Latest news with #GreatWesternRailway
Wales Online
12 hours ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Rail disruption to hit Wales across the summer
Rail disruption to hit Wales across the summer Passengers can expect longer journeys, reduced services and some bus replacements as a result of the works Great Western services to and from south Wales will be impacted by works (Image: Matthew Horwood ) Rail works will cause weeks of disruption to services to and from south Wales. Rail improvement works will affect trains via Bristol Parkway as well as train services between Bristol and south Wales will be impacted, operator Great Western Railway said. GWR say the works in Bristol will eventually mean more rail services but that track improvements and changes to signalling are needed. Great Western services in June and July will be impacted, as well as a week of services in October. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Bristol to South Wales Monday, June 9 to Friday, June 20 and Sunday, June 29 There will be no direct trains between Bristol and south Wales on these dates due to track renewal and maintenance work. Services between Cardiff Central and Portsmouth Harbour start/terminate at Bristol Parkway Services between Cardiff Central and Taunton or Exeter St Davids start/terminate at Bristol Temple Meads Article continues below Monday, June 9 to Saturday, June 14 plus Monday, June 16 to Friday, June 20 Customers travelling between Bristol and south Wales should change at Gloucester or Cheltenham Spa, where trains will still be running to and from South Wales. Trains between London and south Wales will use an alternative route between Swindon and Newport – stopping at Gloucester instead of Bristol Parkway. A limited train service will still run between London Paddington and Bristol Parkway. Replacement buses are also planned between Bristol Parkway and Severn Tunnel Junction/Newport, but these will be limited services only. Sunday, June 15 Rail replacement services are planned to operate between Bristol Parkway and Newport or Cardiff Central on this date. Trains will still run between London Paddington and Bristol Parkway, plus between Newport and Swansea or Carmarthen. Trains between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads will also be reduced to hourly services. Sunday, June 29 Customers travelling between Bristol and south Wales can change at Gloucester or Cheltenham Spa, where trains will still be running to/from south Wales. Trains between London and south Wales will be diverted via Gloucester, not stopping at Bristol Parkway, until around 4pm. There will be a limited train service between London Paddington and Bristol Parkway. Replacement buses are also planned between Bristol Parkway and Newport until 3.30pm. Bristol Parkway to Swindon Monday, July 7 to Sunday, July 13 Trains between south Wales and London will have to use an alternative route between Bristol Parkway and Swindon due to tunnel drainage work between Bristol Parkway and Swindon. It means journey times will be around 30 minutes longer and most services for south Wales will be only run hourly rather than half-hourly. Bristol to south Wales Sunday, July 20 Track renewal and maintenance work will affect train services via the Severn Tunnel until midday, plus drainage work is also planned between Bristol Parkway and Swindon. It means trains between London and south Wales will use an alternative route between Swindon and Newport – stopping at Gloucester instead of Bristol Parkway until around 4pm. Some trains between Bristol Parkway and London Paddington will use an alternative route between Bristol Parkway and Swindon – meaning journeys will be 30 minutes longer. As an alternative, customers can still travel via Bristol Temple Meads during this period. Trains between Cardiff Central and Portsmouth Harbour or Exeter St Davids will start/terminate at Bristol Parkway instead of Cardiff Central until around 11.30am. Replacement buses are planned between Bristol Parkway and Newport. Bristol and Bath Spa Monday, October 27, to Thursday, October 30 Article continues below Rail improvement work will affect services between Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa. This week is half term in Wales. Part of the works are because Bristol Temple Meads is having a major transformation.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
LGBTQIA+ travel map launched at Gloucestershire railway stations
An illustrated travel map and exhibition is being launched to highlight local LGBTQIA+ stories and develop a sense of "visibility, belonging, and safety" across a rail project - called Exploring LGBTQIA+ Gloucestershire - was developed by Gloucestershire Community Rail Partnership (GCRP) and features 13 original portraits by Brockworth-based illustrator Sherina portraits include both historical and contemporary figures like King Edward II and Olly Alexander, who have shaped Gloucestershire's queer 2,000 maps will be distributed throughout June as part of Pride Month, with the exhibition open to the public at Cheltenham Spa Station from 31 May. GCRP executive director, Hannah McDonnell, said: "Through this map and exhibition, we're working to remove barriers, amplify underrepresented voices, and build a more inclusive transport network rooted in the communities it serves." The initiative, funded by Great Western Railway, aims to promote visibility at railway stations across the county and forms part of the national Railway 200 celebrations, by spotlighting underrepresented histories and communities within the rail McDonnell said that by sharing the stories of LGBTQIA+ people and places across Gloucestershire they hope to "inspire connection, pride and belonging, both within the community and among those who travel through it". The 13 portraits featured in the exhibition and on the map include singer and actor Olly Alexander, former chief constable of Gloucestershire Police Suzette Davenport, King Edward II and Conservative MP for Cheltenham between 1874 and 1928 Sir James included are computer scientist Alan Turing, Bee Bailey - the first openly transgender police woman on Gloucestershire Police, and Stroud-born barman Jody Dobrowski who was killed because of his sexuality in London in 2005. Project manager Piper Holmes said the LGBTQIA+ population in the UK is "steadily increasing by 3.3%" but she said recent spikes in hate crimes had "tripled in recent years".She said that through the project, the team wanted to "encourage queer people to explore their area and know that Gloucestershire can be a place for them"."Making the places listed accessible by public transport is critical as many young people are not driving these days," she also hopes the project will help build "confidence within the community to access rail industry careers".
