You would expect train travel to be getting better rather than worse but this article suggests otherwise. The article makes the claim that train journeys actually take longer today than they did 20 years ago. This is despite improvements with faster trains and track improvements. The worst area appears to be London and the South East where passengers have to allow an extra five minutes for their journey compared with 20 years ago. A spokesman for London TravelWatch said “Some increase in journey times may be justified by more passengers, thus longer stopping at stations. However, modern trains serving most London routes have better acceleration, which should offset this to some degree.” Does your journey take you longer?

The village of Booze in the Yorkshire Dales could soon have its postal service restored after the council have agreed to pay for road improvements in the area. The service was suspended by Royal Mail because it said the narrow track leading to the village was too hazardous for its workers. This has meant that 11 households have had to travel 30 miles to collect their mail. The council will make improvements to passing places on the route and Royal Mail have said that deliveries will resume on the 1st of September once the improvements have been made.

Ryanair will cancel thousands of bookings that are made on third party websites. The airline's boss is taking the hard line stance against websites that compare prices between different airlines but which he says charge more for flights than if they were purchased directly from Ryanair. Any passengers that book through these websites will now see their bookings cancelled. The company also believes that the so called screen scraper website are illegal and that causing disruption by cancelling booking made through them will be easier than taking them to court. Screen scraping sites currently account for 0.5% of Ryanair's bookings but this amounts to 1,000 flights a day. Ryanair has no means of contacting affected customers, this is down to the website that has taken the booking. So if you have made a booking through an external website you might want to check it is still valid before flying.

South West Trains have converted one of its diesel trains to use bio-fuel in order to test an alternative power source. The train will run on a mixture of soya, rape seed and diesel. The experiment will run until the end of the year with the train operating between Exeter and Waterloo. Other rail operators are waiting to see the results with a view to implementing similar schemes if this is successful.

At PC2Paper we usually experience a very good service from Royal Mail with only a few letters lost in the post. It does appear, however, that some mail can take a very long time to arrive. This article highlights the case of a postcard that was delivered after 79 years. The post card was posted in 1929 in Essex and arrived at its destination last Thursday. Royal Mail have said it is difficult to determine where it has been for the last 79 years.

It has been announced that Blackfriars station will close until 2011 to allow extensive work to be carried out. The work will include lengthening platforms, building a new entrance to the station and the redevelopment of the station. During this time the overground routes will remain open but there will be no connection to the Underground. Currently around 44,000 people use the station every day. It is expected that many of these people will have to use Farringdon Station as an alternative as people try to find alternative routes. 

The news that British Airways profits have fallen by 90% is likely to have the effect of soaring prices for customers as the airline tries to avoid going into the red. Already prices have risen by around 7%. Carriers are currently suffering more badly than during the recession that followed the terrorist attacks of 2001. During April, May and June profits at BA plunged to £37m from £298m last year, a drop of 88%.

This weeks travel blog of the week is Orbitz Travel Blog written by the Orbitz staff and contributors. The reason I have chosen this blog is because it has a wide variety of articles that look at different aspects of the travel industry. The most recent article looks at family friendly adventures in Edmonton. The article highlights the Edmonton Marriott hotel at the River Cree Resort which is recommended for being particularly child friendly. It also looks at the Valley Zoo with its petting zoo, animal shaped pedal boats and pony rides.

In contrast another article on the blog discusses how to find gay luxury in the Caribbean. Whilst the options initially appear fairly limited the author does have some good recommendations. Puerto Rico gets the thumbs up because the main city of San Juan has a gay beach which is something of a rarity in the Caribbean. The British Virgin Islands also appears to be a good destination to find gay luxury with the Aquamare resort getting a good review. The resort includes three villas on a private beach and has the advantage of being gay owned. It also offers five star treatment and has its own private chef serving up gourmet food and even a professional masseur. It sounds great.

Another post looks at the complexities of group travel. Travelling with a group of people can sometimes be a challenge especially if people within the group have different expectations about the trip. The article recommends asking a few important questions before travelling such as is the trip a vacation or are you expecting to spend time sightseeing. It is also worth considering what sort of budget you have in relation to other members of the group and outlining any "must do" items that members of the group have in mind before you go. Its all good advice and if followed should lead to a happier group holiday with many less arguments.