Well, that's all water under the bridge now. 

Following up "Midwinter Lull" On This Day - I have noted on our disruption map "nothing to report" a couple of times in recent days, and JourneyCheck reporting merely 7 lifts out of action.   This morning, all we have is a three car diagram on the Reading to Basingstoke reduced to two cars - hardly the end of the earth. Nothing on the Looe line, I note - back in action, or gone so long it doesn't even make JourneyCheck?

Man in court after bus driver taken to hospital


The incident happened at Aberdeen Bus Station on Wednesday

A man has appeared in court charged after a Stagecoach bus driver was taken to hospital following an incident at Aberdeen Bus Station.

Police Scotland said officers were called to reports of an assault on a bus at the station on Wednesday morning.

Robert Whyte, aged 45 of Aberdeen, faces charges including assault to injury and permanent disfigurement and threatening or abusing behaviour.

He made no plea at the city's sheriff court, was committed for further examination and remanded in custody.

Flooding causes disruption at Glasgow Central Station



Glasgow Central Station's low-level platform is likely to remain closed for the rest of the day due to flooding.

Pictures from the scene show several inches of water in the corridor with the automatic ticket gates, sandbags next to doorways and flooding on Argyle Street.

Network Rail Scotland said trains can still run through platforms 16 and 17 at the station, but they are not stopping.

Trains are still calling at Anderston and Argyle Street as normal and anyone travelling is urged to use those stations instead.


The low-level line is likely to remain closed for the rest of Thursday


There is also flooding outside the station on Argyle Street

In a post on social media, Network Rail Scotland said: "Glasgow Central low-level is likely to remain closed for the rest of the day, though trains are still running on the Argyle Line, calling at other stations. We're on site with Scottish Water and other partners to establish the cause.

A spokesperson for the water company said they were responding to a burst water main at Argyle Street which is causing a loss of water supply for some customers in the area. "Our teams are on-site to isolate the damaged section of main and assess the required repair," the spokesperson added.

They are liaising with Network Rail to restore the station to "normal conditions" as soon as possible.

Hoarwithy family 'lucky' to be out when landslip hit


The landslip happened on Friday evening, one of the property owners said

A homeowner whose house was partially destroyed by a landslip said she felt lucky her family were out when it happened.

The slip in Hoarwithy, Hereford, at about 21:00 GMT last Friday, damaged two properties in total.

One of the affected owners, Suzanne, said she was still trying to make sense of what had happened. "Every time I come out here I end up crying," she said.

Herefordshire Council said it was awaiting the results of a survey of a nearby rock face to see whether the road adjacent to the properties could safely reopen. "In the meantime, we ask all motorists and residents to respect the road closure and follow the diversions that have been put in place," a spokesperson said.

Suzanne said a lorry driver was the first to notice an electrical cable was down and alert their neighbours, who called emergency services. But the end wall of her house was taken out, leaving her in shock.

"They secured the property as best they could to keep things safe and that's been it really since Friday," she said. "We're just trying to make sense of a new normal for us as a family and where we go from here, because obviously it's going to be a really long time to put this right."

The second property, Withy Cottage, has been undergoing building work, said ward councillor David Davis, who has visited the site to speak to those affected. He explained a previous landslip further up the road just over a year ago had caused the route to shut for months.

(BBC article continues)

Delivery driver who hit Cumbria train spared jail

(Click on the above link to view this 12 seconds BBC video news clip)

No-one was injured in the crash, which happened at a level crossing in September

A delivery driver who crashed into a train at a level crossing has been spared jail.

William Backhouse had previously admitted dangerous driving and endangering the safety of people travelling on a railway.

The 30-year-old was delivering parcels in Braystones, near Egremont, Cumbria, on 13 September when he crossed the railway without following the right protocol. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

CCTV footage shows the front of his van being struck by a train travelling southbound at 49mph (79kph). No-one was injured but the line was closed for several hours.

Backhouse, who lived in Carlisle at the time but later moved to Bury St Edmunds, must comply with a mental health treatment requirement for 12 months and pay £1,500 compensation.


The level crossing crash in Braystones caused delays for hours

A plea hearing in January heard Backhouse had opened the level crossing gates by hand without ringing the signaller to seek permission to cross.

The train was carrying 10 passengers at the time and the driver managed to hit the emergency brakes.

Sentencing was moved to Ipswich Magistrates' Court because Backhouse had moved from Cumbria.

PC Stewart Simpson, of British Transport Police, said there was "never an excuse for ignoring safety protocols" at crossings. "Backhouse's careless actions and wanton disregard for safety put his own life and the lives of everyone on the train at risk," Stewart said. "We will continue to take action against those who try to beat the system or wilfully misuse level crossings."

Network Rail, which manages the railway, said the crash had cost the taxpayer thousands of pounds.

Clare Waller, the company's route director for the North West, said: "Everyone involved was lucky to escape injury. We will continue to work with our partners to manage level crossings as safely as possible."

... and, from a plaque on the wall at another of my delivery addresses:

                     Here, on 14 October 1782

                           nothing happened


 

15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58

15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58 will be delayed between Trowbridge and Westbury and is expected to be 10 minutes late.
This is due to a fault on this train.

