On 3rd, 11th and 19th October, ASLEF's First Great Western drivers are threanening to strike, and it's anticipated that connecting services off the Swindon to Westbury and Southampton service to London, South Wales, and the South West will be severely restricted or won't run at all.

The train service on the Swindon - Chippenham - Melksham - Trowbridge - Westbury run shouldn't be effected, though I expect it might get VERY crowded between Chippenham and Swindon!

"Connecting services" is a laugh. 

I regularly travel (back) from London to Melksham, aiming to get the train which leaves Swindon at 14:23

On 3 occasions in the past two months the London train's been running late, leaving me with a nail-biting final 20 minutes or so to see if the train to Melksham is still sitting in it's little bay at Swindon Station when we got there - most recently I was on the train BEFORE the one I'd usually get, expecting to have to wait 45 minutes at Swindon. That one got in at 14:24, and as usual the Wessex train had left already.

There seems to be no concept of the local train waiting for the mainline connecting train for the benefit of any passengers, irrespective of the fact that it (the local train) is obviously going to hold up the express, at least as far as Thingly Junction where it veers off onto the single line. Daft, I call it.

Mind you, for the benefit of anyone else finding themselves in this situation - I've found it's worth going to the enquiries desk on Platform 2, because (to date anyway) they have at least always paid for a taxi to get me back to Melksham.