Railways around Coventry

Hello, I'm delighted to tell you that the Severn Valley heritage railway bridge partial collapse is well on the way to reconstruction, with a lovely lady hinting that the end of next month, July, might see a reopening of that northern section. I do wish them well.

Hello Phil. I lived in Churchill Ave. down from Durbar Ave towards the Riley and remember paying a visit with others from St. Paul's to the church you mention but probably before you were playing the organ, not sure what the occasion was ? Foleshill station being our local brings back many memories of just watching the trains go through. I perhaps should not be mentioning the time when I and a couple of my mates purchased a platform ticket and boarded the train to Nuneaton !!. We then spent time watching trains go through that busier station then boarded the train back to Foleshill. Cheeky lads! On the subject of Bablake School and Saturday mornings, Thursday afternoons were Not a day Off. You were expected to report and be taking part in sports activities higher up the Coundon Road at the Sports Field or serving time at school in Detention for some form of misbehaving during the week.

Hello stpauls, Thank you for that. I viewed Bablake as the rival school. Foleshill station memories are for the Friday evenings, where pigeon trains left one after another to different parts of the country. I lived in Wyken, growing up, so Durbar Ave wasn't local to me, but I had family & friends that lived in Foleshill.

Hello, Cross-country trains are warning of possible issues from industrial action on their services, which run the direct Bournemouth services in & out of Coventry. Most of their trains are running at present. The disputes involve rest day shifts & overtime.

Hello, I'm not advertising, I'm providing option information. Those of us who travel using E tickets, bought online, I've been using Trainline, when travelling outside the West Midlands free pass area. A provider has come to my notice "Realtime Trains", that offer the lowest prices I've ever seen. A journey from Coventry Arena to Tamworth using Trainline with my railcard £15. Most trains. An identical journey with Realtime Trains, £6.30. I'm restricted to specific trains. Food for thought.

Hello, The RealtimeTrains ticketing service provider do not have their own app. So, downloading such that are advertised may be a bit like"who knows". I've never used Google Wallet, but am being advised that it's a good reliable method of secure transacting. Can anyone share advice to us all on this please. It's a bit off topic, but train tickets are a very common use of E ticketing. I haven't downloaded Google Wallet yet, but looking to do so when I know what I'm doing.

I have used Google Wallet for about 4 years and find it very convenient because it keeps all my loyalty cards as well as my debit and credit cards. I visited Sweden last week and found many places had no cash facility. I did not bother to buy Kroner. When desperate, I would not have been able to use the station loo, the lock being contactless only! I use a fingerprint to confirm purchases and have had no problems in the time I have used it. I certainly saves the hassle of searching through a physical wallet to find the correct card I did buy my previous "senior railcard" through the Trainline app. However, I purchased my ticket to Marylebone through the Chiltern Railways web site. An inspector boarded the train and asked to see my railcard. On starting the Trainline app I got the message that the app needed to be updated before it would open. Not an easy download on a fast moving train when all the passengers are trying to use Chiltern wifi at once. The inspector carried on checking tickets. Eventually the inspector returned and on opening the updated app it asked for the password. This is something of 15 random characters and symbols previously stored on the phone but now needed to be re-entered. I was charged the full fare but was able to email Chiltern with the evidence and eventually was credited with a refund. Moral of the story - make sure the apps work before leaving home!

Hello & thank you so much for that. Brill brill & brill. I decided last year to renew my 3 year Railcard as a plastic, not a E fit, for that reason. I can use Realtime trains on the open web, but but but & but Again, thank you so much

Picture parade.

Hello Yesterday, I kept cool by only getting on or off trains on the shaded platforms. I avoided crowded trains, yet enjoyed a lovely day out with no hanging around. Only used two short hop bus journeys. I bought a Cornish pasty in Wolverhampton, which was ok, but the ones sold in Coventry Broadgate were better in value & taste. A strawberry ice cream went down quite well along with plenty to drink, & returning home in good time for my chapel Thursday evening time. That was very comfortable as well. I've posted a severe weather forecasting map where Coventry is on the eastern fringe from now until Monday morning. The picture parade is from Tamebridge parkway, where I changed trains. An average of four trains an hour in each direction from here. Including mine which was to Shrewsbury.

I've just been catching up with the local news, and I see the Severn Valley Railway is to celebrate the completion of the bridge reopening very soon (a senior moment took the actual date from me ). Also to appear very soon on the SVR line, is the Flying Scotsman steam locomotive. Presuming I've got all the info correct, that is brilliant news.

Gosh Mike, a senior moment. I've been having those since, well let me see now, em,um, I can't put my finger on that either. It's looking good! Thank you.

A bit of a puzzle. I wonder if any of you rail experts has an idea of what is happening. Yesterday I went up the Smoke. I normally go from COV to EUS. (Well the Avanti trains have a buffet car in coach C usually.) Despite the 125mph, it's a fairly comfortable ride on the Pendolino. As I was travelling to SUO (Sutton in sarf Landun), it was easier for me to go on the Chiltern from LMS to MYB. I believe these trains are class 168. Coming back, it was a really bumpy ride all the way. The train was pitching from side to side worse than the big dipper at Blackpool. Trying to sleep was impossible. My head and upper body would have landed either in the aisle, or on the lady sitting next to me, a stranger, and I don't think she would have liked that. Even worse, my paper's crossword looked like it was filled with spidery writing. Is the problem: 1 an inferior track? 2 an inferior train? 3 or a combination of the two above?

Hello, I'm not a rail expert, but for more than six weeks, I've noticed many locations where I'm holding onto my seat. There have been several derailments during this period, both freight & thankfully empty stock trains. It's possibly a combination of all your inventory items, that the very warm dry weather has exacerbated. When metals expand with heat, there's no guarantee that they will return to their starting point during contraction. So when they expand the next time, who knows what direction the expansion will take. That applies to axles, wheels as well as trackwork. Even the rigid coupling of vehicles.

From the little I understand about trains, the Class 168 is not an express style train and doesn't have the same refinements of the Pendolino train. Also, the Chiltern Railways 168's are refurbished rather than new rolling stock. See the article dated, October 2024, in the Railway Gazette First refurbished Class 168 DMU unveiled by Chiltern Railways: https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/first-refurbished-class-16.... As for the inferior tracks, I would have thought they should be all to the same standard to accommodate all types of train. When I have to travel to Birmingham New Street, my preference is the Pendolino rather than the alternative class 170.