The narrow, and wider, community is really starting to pull together over the local / regional train issue and the "TransWilts" and I'm thinking that - with the proposals for a 2-hourly service from the end of his year, the petition, more press expose that now would be an excellent time to co-ordinate and to look at setting up some more formal, active, current community support.

As an early step, I'll probably approach the DfT about Community Rail Designation so that if when we get the proper service level we can help it grow, flourish ... and I have a list of over 2 dozen other organisations too.   I am NOT calling for any commitment / comment on the board here yet, but please feel free to make suggestions if you wish.

I'm partly looking at helping with the marketing - but also at other organisations who might help.   Some will be surprised to be mentioned here, others are very much on board already ...

Melksham First
Wiltshire Times
Local Conservative Party
Local Labour Party
Local Liberal Democrat Party
Knorre Brense
National Trust
Visit Wiltshire
Travel Watch South West
Melksham Rail Development Group
West Wilts Rail User Group
Network Rail
Department for Transport
First Great Western
First Bus Somerset and Avon
First Group HQ
RMT Union
Westbury Town Council
Warminster Town Council
Melksham Town Council
Melksham Without Council
Chippenham Council
Swindon Unitary Authority
Salisbury City Council
West Wilts District Council
North Wilts District Council
Wiltshire County Council
Government Offices South West
South West Regional Assembly
Well House Consultants
Blue Circle Cement
Virgin Mobile
Transport 2000

And that's just a quick starter ...

Ruth, better still you get involved and help us to tell them.    I want to encourage all the various interested parties to come along on 5th March ... evening ... and continue to roll this thing forward.   Get off the train at Melksham at 19:08, 19:30 meeting and we WILL get you to Frome afterwards.  Details to follow

Looking ahead, ongoing connections / connection timings will be key.  If the service is Swindon to Westbury, then Dilton Marsh / Warminster / Salisbury and Frome are the two most important.   If the service continues to Salisbury, then Frome is at the top.   I would also expect oneard connections to be made from Swindon on some traffic flows, but the timing of a  2-hourly "TransWilts" to that is less vital with a train every 15 minutes for Paddington in any case.

Delighted - slightly more formal agenda / invites to follow in next few days, but service users, would be users, and group / community representatives ALL welcome.

I'm getting some very mixed signals at the moment as to the state of play behind some closed doors; certainly good news in that it confirms that the service is on the agenda now, rather that being swept under the carpet which I have felt in the past.   And that means I simply don't know how we'll stand by 5th March.

I've already got an acceptable from the First Regional Manager to attend, and I would hope that item 1 on our Agenda would be a "where are we now" discussion to which he can make a major contribution.

A second item on the agenda - "continuing to press for an appropriate service" - may even turn out to be history (wouldn't it be great to have a positive announcemnet in the next couple of weeks?), or it could turn out to be the major concern if we remain in limbo or (worse) we've heard some bad news.

In any case - point No. 3 will be "supporting the new service if when it starts" (and perhaps helping to fine tune it too.  Make no mistake - getting the service restored to an appropriate level isn't the end of the story - the bigger story is helping to encourage and keep it and so much of that is where we can all get involved.

Item 4 - setting ourselves up to progress (2) and (3).  Whether it's through the DfT's community rail scheme (if thy'll designate the service) or through some alternative approach .... while working with and not treading on the toes of other groups.  But actually, I see so much support from elsewhere that I don't think  there's to omuch danger of crushed toes.