| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12775 Written by Lee on Saturday, 13th September 2008 Buses will be replacing trains between Westbury and Swindon on the dates shown below. This is as a result of the engineering works at Bath Spa (link below.) http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=3255.msg25144#msg25144 Sunday 12 October Saturday 18 October Sunday 19 October Saturday 25 October Sunday 26 October Sunday 2 November Sunday 9 November Sunday 16 November Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12776 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Sunday, 14th September 2008 [quote author=Lee link=topic=7924.msg12775#msg12775 date=1221342170] Buses will be replacing trains between Westbury and Swindon on the dates shown below. This is as a result of the engineering works at Bath Spa (link below.) [/quote] Lee - that seems a bit odd. a) The engineering works (as I understand it) are at Batheaston Junction and at Oldfield Park - not on our line at all, nor on the route that our trains take when 'extended' - i.e. to Gloucester / Worcester or to Southampton b) Sunday evening i snow the busiest time of the week for long distance travel. Are the engineering works really extending into Sunday evening, and are "they" really bustituting the TransWilts because of works at Bath? And if so, do you (or does anyone) know of a good reason (before we shout "foul" again!) Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12777 Written by Lee on Sunday, 14th September 2008 Quote from the link below. http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=2861 [quote="FGW"]During this time buses will be replacing trains between Bristol Temple Meads and Swindon via Bath Spa, between Bristol Temple Meads and Westbury via Bath Spa and between Swindon and Westbury via Melksham.[/quote] Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12778 Written by James on Sunday, 14th September 2008 I belive work is going on at other locations as well, along the route, however will be less 'important' and 'well known' than the Bath area.... Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12779 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Monday, 15th September 2008 [quote author=James link=topic=7924.msg12778#msg12778 date=1221428859] I belive work is going on at other locations as well, along the route, however will be less 'important' and 'well known' than the Bath area.... [/quote] Ah - that could explain it. Thanks. Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12795 Written by James on Saturday, 11th October 2008 It would appear there is no work south of Bradford Junction though - as the Melksham trains show as running! Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12798 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Saturday, 11th October 2008  Interesting, Jim ... I'll investigate further. Picture above - taken last weekend - is of the preparations being made for the closures at Batheaston Junction. Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12801 Written by James on Saturday, 11th October 2008 What is there to investigate? The bus timetable has none for Melksham - the train planning systems show Melksham getting trains........ Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12802 Written by Trowres on Sunday, 12th October 2008 Ahh... so NRES site shows the Westbury-Swindon trains on Sunday running, while FGW's site claims they are bustituted - although close examination of the London-Bristol pdf timetable shows the Swindon-Westbury train between Swindon & Chippenham, amongst a load of buses. Information errors aside, IF the line between Swindon & Westbury is open, it shows a lack of care for Joe Public of Trowbridge and Chippenham that there are only the 2 up and 1 down services provided as usual. The bus options from Trow-Swindon are over 2 hrs! Would it have been possible to run a couple of additional services between Westbury & Swindon using either HST or 158, both of which must be sitting around idle as they can't do Bath/Bristol? It would be interesting to know how many passengers travel on the 3 trains Sunday... Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12804 Written by James on Sunday, 12th October 2008 It did run - near enough all right time..... Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12805 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Monday, 13th October 2008 [quote author=James link=topic=7924.msg12801#msg12801 date=1223757748] What is there to investigate? The bus timetable has none for Melksham - the train planning systems show Melksham getting trains........ [/quote] I'm delighted if trains are actually running ... but there does appear to have been something of a failure of the information provided. Here is a notice at Chippenham which gives a clear indication that the TransWilts IS to be bustituted, on show at one of the stations on the line and clearly intended to inform the customers that buses rather than trains are service Melksham on these weekends.  Replacing a train by a bus severely reduces the number of travellers (by an order or magnitude), so telling people that they'll have to use a road replacement service even when - it turns out on the day - they didn't have to will severely supress usage and demand. As well as this sign, I was informed (or help - no note of the source - at TWSW) that the engineering works are mainly at Batheaston and onward to Bristol but not entirely - so (yes) TransWilts to be a bus. "Perhaps that's just some days" is my thought now, having seen them run last weekend. Here's the suggestion that the FGW site gave one of my customers for Sunday, 26th to get to Melksham.  Jim - I did also note:  Yes, No Westbury or Trowbridge to Swindon bus - but according to the timetable planner they ARE running such buses at least on some Sundays. Perhaps the bus that leaves Trowbridge at 17:25 that Sunday is a Westbury - Trowbridge - Melksham - Bradford-on-Avon ... on via Bath service? They may be slower, but the roads do have a more flexible network of possible routes ;) Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12806 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Monday, 13th October 2008 [quote author=Trowres link=topic=7924.msg12802#msg12802 date=1223766696] IF the line between Swindon & Westbury is open, it shows a lack of care for Joe Public of Trowbridge and Chippenham that there are only the 2 up and 1 down services provided as usual. The bus options from Trow-Swindon are over 2 hrs![/quote] Agreed, but we absolutely should NOT be surpised about this apparent lack of care. The train service was cut by First / the DfT as part of the new franchise to another nearby town that's getting on for the same size ... Chippenham population - 28,000 Trowbridge population - 28,100 Melksham population currently approaching 24,000 Melksham to Swindon ROUTINELY takes around an hour and a half by bus / train combo, v 25 minutes on the direct train. [quote] Would it have been possible to run a couple of additional services between Westbury & Swindon using either HST or 158, both of which must be sitting around idle as they can't do Bath/Bristol? [/quote] Now THAT is the sort of jesture that could gain the t.o.c. so much credit - especially is they were to advertise the extra services. In fact, wouldn't extending Portsmouth - Westbury to Swindon (connection to Cardiff and via Parkway to Temple Meads) cut the long distance bussing right down? [quote][/quote] It would be interesting to know how many passengers travel on the 3 trains Sunday... [quote][/quote] I wouldn't even line to guess! Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12809 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Friday, 17th October 2008 Last Sunday, during the Bath engineering works, it was trains that ran ... (but that was obscure from some of the signage). According to the signage, this weekend it will be buses:  And I note that they're not even all running to Westbury - we have some short Trowbridge workings where people have to transfer from / to another bus? No connections shown. Next weekend? Anyone's guess! Re: Weekend Bus Replacement In October/November - 7924/12812 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Sunday, 19th October 2008 Clarification from Customer Service at FGW: [quote] I can confirm that there are going to be weekend changes to the timetable due to engineering work on the lines between Swindon and Chippenham, Chippenham and Melksham, Melksham and Trowbridge and Trowbridge and Westbury. Buses will be replacing trains Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 October as well as Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 October between Swindon and Westbury via Melksham. This will also be the case on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 November. Some services have been re-timed on the weekend of 1 and 2 November, with some trains leaving a few minutes earlier.[/quote] So that's 11/12 October - was a train 18/19 October - is a Bus 25/26 October - will be a Bus 1/2 November - train, but some timeing changed 8/9 November - Bus 15/ 16 November onwards - train to normal timings link to index of articles |
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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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