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Minimum age for train drivers being lowered to 18 to address shortage
"If I could go back and talk to my 18 year old self, I'd force myself into the railway," said Ben Warner, a recently qualified train Warner, who works for Great Western Railway (GWR), is nearly 40 but from December could find himself surrounded by teenagers as the minimum age for train drivers has been lowered from 20 to 18, to help with driver base is Westbury, Wiltshire, and told the BBC: "Look out of the window - best office in the world."With the changes set to come into place later in the year, we take a look at what is involved with training and qualifying to become a train driver. Adam Walding is a driving standards manager with GWR - drivers in training get their final tests with explained training is usually about 10 months, including three to four months of theory - covering what everything in the cab is then another process for a few months of sitting with drivers, who will give you "direct instruction, as you progress, that instruction reduces"."You then have a five-day final driving test with somebody like myself." He said that to get into training at 18, people need to think about their transferable skills: "Start building your CV - what does a train driver do? What do I do?"My first job for example was working in a shop, I used some of the safety examples from that in my interview."Mr Walding said someone's age should not make a difference: "If someone has the right transferable skills, age shouldn't be a barrier."Meanwhile, Mr Warner said he enjoys his work, but admitted it is a "massive responsibility"."The training GWR put us through is so rigorous. My first day as a qualified driver, I felt ready to go, I felt in a really strong position to take the train where it needed to be." Mr Walding explained that young people who previously wanted to learn at 18 would have had to find another role but now the opportunity is there for them."The more colleagues we have available to us the less likelihood your train will be cancelled because of a lack of train crew," he this month, the government said 87% of cancellations made the night before a service runs were down to driver average train driver is aged 48, with 30% due to reach retirement age by 2029, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said lowering the minimum age was about "future-proofing" the railways, adding that it was "bold action to improve train services and unlock thousands of jobs".
Times
19-05-2025
- General
- Times
Kenneth Batt obituary: El Alamein trooper
It was one of the ironies of the war that many a Territorial horseman saw action in tanks before many a regular mechanical did. Trooper Kenneth Batt of the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was one of them, and at the time of his death had a claim to be the oldest veteran by date of enlistment. Kenneth (Ken) Douglas Henry Batt was born in Swindon in 1921, an only child. At 17 an apprentice at the Great Western Railway workshops in the town, and confessing to feeling rather lonely, he tried to volunteer with the RWY, the senior of the 50 and more yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army (TA), 14 of which were still horsed, the others by then having converted to armoured cars,
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
More services to operate from Worcestershire Parkway
Direct rail services to Bristol and to Edinburgh are to start operating from Worcestershire Parkway services, which begin on Sunday, will connect the station to Yorkshire, the North East, Glasgow, Dundee and the South West. There will also be two trains per hour running to Birmingham New station, at Norton, near Worcester, opened in 2020 operating to London Paddington on Great Western Railway services and a route from Cardiff to Nottingham. It was the first station to open in the county for more than 100 years. The introduction of the new services "marks a huge milestone for Worcestershire Parkway and rail users across the county", Worcestershire County Council said. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
