At least Melksham passengers can take comfort from the link below.
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/NewsItem.aspx?id=388

"Tom Stables, First Great Western's Commercial Director said: "We knew that Firstminutefares would be popular, but this growth has exceeded our expectations. One of our key aims is to attract people to rail travel, and bringing the cost of fares down for off-peak travel is one way of doing that."

"Tom continues: "If you're looking to join the tens of thousands of people who have already taken advantage of Firstminutefares, the key is to travel off-peak and book as early as possible. It's as simple as that. You can now book as far ahead as the 12 November."

That's great news for all Westbury - Swindon passengers planning to travel off - peak , both now and in the the future.
http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/latestheadlines/display.var.895048.0.protest_on_the_5_52_train_from_melksham.php

"From December 9, all daytime and rush-hour trains are to be withdrawn from the Swindon to Westbury route, leaving Melksham with no services at all between 7.17am and 7.08pm."

"We are in a position to add services that are commercially viable, but the trains being removed from Melksham are off-peak and only lightly used, so we are not in a position to add services there."

Oh dear , I nearly forgot.

I certainly agree with you on Melksham , Roger.

It should also be remembered that the only places on the Swindon - Southampton route that you can currently get a Firstminute fare from Melksham to are Romsey & Southampton (as low as £2.50.)

The wider point is that Firstminute fares are designed for longer - distance journeys and are marketed as follows :

"These tickets include single fares from London Paddington to Penzance for £14, from London Paddington to Cardiff Central for £11.50 or from Bristol to Portsmouth for £6."

"First Great Western is currently investing £63 million to replace the interiors of its fleet of High Speed Trains and this, in conjunction with infrastructure and timetable improvements will significantly increase capacity, allowing even more Firstminutefares to be sold."

It is pretty clear which market they are after , and its not the Dean , Dunbridge , Dilton Marsh & Melksham one.

Cheap Day Returns are becoming cheaper though (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=380

I note the following quotes :

"There’s so much to do in Devon and Cornwall. Whether you’re a surfer, rambler, real ale drinker, art lover or sun worshipper it’s now much cheaper to experience the area by train thanks to cheaper Cheap Day Returns. In fact it can now cost up to 40% less to travel by train."

"And with a Devon or Cornwall Day Ranger (now reduced to £10) you could enjoy unlimited off-peak travel for a day to explore the delights of either county." (not included in the passenger figures.)

Here are some quotes from the original Beeching Report :

"Common-sense considerations, and all experience, go to show that the problem cannot be solved either by decreasing or increasing fares."

"If fares were halved, traffic would have to increase at least fourfold to cover the direct costs of stopping services as a group, and sixfold to make them pay their whole costs (although more effiicient collection of fares and a more accurate usage figures reporting system would obviously be helpful in 2006 - Lee.) Nobody can seriously suppose that this would happen. People without their own transport (or with their own cars in 2006 - Lee) , at present, are not so seriously deterred by the rail fares for short journeys that they would use trains many times as often if fares were halved."

"Similarly, consideration of the cost figures will show that thinning out the trains, or thinning out the stations, would not make a service self-supporting even if it had no adverse effect on revenue."

I believe that Beeching was right to the extent that cheaper fares are not the answer on their own. The real key lies in providing an attractive , reliable , well marketed & positively developed rail service with an appropriate frequency , which is then linked into a truly integrated public transport system  , and not in short - term measures which may well be designed by First to bring in any money that they can until the services are cut further.

Cheap fares on off peak services can be an excellent way of taking the load off peak trains and persuading people onto shoulder services.  Avoids the need to buy more trains for the peak.  And huge bargains on very limited services are an excellent way of getting people to try long distance services; Alison Forster of First GW (their MD) was telling us in talks just after they had won the franchise that there are an extra 1.5 people who would and could use the train for every 1.0 who travels at present (I thing there's a technical term such as "willing non user").

BUT it can be a bit different on shorter journeys and indeed, I've speculated that a 25% rise in real terms on fares on the Swindon to Westbury section, in association with changing to a regular and reliable 2 hourly service, would drive very very very few people away.   And the extra income would sway the economics of the line making it truely viable.

From some FOI stuff I got today (another thread), I see that the shortfall is "only" 300k per year, and that's to include an element of profit for the operator.  With 109k journeys in the year ended April '05 and very healthy growth indeed, adding on average just 2 pounds per journey would ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR SUBSIDY, and the service could then be run on a commercial basis.

I do applaud the "sell to the holidaymaker" and long distance cheap tickets at grotty times, but really it's not "one solution for all"; some lines require different formulas and (yes) that leads to odditioes at times.   I could quote you other cases - several of which have been mentioned around here before.

Here is another quote from one of the First Great Western links above :

"However, if you do most of your travelling locally then you might be interested in the Devon Railcard or the Cornish Railcard, both of which cost just £10 a year."

Here is what the press release doesnt tell you (link below) :
http://www.srug.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27

"FGW are changing the terms for new railcards issued from 10th September so that they can not be used during the morning 'peak' - ie before 09:30."

I would endorse the advice given by the Saltash Rail Users Group in the above link.

I also note :

"There is a plan to introduce a joint Cornwall and Devon railcard covering all stations in both counties, but only off-peak. It may be that this will be available from 10th Sept."

The whole fare structure seems to my eye to be a ruddy mess ... and I would expect a company such as First to look to rejig it to maximise their income while not extending their expenditure.   The fact that they've a monopoly over public transport in some of the areas, and don't seem averse to putting unpopular price rises and service changes through makes this sort of thing (new 09:30 restrictions) no great surprise.  At the same time, their excellent publicity machine will milk any new lower fares added, and I guess so it should.