Save the Melksham Train
Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Barnstaple train may be saved ... Melksham??? Wiltshire cc, where are you?? - 193/467
Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Thursday, 16th March 2006

I understand that First has agreed to suggest to the DfT to re-instate some Exeter to Barnstaple services (North Devon press) once they've seen some of the better usage stats that were available more recently.  The article talks about how Devon County Council have been involved with the negotiations.

I have written to the Director of Environmental Services at Wilts (copied to the counry concillor who takes a lead of these matters) to alert them to this / the possibilities, to ask them if they're negotiating on the same basis, and if they're not to suggest that they might like to  ;D ;D

Will keep you posted on answers as any dust settles.

Re: Barnstaple train may be saved ... Melksham??? Wiltshire cc, where are you?? - 193/471
Written by Nick Field on Wednesday, 22nd March 2006

Will be interesting to see whats WCC do (if anything)  My letter from them dated 22nd Feb (addressed to the wrong person!) did state that 'the idea of the County council buying in an improved train service in not likely to be affordable'  I mentioned the records office in my letter to them.  I hope they can at least do something.

Re: Barnstaple train may be saved ... Melksham??? Wiltshire cc, where are you?? - 193/472
Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Thursday, 23rd March 2006

I hear that the 234 bus will be extended to Chippenham station, and it's been suggested to me that the extension might be getting a subsidy for the county ... so it might be that any available funds have been put to that. However, I have no confirmation of the suggestion and I'm not very knowledgable about bus subsidies.

 
link to index of articles


Save the Train was the campaign to bring an approriate train service back to and through Melksham.

Most big contributors are still around writing at the Coffee shop forum where new members are very welcome.

The train has been saved - sort of - we have stepped back up from an unusable service to a poorish one but it's doing very well. We did that through setting up the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership. That fulfilled its early objectives; it has been taken over by local and regional government types who are now doing medium and long term work. The team from this forun can also be found at the Melksham Rail User Group (which was the Melksham Rail Development Group at the time these articles were written and we had no users.

We mustn't loose sight, though, that the train service remains poor and needs our community support in marketing and campaigning to keep it going in a positive direction ... and all the more so when we're expecting to find a different normallity once we get out of the Coronavirus Pandemic and head for zero carbon via the climate crisis. Yes, it's saved ... it's now a key community facility ... the need for enhancement and the strong and near-universal local support remain, and the rail industry and goverment remain slow to move and provide the enhancements even to level us up with other towns. Please support the Melksham Rail User Group - now very much in partnership rather than protest with the rail industry and local government, including GWR, TransWilts and unitary and town councils. And please use the trains and buses, and cycle and walk when you can.

-- Graham Ellis, (webmaster), February 2021


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