Behind the dramatic drop in journey numbers are many, many, many individual jouneys that are mucked up by an utter lack of trains at appropriate times.   I have a vistor coming later this month from Swindon - just 25 minutes by train if there was one running - and I find myself telling im he needs to leave 2 HOURS before our appointment.  I wrote

Neither the lunchtime train into Melksham nor the 5 p.m. departure are running this year, so XXXX's best bet is a car, a taxi from Chippenham railway station, or a bus from the BUS station there which leaves at 13:00 and gets to Melksham at 13:28.   The 12:00 from Swindon (or the 12:26 if XXXX can walk very briskly across Chippenham) connects into that bus.  Although Melksham is a largish town with a population of around 24000, we're only five minutes from the centre.

It struck me after I had completed the call with you that XXXX might even prefer an evening meeting, as it would give him an easy journey on the 18:42 from Swindon into Melksham at 19:08, and in the evening we can either offer accommodation for him to start on the 06:44 or 07:17 the next morning or give him a lift back to Chippenham (I can "get away" to do that later in evening, but not easily during the day).