Westmorland and Furness Council say 'Keep sorting recycling' despite bin lorry mixing


Residents in parts of Cumbria are concerned their sorted recycling is being mixed into bin lorries

Residents hitting out at their council for mixing separated waste into bin lorries have been told to keep recycling.

Westmorland and Furness Council is urging people to continue to separate their rubbish, despite people reporting bins being mixed into the same wagon when collected.

Angela Jones, director for thriving places at the Liberal Democrat-led authority, admitted some older lorries had a single compartment, meaning recycling is thrown in together. She said: "I just want to give reassurance that all of that recycling is sorted, it goes to be separated from general waste and what we do ask people to do, is to please continue to separate it, because it does reduce the contamination."

Jones said the council was in the process of changing how it deals with waste and insisted there were only "a small number" of bin lorries with a single compartment. Most of them had two sections to keep paper separated from plastic, glass and aluminium, she added.

The issue was highlighted as part of a day of coverage across the BBC in England, which is taking a closer look at what happens to the rubbish we all create.

According to government figures, recycling rates across the Westmorland and Furness area are at 53% - above the England average of 42%. "In terms of what you put out on your doorstep, in terms of the recycling materials, most of that is fully recycled," Jones told BBC Radio Cumbria. "There is some small amount of wastage because of contamination."

However, the area has the eighth highest amount of household waste thrown away per person. The most recent figures available show people living in the local authority area threw away 460.2kg in a year. The highest figure was 592.8kg in the Isles of Scilly.

The council said people putting recycling materials into non-recycling waste was to blame.

Jones said the authority spent £30m a year in dealing with bin collections. She added non-recyclable household waste was diverted away from landfill and made into fuel. "We do pretty well here in Cumbria for recycling," she added.

Sharp's Brewery to close with loss of 50 jobs


Molson Coors said 50 jobs would be lost at Sharp's Brewery

A Cornish brewery is set to close with the loss of 50 jobs.

The US brewing firm Molson Coors said it was proposing to shut Sharp's Brewery in Rock by the end of the year because the site was "no longer financially sustainable".

Managing director Simon Kerry said 200 staff would be made redundant across Molson Coors and 50 would be staff at the Rock brewery.

Kerry said the firm was in the process of exploring a number of alternative production routes, including the possibility of producing Sharp's brands in partnership. He said it "has not been an easy decision" to make and the Sharp's team at Rock had been "an exceptional and committed team who take such huge pride in their craft".

In a statement, Molson Coors said it had invested more than £20m in Sharp's Brewery since it acquired it in 2011 to expand capacity, upgrade equipment and strengthen the Sharp's portfolio.

Kerry said: "We have invested significantly in the site and the Sharp's brands over that time and have taken every step we can to try and avoid this outcome. However, the site is no longer financially sustainable as part of our national production network. Our focus now is on supporting our Rock-based colleagues in every way we can throughout this process."

(BBC article continues)

I never understand the obsession with making it suitable for 5car trains, not 6car.   Especially as the rumours are that Project Churchward (or whatever the class 158, 165, 166 diesel unit replacement is now called) is likely to be 3car suburban units and 5car regional units.   The last I heard was going to be no 2car units.

So if the suburban trains are going to be 3car, or multiples (6, 9 etc) why make the platforms 5car.   

My understanding is that stations like Parson Street & Bedminster were rebuilt in 1930s with platforms over 200m long (although part is now not used) so why have some platforms only about 125m long, not nearer 145m

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25% ! An absolutely splendid increase in capacity. Indeed shorter trains could be used and STILL  provide "a useful increase in seating capacity".

One of Cornwall's best known and biggest breweries is set to close.

Canadian-American owner Molson Coors Beverage Company has announced that it is looking to close Sharp's Brewery in Rock and has now entered consultation with staff.

The brewery is known as the home of Doom Bar which has been a staple beer at pubs, restaurants and supermarkets up and down the country for years and is the UK's best-selling cask ale.

No of course not. Plans are probably underway to "increase capacity" which is railway code for reducing legroom and tables

I attended the Portishead Railway Group (PRG) AGM last evening.

It was confirmed that the current plan is to run trains from Portishead through to Henbury, and that Pill and Portishead will be able to accommodate 5-car trains.

Plans for a new rail service in Wiltshire and Somerset could derail, unless crucial funding can be found in the coming weeks.

Go-op Co-operative have plans to "compete with Great Western Railway" and offer more stops at stations such as Taunton, Weston-super-Mare, Westbury, Swindon and Frome through use of diesel rolling stock.

The company needs to raise £3.6m by May 2026 to make their plans a reality - but have been unable to reach their target.

Go-op operations director Alex Lawrie said there is "one last chance to make this happen in this decade" and added the opportunity "is available for only a matter of weeks" before support from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is withdrawn.

When plans for the new service were approved last year, the ORR said the decision created the"opportunity to bring the first co-cooperatively owned train service and the first regional open access service in the UK".

But since then, Lawrie claims investors "large and small" say "factors outside Go-op's control are making it impossible for them to commit to the investment that is required."

Lawrie added: "People have a right to know why this such a struggle.

"Regardless of the outcome of this particular contract, Go-op will continue to work towards public transport that is accountable to its users; and will explore more innovative approaches to mobilising investment in the Taunton-Swindon corridor."