I travelled on the 1310 service from Salisbury - Westbury , which was about 75% loaded (admittedly in part due to the cancellation of the preceding Portsmouth - Cardiff service.) 5 people got off at Dilton Marsh , including me. One asked what was happening from December , to which the guard replied "you are losing a couple of trains per day."

I spent some time looking around Dilton Marsh , and the combination of existing and new - build housing is spread over a surprisingly wide area. In fact , DM is increasingly looking like a suburb of Westbury , and the continuing growth probably justifies the claims of local campaigners that a better service would be appropriate.

However , my return on the 1415 towards Southampton provided a taste of what's to come. Because it follows a Cardiff - Portsmouth train out of Westbury , it is virtually empty. At the moment though , trains at least tend to run through to Southampton. Unfortunately , journey opportunities will be reduced from December , with some trains terminating at Warminster.