Save the Melksham Train
Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Wrexham & Shropshire Railway announces start date... - 6724/11259
Written by Industry Insider on Wednesday, 2nd April 2008

Monday 28th April has been announced as the start date for the new 'open access' rail service from Wrexham and Shrewsbury to London Marylebone via Tame Bridge and Banbury.

There will be five weekday trips in each direction, four on Saturdays and three on Sundays.

Quickest journey times will be 3hrs 12 mins between London and Shreswbury and 3hrs 53mins between London and Wrexham.

Their new trains are currently going under refurbishment and consist of Class 67's hauling modified Mk3 carriages, so for the first couple of months trains will be 'hired in' - I've not heard, but I am guessing this will be charter stock hauled by Class 67's.

The journey times are quite relaxed. They compare virtually identically with estimated travel by road, and by train you can shave over an hour off their quickest from Wrexham to Euston via Chester, and it can be half-an-hour quicker from Shrewsbury via Wolverhampton to Euston. They will have to work hard to make their advantages of competitive fares, offering a high-quality service and the benefits of not having to change trains to pay dividends.

The full link to the official press release is [url]http://www.wrexhamandshropshire.co.uk/item.php?id=22&type=1[/url]

And the timetable can be found at [url]http://www.wrexhamandshropshire.co.uk/timetable.html[/url]

I wish them well.  :)

Re: Wrexham & Shropshire Railway announces start date... - 6724/11274
Written by Lee on Thursday, 3rd April 2008

[quote author=Industry Insider link=topic=6724.msg11259#msg11259 date=1207159735]
Their new trains are currently going under refurbishment and consist of Class 67's hauling modified Mk3 carriages, so for the first couple of months trains will be 'hired in' - I've not heard, but I am guessing this will be charter stock hauled by Class 67's.[/quote]

Class 67 locomotives hired from EWS by the look of it (link below.)
http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.2167261.0.rail_firm_sets_launch_date.php


Re: Wrexham & Shropshire Railway announces start date... - 6724/11354
Written by Lee on Sunday, 6th April 2008

More from the First Great Western Coffee Shop Forum (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=2361.msg17674#msg17674


Re: Wrexham & Shropshire Railway announces start date... - 6724/11439
Written by Lee on Wednesday, 9th April 2008

Further Oxford Mail article link.
http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.2184501.0.new_train_link_on_line.php

Re: Wrexham & Shropshire Railway announces start date... - 6724/11987
Written by Lee on Monday, 28th April 2008

Article links on today's launch.
http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.2228624.0.new_rail_link_takes_to_tracks.php

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/7369998.stm

Re: Wrexham & Shropshire Railway announces start date... - 6724/12001
Written by Industry Insider on Monday, 28th April 2008

A few teething troubles today, as I write the 15:10 from Wrexham is running over two hours late, and there were heavy delays on an earlier service.

Not the start they wanted perhaps, but hopefully the service will bed in quickly and won't suffer the same problems the similar 'Grand Central' service suffered when it launched late last year.

Re: Wrexham & Shropshire Railway announces start date... - 6724/12011
Written by Lee on Tuesday, 29th April 2008

Further related links.
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/04/rmt_welcomes_direct_wrexhamlon.html#more

http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.2233590.0.rail_link_makes_perfect_start.php



Re: Wrexham & Shropshire Railway announces start date... - 6724/12660
Written by Lee on Wednesday, 9th July 2008

The service has been hailed a success by managers (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/7496293.stm

The firm's commercial director Richard Harper said it had carried about 5,000 passengers each week since the route opened.


 
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Save the Train was the campaign to bring an approriate train service back to and through Melksham.

Most big contributors are still around writing at the Coffee shop forum where new members are very welcome.

The train has been saved - sort of - we have stepped back up from an unusable service to a poorish one but it's doing very well. We did that through setting up the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership. That fulfilled its early objectives; it has been taken over by local and regional government types who are now doing medium and long term work. The team from this forun can also be found at the Melksham Rail User Group (which was the Melksham Rail Development Group at the time these articles were written and we had no users.

We mustn't loose sight, though, that the train service remains poor and needs our community support in marketing and campaigning to keep it going in a positive direction ... and all the more so when we're expecting to find a different normallity once we get out of the Coronavirus Pandemic and head for zero carbon via the climate crisis. Yes, it's saved ... it's now a key community facility ... the need for enhancement and the strong and near-universal local support remain, and the rail industry and goverment remain slow to move and provide the enhancements even to level us up with other towns. Please support the Melksham Rail User Group - now very much in partnership rather than protest with the rail industry and local government, including GWR, TransWilts and unitary and town councils. And please use the trains and buses, and cycle and walk when you can.

-- Graham Ellis, (webmaster), February 2021


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