Yesterday, Wiltshire Country Councl met in full, and the local agreement for Wiltshire and the sustainable aspect associated with it were on the agenda, so I took the opportunity to ask a question.   Here is the official transcript:

WILTSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
COUNTY COUNCIL
13 MAY 2008

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:

QUESTION FROM MR GRAHAM ELLIS TO LEADER OF THE COUNCIL

Question
The local agreement for Wiltshire (section 4.6, page 12) reads

Improve journey time reliability on strategic transport routes in Wiltshire Places and people: Wiltshire wide along strategic transport routes (A350), supporting businesses and commuters"

Can the Council please confirm that they are taking into account not only road but also rail travel, and specifically that they will be taking whatever measures are needed to ensure that the currently proposed train service improvements along this route (an increase for 2 trains a day at an interval of 12 hours, to 6 trains a day at a maximum interval of three hours), including the use of LABGI or other funding as necessary to ensure that the service proposals go ahead.

(Background to the question is copied overleaf)

Response

The County Council is in general agreement with your views about the benefits of an improved train service via the “Trans Wilts” line.
However, the ongoing revenue support contribution that the proposed Salisbury – Swindon train service would require is a significant sum relative to our annual passenger transport support budget, which is already under strain from above-inflation cost increases. It is our view that it should be met by the Department for Transport (DfT) as part of the franchise agreement with the train operator, since the government has allocated funds centrally for rail funding rather than including such funds in its support to local authorities.
We are therefore taking action as follows:
1. To commission a study to produce a revised business case that is compliant with DfT methodology to demonstrate the value of the proposal
2. To take steps to protect the site from development in the interim so that an improved facility can be offered if the business case is successful
3. To organise political representation to the Minister once the business case is satisfactorily concluded
4. To explore the value of entering into a rail partnership with Swindon Borough Council (and possibly Somerset County Council) to promote an improved service.
I am sure you will appreciate the cautious approach that I have outlined above is necessary given the scale of funding required and the need for us to persuade the Minister and DfT officers using a strong evidence base and a sound business case.
I hope the above is helpful and demonstrates our continued support for this important, sustainable, lifeline between western Wiltshire and the surrounding centres.

Background to Question as provided by Mr Ellis

Wiltshire Council currently has the opportunity to buy into an improved train service linking the four largest population centres in the county
- Salisbury, Trowbridge, Chippenham and Melksham - to each other and to Swindon, providing an environmentally friendly and efficient link across the county.

The improvements have been proposed by First Great Western, validates by Network Rail, and accepted by the Department for Transport.  The line is "strategic" in the current local transport plan, and the Council's officers have evaluated that an appropriate service would actually be more frequent that First's proposals (this information from FOI requests) - but never the less the proposals are an excellent first step and would reduce transit times as follows:

Bus - Trowbridge to Swindon - 95 minutes.
Car - Trowbridge to Swindon - 52 minutes (AA) Train - Trowbridge to Swindon - 35 minutes.

Bus - Chippenham to Salisbury - over 120 minutes.
Car - Chippenham to Salisbury - 64 minutes (AA) Train - Chippenham to Salisbury - 54 minutes.

They would also provide some relief to congestion on the A350, which the Department for Transport's Sustainable Transport study shows to be heavily congested around Chippenham and to the M4, at Yarnbrook, Beanacre, Melksham and other locations.

As the local Transport Authority, Wiltshire County Council has a brief over all modes of transport; it is NOT just a road authority, although that is where the majority of its transport funds are spent.  It should be noted that the price tage attached to First's suggestion is less that 5% of the EXTRA that the council has allowed for increased landfill costs next year, and is less that the annual salary (even before taking other costs of employment into account) of a single senior executive.

This proposal has substantial local support - see
         http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/sf.html
for a list of supporters who have pledged their names in public. Please note that three quarters of the people on this list actually live in Wiltshire, and that over seventy of the signatories are elected representatives or seeking office (e.g. parlimantary candidates for the new Chippenham seat, MEP, county or district councillors) and that support is cross-party.