boxes were designed to track and regularly rate a user's driving habits, such as speed and braking, where repeated poor ratings could have seen drivers removed from the Motability scheme altogether.

Now those who were enrolled with the Drive Smart programme will be taken off it from 22 May, Motability said.

The changes had been criticised by actor and disability rights campaigner Keron Day, who thanked Motability bosses for "recognising the seriousness of the issues for disabled people's lives."

Day, who appeared in the hit Netflix show Sex Education, has cerebral palsy and uses a specially adapted wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV). The car has a steering aid and indicators on the floor, as well as buttons for lights, wipers, gears and the handbrake.

He campaigned alongside West Cornwall MP Andrew George to reverse the decision for compulsory black boxes. The pair met Motability bosses to discuss the issue last week.

Motability CEO Andrew Miller said: "Drive Smart was introduced to help reduce accidents, improve driving and, in turn, manage insurance costs, while keeping all the scheme's insurance features in place. But we have listened carefully to customer feedback and recognise that the experience was not where it needed to be. That is why we have decided to pause Drive Smart while we work with customers to understand how it can be improved."

Black boxes monitor driving habits and can provide a weekly rating graded using a traffic light colour scheme. A green rating could mean cheaper insurance, but more than four red ratings over a period of 12 months could see drivers removed from the Motability scheme.

George and Day had criticised Motability for imposing an "invasive telematics tracking technology" without proper consultation or adequate safeguards in place. George said: "I must congratulate Motability CEOs for listening and being prepared to change policy when confronted with the impact this scheme has had on thousands of disabled people. Keron and I are keen that they make some major changes before deciding how they will better manage the difficult insurance challenges faced by the scheme."

Motability said it would continue to review the programme and was also creating a new customer panel to allow users to help shape how Drive Smart develops.

Is it me or does this conflate two separate issues?