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I lived in Slough mid 95 to mid 96. I remember very clearly that Monday to Friday there were 4 westbound HST calls - 0700 there was a Swansea service, 0830 there was a Bristol TM service, 0846 there was a Cardiff Central service and finally a 10:00 Plymouth (later curtailed to Exeter SD) via...

From what I remember in the early 80's I recall Bletchley was numbered platforms 3 to 8 which at some point were renumbered 1 to 6 - I'm not sure when it exactly happened

It was indeed 1992 when the Citizens Charter came in that "formal" compensation came in - you used to get a form to complete from any ticket office - if I recall correctly it was in triplicate. You completed it and handed it in at any ticket office on the network together with your tickets. As...

OK - I didn't want this to become an RTVs are archaic thread - I get that for many; but just to be clear we organise street sleepouts and as an example one colleague was desperate to participate, support and experience what the homeless go through. To join us would have cost him about £100...

And whilst I appreciate it is a smaller proportion than request cash and that you may wish to defend colleagues it is a valid method of payment. The reason I request RTVs is irrelevant but for the record I am the trustee of a charity dealing with mental health and homeless issues - I donate...

Not sure if this is the right area - please move if necessary. I have just had the most ridiculous response ever from Customer Relations at West Midlands Trains. I split my time between South Yorkshire and Northants - in Northants my nearest station is Long Buckby (LBK) which in what seems...

A fascinating debate on Castlethorpe that takes me way back in my childhood. We moved to Yardley Gobion one of the villages close by - about 3.5 miles in early 1978 and I remember there was a campaign and petition to re-open Castlethorpe then, which I seem to remember my parents signing. Times...

I believe Bletchley was renumbered from platforms 3 - 8 to platforms 1 - 6. Not sure when this occurred - I believe the "original" platforms 1 & 2 were used for Oxford bound services but happy to be corrected. I recall in the 1980's pre Milton Keynes Central that InterCity services used...

I lived in Scotland 1986 -94 and as a student worked with Strathtay and was very close to the Dundee depot manager and the then Commercial Manager for Strathtay - their views on SBG management were very interesting to say the least and the lethargy they showed. With regard to Glasgow I read...

And to be fair to TPE they'll tell them by 22:00 tonight so no liability - as Del Boy would say "cushty"

Killingworth is absolutely right here - with winter approaching I tested it out Wednesday/Thursday between Sheffield and Manchester - no way I'm returning to the train this winter and I can't be the only one. TPE is an absolute basket case of an operator - one can't help but wonder if this was...

Today must be an all time low for TPE South; no trains have operated from Manchester to Sheffield for TPE since 06:15 and none are expected until 21:18 at the earliest. Surely this disgusting level of service can't go on. So for the first time in 3 years, having once been a regular I gave TPE...

Pre-Covid I was one of the regulars on TPE South - buying 3 1st class returns a week - the service was to be honest poor back then - often short formed and eastbound always late because of poor performance with the Northern stopper through the Hope Valley. Today for the first time in nearly 3...

Been on HT a few times on the early southbound service; choice has been between a bacon roll or sausage roll with tea or coffee

I remember one of my first InterCity 125 journeys back in 1983 from Kings Cross up to Dundee, when the 13:00 departure was the only one that made calls through Fife the pronunciation of both Kirkcaldy and Leuchars from the first guard was quite something! Really felt for him as he struggled and...

I grew up in the Milton Keynes area from the late 70's to mid 80's and others may comment further but I believe MKC was very late in opening because of a funding row between the then very financially stretched British Rail and the Milton Keynes Development Corporation - BR did not see the need...

I would just like to thank those who have replied, particularly the comprehensive reply from @RT4038 - I think I had read somewhere that United Counties (UCOC) had for some reason not been able to provide a service. I am gobsmacked (but this is my own ignorance of the era) that UCOC struggled...

Apologies if this has already been discussed but I have been curious for the best part of 40 years about why the Bletchley to Bedford line survived. I spent time growing up in MK late 70's to mid 80's and was always fascinated by the line to Bedford but could never work out why that bit...

Some interesting debates and comments but I really don't see how rail usage will go back to pre-pandemic levels quickly. Finance Directors (and I sued to be one) will have pocketed the savings on business travel and although it will return somewhat no way can I see budgets being anywhere near...

What a great thread - as I am rapidly approaching 50 this really takes me back to my teenage years in Scotland. After my parents split and I moved up to Scotland with my father we lived up in Caithness where the Highland Scottish Ailsas were all based - there were 9 of the original Fife...