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There are lots of issues surrounding event planning. ATW ran, at considerable expense and logistical head scratching a loco hauled additional train from Wrexham General to Wembley. As an extra train reservations were mandatory so income was capped. Being a football special, it had to be 'dry'...

On the whole I don't favour North South trains. Having said that, when you consider the type of rolling stock available, 67s and MkIIIs lend themselves to long distance limited stop workings. Creating a two hourly limited stop service would give capacity on services connecting with Virgin trains...

I guess the key figure really, is the number of rail users ATW/WG/Cambrian user group expect to gain by having the additional service from Aberywstwyth (making it hourly) set against those who will decide not to travel (to travel by an alternative form of transport) rather than use the earlier...

The Welsh Government and various user groups are, as always, asking ATW train planners to work miracles squeezing more capacity out of a very stretched fleet. Within the next few years, all the morning and evening peak Shrewsbury-Birmingham services will need six coaches and something will...

My problem with all of this is it is - once again - the fault of the Welsh government and yet Arriva still get the blame for finding a solution to the problem of giving the Welsh government what they want within the constraints of the fleet.

My Dad was a doctor. He worked bloody long hours, he did weekends and nights. When he made it home after a day at work he was stressed, his mind was on other things... He did that for himself, because it was the right thing to do, and for his family.

It is a problem with political involvement in railways. I believe ATW should go back to the clock face. Operate a two hourly Holyhead Cardiff service including the fast ones and operate a two hourly Chester Birmingham service with 158s. Having deviated away from the clock face timetable and...

The Welsh Government want additional Aberystwyth services without any additional rolling stock. Train Planners have come up with the idea of removing the service from Wrexham which follows the express and making the express a stopper to release the unit. The released unit forms an additional...

Does rather make me want to vomit...

New site updated for "Compass Rail" and the old one is still up for "Compass Tours by Rail" You would be forgiven for thinking nothing had changed. The new site doesn't explicitly say the scouse pair have sold up. There is also no further information regarding the lease taken out for station...

The investigation isn't about overcrowding. It is into the suggestion that a member of the public travelled in the front cab of the train.

Quarella makes a good point. Because of various bits of engineering work passengers travelling from North Wales and Chester were directed via Shrewsbury and Birmingham to London. Computerised journey planners showed this as the most apropriate option, and in many cases the simplest with one or...

Flying Pictures spent 2 days on the SVR with Bradley Manor and four GWR coaches.

They've gone. They've been struggling for months if not longer. Aquired by West Coast Railways - I'd guess more for the mailing list than anything else. I do worry about West Coast playing Monopoly.

Full fare Standard Day Single Gwersyllt - Wrexham General/Wrexham Central is exactly £1.00. Makes it as easy as it can be to take the money. Sadly I guess it'll go up with all the others on the second.

The time involved in the shunt is minimal. With improved capacity over the single line the empty unit may be able to leave Chester later. Having said that, it's always good to have some padding in the timetable as it allows for things to go wrong, pilotman working on the single line, delays...

Don't forget Virgin went hourly at about that time. The gate figures can't be relied on. For some reason the wide gate is left open a lot now and many people just wonder through. They also go on later than they should and off earlier.

Don't get me started!

It's a shame that an unglamorous project like a flyover at Warrington would never get funding. If trains from the Helsby lines ran on what are currently the up lines at Warrington and were able to climb to a flyover at Winwick, the fasts could be kept completely separate. Virgins could whizz by...

A grand city centre terminus would be completely out of place on the outskirts of Leicester and would be out of proportion with less than 4 full length platforms behind. Again, a typically incorrect suggestion (but one often found on 15 inch lines) would be to run straight onto a turntable at...