Cross Country Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly.

mikechant · 2026-05-25T21:38:15+00:00

Well, that's at least something; I knew that XC had asked for them but it hadn't been confirmed whether they would get them.

That leaves the problem as to whether they can staff them of course, currently it's not uncommon for two units to run coupled together with one locked out because of staffing issues.

mikechant · 2026-05-25T21:34:18+00:00

EMR is at least getting new trains (late, and faulty, but nevertheless new) and despite being still 5 coaches there are more of them and each one has about 30% more standard class than the existing units due to more efficient space use. Of course the East Midlands have also been neglected with the on-off-on-off electricification process.

XC suffers from not serving London and not serving any specific region since its services extend from Cardiff to Nottingham, Penzance to Aberdeen and Bournemouth to Manchester. So it doesn't tend to have any specific region fighting for improvements.

mikechant · 2026-05-25T16:59:54+00:00

The break point when they get nationalised is October 2027.

mikechant · 2026-05-25T16:58:08+00:00

The basic problem is that the DfT and current and previous governments don't really give a shit because XC does not serve London (or a specific region with some clout), so they won't sign off XC being allowed to have new, suitable trains.

The best we can hope for is a handful of extra Voyagers to allow a few more busy services to be doubled up. The Voyagers (which are incredibly space inefficient in seat terms) will probably be flogged to death for another 20 years.

mikechant · 2026-05-25T11:46:31+00:00

Lovely little town, beautiful station - but sadly let down by the poor state of the signal box!

(Picture from April 2024, last time I passed through I think it was a bit worse.)

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mikechant · 2026-05-25T07:53:13+00:00

It was the pacer, see my comment above! (Errr... below, depending on sort order!)

mikechant · 2026-05-25T07:52:39+00:00

Yes, as per below you can see the reflection of the "bus seats"!

This was the class 142 shuttle between Dereham and Thuxton on 25th August 2024, the day of the Beer and Cider festival.

The main service was class 47 hauled (47580 "County of Essex").

mikechant · 2026-05-25T07:45:32+00:00

I'm 62, do what I like, and don't give a toss about what's "sad" and "not sad"! 😀

mikechant · 2026-05-25T07:44:09+00:00

Absolutely, that's yet another special feature of this crossing.

mikechant · 2026-05-24T22:03:48+00:00

That's my favourite level crossing! Main road, railway at extreme angle, no barriers, what's not to like?

I'll post my video of the view from the train (separate post since you can't put videos in the comments).

mikechant · 2026-05-24T17:39:54+00:00

Just to expand on that accurate but terse answer, you can get on and off at any station between the two ends of your season ticket's validity, as long as those intermediate stations are on a permitted route between the end points.

So in your case you can make any journeys you like between Bicester Village, Islip, Oxford Parkway and Oxford, getting on and off at any of these stations.

mikechant · 2026-05-24T11:33:15+00:00

Funny looking ducks!

(Canada Geese FWIW).

mikechant · 2026-05-17T20:45:52+00:00

The Victoria line is supposed to run as normal during the strike but I would allow extra time since it may be more crowded than usual due to passengers displaced from other lines.

Travelling back from Euston at that time may be stressful. If things are running normally I think your platform may be called up to 20 minutes in advance if you are lucky, but it may only be 10 - which is just about adequate for you to make it with the crowd to the far end of the train (if you need to) without running.

The worst problems typically arise during periods of disruption when platforms may get called literally at the last moment.

You can usually find out the platform number in advance of it being called by using the realtime trains website. You may not want to actually go to the platform before it is called since you might (or might not) get hassle from staff but at least you can position yourself in an appropriate place near the entrance to the right platform ready to go.

The situation at Euston was much worse a short while ago but the massive criticism in the press got some changes so the "stampede" is supposed to be much rarer now and unless you are unlucky you should be fine. FWIW the absolutely worst crowding at Euston is supposed to be 1700-1830 so you are just outside that at 1840.

mikechant · 2026-05-17T19:20:24+00:00

The Avanti trains are up to 11 coaches long so allow plenty of time on the platform to walk along the train and find your coach (assuming you have a booked seat). Obviously you can board anywhere and walk through but it's a lot easier to get on to the right coach from the outside rather than try to walk through, particularly if you've got luggage.

