Hello.  I'm Graham Ellis, I live in Melksham Wiltshire where I run a training company from one of the old "Spa Houses" on the Devizes Road.

Many of our customers come to Melksham by train for courses, and I was shocked to read in the local paper in early August 2005 that there was a proposal (more than that - a decision already taken) to slash the services from 2006.  The decision struck me as perverse and so here I am, 6 weeks later, writing my into post on the "Save the train" forum!

The life of a passenger railway is brought to it by its customers, kindled by the staff who run it, and facilitatated by representatives, official bodies and specilaist interest groups at all levels.  Without any one of those, or with failings at any level, the service will shrivel and die.  We've got a great teaming working the line, and the managers that I've met have their heart with it too. All the local representatives and officials that I've met so far are also very much "on side" and the specialist interest groups are vigorously in support of this service and many other causes too - perhaps, though, to the extent that the people they talk to get "campaigner fatigue" to the extent that it's needing more and more effort for these people to have an effect. 

Personally, my time is limited and I'm limiting my sphere of interest to passenger trains too and through Melksham, and I'm going to try to avoid "campaign creep".  I'm also going to be working very much WITH people - in co-operation to reach a common goal, or to compromise and understand where are goals are not completely in line.  I don't mind changing trains at Chippenham on a journey to Swindon if we end up with a Westbury to Bristol via Melksham, Chippenham and Corsham service (by the way - an unlikely scenario).  I'm a "networker".

I can be reached by email at mailto:graham@wellho.net and you can see my personal pages at http://www.grahamellis.co.uk. My work pages are at http://www.wellho.net and my phone number is 01225 708225.  Don't even try to reach me on my mobile even if you have the number - I spend most of my time our of the office standing up presneting training courses, and the phone is firmly off.

"Bump" .... as they say in the net world.   I'm looking to bring this really old thread up to the top of the stack, as there are many new readers around here who I haven't introduced myself to.

What can I add?   I spoke almost exactly a year ago about "campaign creep".  It's not so much crept as developed;  clearly, it would be a miracle if we were to retain an appropriate level of service in 11 weeks from now. but whilst that's a battle that may have been lost there's still a war being fought, with the next field being dated December, 2007.    From a very naive start a year ago, the campaign has wised up a bit and we're getting more effective publicity now and, importantly for the case, we're listened to a little more behind the scenes.

The loss of the train that brings more of my customers to Melksham than any other single piece of transport - the 08:46 from Swindon to Southampton, and the loss of the train that returns them home - the 17:02 from Melksham - could have had a seriously negative effect on our business.   There's no suitable alternative train, and First's 234 bus service changes have not provided an alternative bus to those trains either. Telling customers with luggage to walk across Chippenham is not an attractive option, nor is telling them to get a taxi. So we're changing our business more radically to take best advantage of the new scenario.

On Sunday, 8th October, Lisa (my wife) and I are moving our training business 1km up the road in Melksham, to a grand old building that was previously a B&B. With on site accommodation, delegates will not only learn with us, but they'll stay with us too. Under the new scheme of things, our customers will arrive on the evening before their course starts (yes, the 18:42 from Swindon will suit some of them very nicely) and will have all the facilities they need - such as wireless internet, high quality hotel room, etc, available throughout their course.

This is, as you might imagine, a major business move for us and we'll also be opening our hotel rooms more generally when we've not got a major course running; as, when and where the local train and bus services suit, our customers and special events will use them - indeed, we're looking to promote "Weekend in Wiltshire" next spring, once we get any teething issues ironed out.  I'm straying a little off the "rail" topic here - if you would like to read more, see our initial hotel page and our new dedicated web site