Parliamentary train at West Ealing

Have you ever heard of 'parliamentary trains'? This definition from Wikipedia: "A parliamentary train is a passenger service operated in the UK to comply with the Railway Regulation Act 1844 that required train companies to provide inexpensive and basic rail transport for less affluent passengers. The act required that at least one such service per day be run on every railway route in the UK. No longer a legal requirement, the term currently describes services that continue to be run to avoid the cost of formal closure of a route or station but are often reduced to just one train per week."

Since last December, one such parliamentary train has been running from West Ealing to High Wycombe, once a day during weekdays. Leaving West Ealing at 11:47, it is not an overcrowded service, particularly given that it is not advertised anywhere. Indeed, searching Trainline, you will be directed from West Ealing to Paddington, round the Circle Line to Marylebone, and on from there to High Wycombe for £18.80, journey time between one hour 15 mins and one and half hours. The direct train from West Ealing to High Wycombe takes just 38 minutes and is not shown on Trainline. But how much does this cost? One to work out with the guard... The train runs to High Wycombe with a stop at South Ruislip to change crews, but passengers cannot alight there.

Below: a strange sight befell me as I strolled down the platform to await my TfL Rail train to Heathrow. It's a Chiltern Rail train! Goodness - what's it doing here?

And then I remembered that in December the parliamentary (or 'ghost') train running from Paddington to High Wycombe had to be rerouted to start from West Ealing because of engineering works at Old Oak Common (to do with HS2). Chiltern Rail trains normally run in and out of Marylebone; this 'ghost train' is used to keep the line between Paddington and South Ruislip open to trains from that operator.

Below: three operators' trains at West Ealing; from the left, the TfL Rail service from Heathrow to Paddington; the Great West Railways shuttle service from Greenford to West Ealing, and the Chiltern Rail ghost train. TfL Rail's web page for West Ealing mentions GWR and acknowledges the presence of Chiltern at the station, but won't show you any timetables.

Below: bonus shot. I changed trains at Hayes & Harlington, where my off-peak TfL Rail train terminated. While I waited for the Heathrow train, I could see in the distance a Class 37 diesel loco hauling a rake of what looked like passenger coaches. "An enthusiasts' special," I thought at first. But no  - this was a Great Northern electrical multiple unit that looked like it had broken down and was being loco-hauled on its way to the repair sheds.

This time last year:
Progress in Jakubowizna

This time two years ago:
Miedzianka by Filip Springer

This time four years ago:
Out of the third, into the fourth

This time five years ago:
Inverted reflections

This time six years ago:
Observations from London's WC1
and Observations from the City of London

This time seven years ago:
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This time eight years ago:
Warsaw's Aleje Jerozolimskie

This time nine years ago:
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This time 11 years ago:
Autumn gold, Zamienie

This time 12 years ago:
Flamenco Sketches - Seville