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A station that is within easy walking/cycling distance of the community that it serves, that does not provide any car parking (noting nearby Severn Tunnel Junction), is a completely reasonable idea. It is also not a new idea and there are plenty of stations on the network like this, there is no...

I asked a guard once what would happen if boarding/alighting at Dilton Marsh with a bike; the response was that they would 'make it work'. Which is a nice attitude, but I think I'd just use Westbury (or Bradford in the case of Avoncliff).

That was not my personal experience! Arrived at Eastleigh, advertised bus didn't materialise ("can't guarantee that any buses will turn up, or if they do, when", to paraphrase one staff member on the station forecourt). Told to get the next bus to Southampton Central, which unbeknownst to us was...

It's a bit out of place, being the only request stop for some distance (nearest being Thornford?). In my experience passing through at various times the train stops more often than not, but definitely not always. I suppose bringing hundreds of tonnes of machinery to a halt and then starting it...

Swindon is sometimes 'Swindon (Wilts)'; I think I have only seen this on printed tickets. Presumably to avoid confusion with the two stations named Swinton.

A city that currently has a suboptimally-located through station is Bristol. Despite the city centre growing steadily closer, people seem to constantly complain Temple Meads is out in the sticks! Historically there were schemes to build a 'Bristol Central' terminal station, too. I can't...

Modern dynamo-powered lights have capacitors sufficient to keep them illuminated for at least a little while - consider being stopped at a set of traffic lights for a minute, I for one would like to remain visible! My last bike with dynamo lights had a switch on the front light to cut power...

Regarding smoking on platforms, I personally have no issues at all with someone going to the far end of a quiet platform for a cheeky fag, which ultimately harms nobody but themselves. Certainly preferable to immediately outside a station entrance, where the letter of the law is being followed...

I used Patchway for the first time the other day. I was the only person getting off the train and the station feels very out on a limb, with the views of industrial land from the footbridge and apparently nothing else in the vicinity. The nearby suburbs seem pleasant enough, but despite being...

The general public may not choose their mode of travel based on environmental considerations, but as cars and buses go electric, diesel trains are going to seem increasingly antiquated. In Bristol many of the buses are now electric and the difference compared to a diesel bus as you pass one is...

I wonder if this might be a more cost effective (and presumably safer) solution for use in depots? Presumably less need for rapid charging, fewer issues caused by having to physically plug on, and minimal benefit from being under the wires during acceleration. Could you even just use a car...

Does the likely wider adoption of battery trains bolster the case for OLE in some locations? I gave an earlier example of the Portsmouth-Cardiff route; if batteries were likely for this route I would expect this to improve the case for putting wires up on Filton Bank, through Bath, and...

Since this unit is just a trial, does any of this matter? Can you explain why it is less impressive because the route has OLE which isn't used by the train?

I can't help but be impressed at how well the battery train trial appears to have gone for GWR. Surely the equation is changing. In my own neck of the woods, it was not long ago that I would have been absolutely on board with full electrification along the Avon Valley (Bathampton jn - Bradford...

The Romsey-Salisbury trains were advertised as being for Romsey at Romsey in the not so distant past - I have a photo somewhere. Not sure if the trains starting at Romsey going to Salisbury were advertised as such before going around the loop, but if a false destination isn't justified in that...

A guest lecturer (on a transport planning course, incidentally) once wisely said to treat any idea preceded by "why don't they just..." with scepticism.

'Straight on' may be overselling it but at Romsey the route to Eastleigh continues the relatively gently curved alignment through Romsey station, and the busier route to Southampton diverges at a sharper angle.

No reason that these trains couldn't have modular on board power systems (similar to the bimode 80x, as I understand it) which can be diesel or battery or a mix of the two, and swapped out as appropriate.

The idea that e.g. Portsmouth-Cardiff could be done with BEMUs seems entirely plausible to me, given how well battery train trials have gone and positive comments from informed members of the forum. With any luck, Filton bank, Temple Meads and the line through Bath will eventually see wires...

Sensible to allow for future provision even if pantographs aren't fitted initially. Besides, it's not unthinkable that in the life of these units there could be wires at e.g. Exeter, even if just short sections for battery charging/acceleration out of stations.