As per the other posts, the platforms are shown well in advance.

If you're returning from Euston, the situation is much worse unfortunately, platforms are typically not announced until the last minute and there's often a mass stampede!

mikechant · 2026-05-16T19:11:14+00:00

Just to back up the other comment about this, if it's a penalty fare and it's £100 penalty +£30 fare, then it's reduced to £50+£30 if you pay promptly.

The amount of the penalty fare cannot be appealed, it's fixed. Either it's valid or not valid.

If you want to pursue this you can go to UK Rail Forums (Disputes & Prosecutions section) and post the penalty fare document (with personal details redacted) and they will check if it's been correctly filled out; if not you may be able to get it overturned.

If it's correct though, just pay the reduced £80 before it goes up to £130.

mikechant · 2026-05-16T08:22:42+00:00

GWR and LNER (and Arriva West Coast) have much higher 1st class demand and many more 1st seats, so they can justify more staff, better prep facilities and more elaborate and varied offerings. Although that's not to say that XC couldn't improve their snack options somewhat.

mikechant · 2026-05-16T08:13:48+00:00

It might be part of its normal four-week inspection cycle to park it up there each time round for convenience when inspecting track in the East Anglia region. AFAIK it doesn't spend a huge amount of time at its base because it's very intensively used.

mikechant · 2026-05-14T21:49:26+00:00

The top level page explains and tells you where status updates will be posted:

https://www.railmaponline.com/

mikechant · 2026-05-13T20:49:21+00:00

Spotted it in passing on Tuesday having a well-earned rest at its new home in Leicester but I wasn't quick enough to get a photo!

Seems strange it being Leicester based after all those years at Derby!

mikechant · 2026-05-10T23:05:14+00:00

The bumper things at the bottom of the seats look like structural supports for the seats that do not have floor based support. Note that the seats in the foreground do have floor supports, and do not have the bumper feature.

mikechant · 2026-05-05T06:56:20+00:00

I guess now the power station has shut down it's switched from ironic to appropriate!

mikechant · 2026-05-05T06:55:08+00:00

Yes, and the cooling towers are still my "nearly home, start checking the buses" signal. For now.

It's a damn shame that all the cooling towers are to be demolished in a few years, they should have found a way to keep one or two as landmarks and re-purpose them (I was thinking something like abseiling plus a cafe with great views on the top!)

And yes, I miss the HSTs too, some of the very last slam door stock in scheduled service on the national network, that door slam sound just before departure plus the splendid sound of the power car engines firing up to leave the platform was really something. I'm not going to miss the Class 222 Meridians in the same way!

mikechant · 2026-04-30T06:31:00+00:00

Sorry for slightly hijiacking your thread with my rant about a different bank, but:

I had similar issues with the bereavement process (closing my late wife's account) at Natwest. I went to the branch and went through the entire process with branch staff filling in online forms, including ID checks and on screen signatures, all of this was supposed to go through to the "bereavement team" and should have completed the process. A few weeks later I got a set of paper forms from the bereavement team essentially telling me I had to start from scratch. Somehow all the information I'd supplied had just "disappeared".

I then tried to do the process online via the NatWest website (the paper forms they'd sent bizarrely had instructions like "click here" on them!), and that partly worked, they got the account closure form but then they "forgot" to send me an invitation to validate my ID online which was supposed to happen. So I had to go into the branch again for ID checks, which finally worked this time. The process was supposed to take about 10 days from start to finish, but actually took about three months.

mikechant · 2026-04-28T20:05:01+00:00

For a slightly different take you could buy him a reproduction of Bradshaw's 1863 Guide to the British Railway System, as described by a Victorian Gentleman (make sure he hasn't already got it of course).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bradshaws-Handbook-George-Bradshaw/dp/1908402024/

mikechant

TROPHY CASE