Starting August 1, Deutsche Bahn's 280-kilometer (174-mile) route linking Berlin to Hamburg will be completely closed for at least nine months. With up to 30,000 passengers daily, it is the most heavily used direct connection in Germany's long-distance rail transport. Around 230 regional, long-distance and freight trains travel daily on the tracks between Germany's two largest cities.

Starting Friday, the intercity passenger trains will have to take a 100-kilometer detour, while freight trains will be rerouted even further. In addition, 170 buses will be deployed daily to continue connecting the towns between Berlin and Hamburg that will be cut off from rail service. Both the construction work and the replacement transport will be complex and potentially prone to disruption.

Fehmarn?

Well I did say, earlier in this thread, something about HS2 costings in Wiltshire.....................

Has the cost of the scheme really already gone up by £20m in five days?

  MP 98.7 - 103.6  Between Tisbury and Gillingham (near Semley)
MP 108.6 - 111.7  Between Gillingham and Templecombe
MP 124.3 - 128.4 Between Yeovil Junction and Crewkerne (near Sutton Bingham)
MP 146.4 - 150.4 Between Axminster and Honiton  (near Seaton Junction)

  Weekend Timetables (and August Bank Holiday Monday) have not yet been updated
The current weekday timetables are only valid until Friday 29 August.
September (and onwards) still show the "normal" hourly services - although it is almost certain that these will be amended in due course.
Trains will once again stop at Crewkerne station from 11 August.

... MCPLMHHSDHOHOKGOLMOSAOGBGN ...

Has the cost of the scheme really already gone up by £20m in five days?

10:59 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 13:25 will be starting late from Great Malvern.
This is due to a points failure.
Last Updated:05/08/2025 08:05

10:53 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill due 13:01 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Last Updated:05/08/2025 09:50

13:16 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 15:22 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Last Updated:05/08/2025 09:50

If Cornwall’s 580000 can form a country, then along here in Hampshire can we have 3?

Paul

...  Also, I'm not sure whether that is the type of train that generally goes to Severn Beach. 

07:45 Westbury to Swindon due 08:34

07:45 Westbury to Swindon due 08:34 will be cancelled.

This is due to a fault on this train.

08:44 Swindon to Westbury due 09:25

08:44 Swindon to Westbury due 09:25 will be cancelled.

This is due to a fault on this train.

Thousands of plants along Nottingham's waterways are being ripped out by the root.

Volunteers have spent more than 1,000 hours during the summer getting rid of Himalayan balsam - often seen in swathes with pretty pink flowers. But the invasive species, originating from the harsh mountain conditions of the Himalayas, is thriving here in the UK at the risk of local ecosystems.

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has been running a project to protect wildlife and get rid of the invasive plants.

Himalayan balsam is a wild flowering plant that can grow up to two metres tall and grows large pink, bonnet-shaped flowers. Although they originate from the Himalayas, they are commonly seen in the UK, particularly along riverbanks.

Miriam Lawley, from Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, is helping to deliver the 'Thriving in a Wilder Trent Project'. She explained that the plant was first introduced to the UK almost 200 years ago. "It was brought over first by the Victorians," she said. "Because it was such an attractive plant, they wanted to introduce it to their gardens."

Its place of origin means the "well-evolved and adapted" species can survive pretty much "anywhere", according to expert Ms Lawley. "Once it was brought over by the Victorians it kind of hit the jackpot because living is much easier here where the soil is quite fertile," she added.

In the UK, the plant is typically found along waterways because rivers and streams help to spread its seed. Because of that, the plant is prevalent on sites along the River Trent, including Attenborough Nature Reserve.

The plant usually starts to appear in May - or April, following a warm winter - and is found throughout the summer until August.

The species has an "explosive seed pod mechanism" which helps it scatter its seeds. Each individual plant can produce up to 800 seeds and and once ripe, the seed pods split open, spreading them as far as about seven metres.

"It very rapidly becomes a big problem in the UK when you have that many seeds spreading over such a large area," Ms Lawley said.

It was that mechanism that helped the plant spread beyond Victorian gardens and into natural areas. While Himalayan balsam might look pretty once flowered, it comes with a threat to local biodiversity, Ms Lawley said. By taking over large areas of natural land, the plant "out-competes" a lot of native plants that insects rely on.

Ms Lawley said: "One of the things that a lot of people think about Himalayan balsam is that it's really good for bees because we often see a lot of them flying around. Many of them are attracted to this really sweet smell but a lot of them can't actually get into the deep flowers to get the pollen because they've not evolved alongside this kind of flower. So we actually find that there's a lot of insect declines where Himalayan balsam is really prevalent, as well as the decline in native plants."

(BBC article continues)