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A recent thread in this forum reminded me of just how good the Wrexham and Shropshire service was. The staff were always friendly and helpful, including going the extra mile when there were problems. My wife and I had a 48 hour rail journey back from northern Italy in 2010 thanks to the Iceland...

A pub discussion arose recently about the reliability of various classes of diesel loco, during which I suggested that Westerns were among the more reliable while they were in service, not really deserving their early demise. Can anyone point me to where this might have been discussed on here...

So here's a tangent but perhaps worth a thought, even if some will no doubt view it with scorn! Given that serious consideration is being given in some quarters to electrifying the Shrewsbury to Wolves route, what would be people's thoughts about re-opening the Wellington to Stafford route, thus...

I'm not sure if this is the right page for this but I wonder if anyone knows why the line from Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton and London is the SLOWEST of the five lines radiating out of this county town? The twisty and hilly route to Hereford has higher speeds along it, as do the lines to...

For some years long distance trains have been timetabled to stop a lot more regularly than they used to. A good example is Plymouth to Birmingham which used to be possible stopping only at Exeter and Bristol TM, whereas today EVERY train stops at Totnes, Newton Abbott, Exeter, Tiverton Parkway...

Now that the Eastern Arm of HS2 is no longer going ahead, what are people’s thoughts about HSUK? Some pointers … In many ways HSUK made a lot more sense than HS2 ever did, but it was widely misunderstood. While HS2 had huge resources thrown at it, HSUK was developed by a very small team, and...

Rail travel is being encouraged in many, many places, not least by Government, but how much reality is taken into account? As a local example, Radio Shropshire this morning pointed out that in the last week alone, 35 trains from Shrewsbury to Birmingham were cancelled. Overcrowding is common on...

Yesterday I wanted a paper to read on the train. My train was due to leave in 10 minutes and I had the right money available, so all seemed well. I offered this correct money to the lady who was handing out drinks, which has always been welcomed for many years, decades even, but yesterday was...

Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/railway-efficiency.224477/ A great deal is made of the amazing scenery on the Glasgow to Mallaig route, but when my wife and I travelled it in 2019 the train windows were absolutely filthy. Not just dirt from a few days, but...

Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/railway-efficiency.224477 Today's trip was from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and back, and all day long it seems that trains have been losing time throughout the route. When our train arrived back into Shrewsbury at 17.46, some 27...

I rarely use railways these days after retiring, but today I have, and little has changed since my regular usage. I remain convinced that on almost every journey there are things I see which could and should easily be improved. People are often quick to jump to the defence of poor operations...

There have been many media reports today about the Eastern leg being cancelled, but I can't find anything on this site other than confirmation of it going ahead. Does anyone know the reality? 1627737723 So is the Daily Mail wrong again...

I don’t read these pages all that often, but I have just searched in vain for relevant comments on the London to Cardiff services. I wonder if anyone could respond? I’ve just seen that Mark Langman, Network Rail’s managing director for Wales and Western, is quoted as saying “I am absolutely...

Does anyone think there may be value in the provision of faster services on existing routes? If we presume for a moment that a way can be found around the capacity constraints of the lines, then we have the following. (Please don’t read this in the context of practical proposals as we don’t have...

I wonder if it’s time for a further discussion on the Eastern Arm of HS2? The proposed journey times for HS2 from Birmingham have long been 49 minutes to both London and Leeds. However, the fastest journey time from Birmingham to London was 73 minutes some years ago, and so will be reduced by...

Please let me introduce myself. I joined this site today and have a lifelong interest in railways, although I’ve never been employed in the industry. I’ve just retired from working in transport and traffic management, but mainly with roads. My interest in railways leads me to ask two questions...