Here are a couple of Christian Wolmar articles (link below.)
http://www.christianwolmar.co.uk/articles/rail/547.shtmlQuotes from the above link (one section contains examples of friends of Christian Wolmar trying to find & then use journey information) :
"They want to take the train, they are motivated because of its convenience and environmental-friendliness, but they are put off because of the price and the inaccessibility of information."
"Then there’s the wider picture. The Government is producing a 30-year strategy, but how will that meld in with the short-term interests of franchisees who often can see no further than the current year’s profit and loss account?"
"This really needs addressing in a concerted and radical way. Trains clearly are the future, and yes, Wolmar’s golden rule of railway economics applies: if you want more people using them, it will require more subsidies. However, spending taxpayers’ money in this way is justified by the environmental and other benefits of an efficient railway system. This should be the age of the train but, sadly, all the pointers are that the industry will miss out. Prove me wrong, someone"
"In other words, poor old GNER had expected to get lots of lolly in compensation for the inconvenience that its passengers suffer but instead Network Rail has been too efficient."
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It's a real travesty to take trains away from Melksham particularly when the government so vigorously promoted rail travel in 1997 when it came to power. The proposed replacement bus services will not serve as suitable alternative to train travel especially when tavelling to or from London. Melksham deserves a better service than that planned considering that rail travel at Melksham has increased significantly over the past five years.