Save the Melksham Train
Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
A very odd ghost train? Or is someone having a laugh? - 2249/5202
Written by streety7 on Saturday, 12th May 2007

At the moment I'm very confused... on the LDB website looking at Cheltenham times... (2231, 12/5/07)

As well as an 11-minute delayed service from London, a very odd looking train is apprently also scheduled as follows:

2229 Cheltenham Spa to Bristol Temple Meads

Expected to arrive Cheltenham Spa at 2246.
Expected to depart Cheltenham Spa at 2247.
We were expecting the monitoring point between Bromsgrove and Ashchurch for Tewkesbury to report on this train at 2212. This report has not been received. Click here for an explanation of what this means.
Last updated: 12/05/2007 22:28:29 

Will Call At:
Timetabled Arrival Expected Arrival
Cam & Dursley 2249 2307
Yate 2307 2324
Bristol Parkway 2318 2334
Bristol Temple Meads 2332 2343

Previous Calling Points:
Timetabled Departure Expected Departure Actual Departure
Whitby 1633  1652
Grosmont 1651  No report
Battersby 1743  No report
York 1917  On time
Derby 2100  2102

So a train from Whitby to Bristol, calling at Cam & Dursley and Yate however missing out Gloucester but more importantly Birmingham New Street? Is somebody having a laugh? Or is this 'ghost' train (that I have never seen before) an actual train running on a Saturday evening? I've e-mailed National Rail about it and will see what they say and post on here, but seems a very odd train to run and a very odd calling pattern to go with it!  ???

Re: A very odd ghost train? Or is someone having a laugh? - 2249/5203
Written by Graz on Saturday, 12th May 2007

This is just one of those special long distance day excursion services that you book in advance, this one in particular being run by Heartland Rail. click here for the dates of this one and more.

I admit it is sort of mysterious as it shows up on the Live Departure Boards with an operator of N/A and it's very unusual to see a long distance train call at Cam & Dursley and Yate!

Re: A very odd ghost train? Or is someone having a laugh? - 2249/5217
Written by streety7 on Sunday, 13th May 2007

Thats why I thought it was odd!

Got an e-mail back from NR...

Dear Chris Street,

Thank you for your eMail.

I do apologise for any confusion that has arose and for any inconvenience that this may have caused.

The service that you found was a Charter service and should not have been able to be seen by the general public or on the Live Departure Boards.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, we will pass this on to the relevant team to ensure it is not repeated again in the future, causing possible confusion as to what services there are available.

Once again thank you for your eMail.

Regards,

Andrew Hopkinson
Customer Services Team
National Rail Enquiries Online

So it shouldn't have been on the departure boards on the first place...
Is a unique sighting though  ::)

 
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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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