Although our current Pledge Campaign (see
http://www.transwilts.org.uk/pledge.html) is firmly centred on securing a useable TransWilts passenger rail service in the short term, we do have our eye on the medium/long term picture as well. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be posting our proposals for the future of the TransWilts line. Here is the first such post:
APPROPRIATE TRANSWILTS SERVICE TIMELINE
May 2009 - 5-year funding plan agreed between DfT, FGW and Wiltshire Council:
December 2009-December 2011 – 6 round trips a day Salisbury-Swindon service funded similar to the one contained in the link below.
http://www.transwilts.org.uk/tp.htmlDecember 2011-December 2014 - Hourly Salisbury-Chippenham service funded (in line with FGW-stated view of the future) taking advantage of a new/reinstated third Chippenham platform, which formed part of Network Rail's Strategic Business Plan. The Chippenham platform, along with the hourly Salisbury-Chippenham service would form the elements of a 3-year service trial under the new DfT rules (link below.)
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7959.msg12873#msg12873Most of the Salisbury-Chippenham services would be operated by 2 Class 150/1 units due to arrive as part of the London Midland rolling stock cascade. The remainder of the services would be run in marginal time off other units. An indicative timetable can be found in the link below.
http://www.raildocuments.org.uk/gwfuture/salischipptt2.xlsDecember 2014 onwards - DfT take on responsibility for funding the service, via the franchise agreement.
MELKSHAM STATION IMPROVEMENTS
PHASE ONE (considered as improvements to existing Melksham station, projected completion date December 2011) :
There now follows an overview of the facilities that will be available, once construction of Phase One is completed:
Approaching Melksham station by road:
- Having reached the station approach with relative ease due to the excellent signage on major roads in the Melksham area, the entrance clearly shows where to turn in order to reach Melksham station:
Approaching Melksham station by bicycle/foot from the town centre direction:
- Safe route from Melksham town centre to the station ends at a new bicycle shelter, along with new signage indicating the way to the station:
The idea is that cyclists approaching from this direction will park their bikes at the shelter, and then walk down to the station using the pavement. This avoids them having to share the approach road with car traffic.
A deal would be reached with Moorlands Holiday Homes for their CCTV cameras to cover the bicycle shelter, a similar concept to the way Rolls Royce factory cameras cover Patchway station. This would also give Moorlands Holiday Homes an early sense of partnership in a scheme which, when fully complete, would radically alter the landscape in which their business operates:
Station approach road:
- A new "Welcome To Melksham Station" information board reinforces the feeling of "arrival", along with the retention of the existing information board on the other side of the road:
Approaching Melksham station by bicycle/foot from the Spencers Gate end:
- Footpath/cyclepath opened up from Spencers Gate to station:
With a bicycle shelter having been provided for cyclists approaching from the town centre direction, it is intended that new cycle parking facilities on the platform would mainly be used by cyclists approaching from the Spencers Gate end:
Facilities at the station itself:
- Existing information board retained:
Behind this, the existing bicycle shelter on the platform would be altered. The bicycle hoops would be removed, and a ticket machine placed in the left hand alcove, with a public telephone placed in the right hand alcove:
The photo below shows how the station would look as passengers approach it:
From right to left:
- Verge beyond the barred gate running alongside road that leads to Spencers Gate converted into car parking spaces, with space provided on the inside for the footpath/cyclepath that runs to this point from Spencers Gate. A BR-style station sign is also erected in this area.
- Barred gate opened up as second station entrance, beside which a new ticket machine would be sited.
- Existing station lighting retained.
- Existing car parking converted into bus stop, to be served by terminating Melksham Town Service buses.
- Bicycle lockers and existing blue waiting shelter removed to make way for extended vandal-proof replacement waiting shelter. This would have an opening on both sides, thus allowing it to be used both as a platform waiting shelter and as a bus shelter, maximising space. A further photo showing how this would look on the platform side can be found below:
The above view also shows the floral display, which would be retained as a tribute to Gordon Dodge (link below.)
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/melkshamrailway/203_Gordon_Dodge_Rest_in_Peace.html - Extra bin provided.
- Information screen/automatic announcements installed.
- Existing bin retained.
- Outdoor seating removed, replaced by new cycle parking facilities.
- New information board installed, alongside existing directional signage.
- Help point retained.
- Existing station entrance retained.
A deal would be reached with Melksham Tyre Supplies/MCC for their CCTV cameras to cover the station area, similar to the deal reached with Moorlands Holiday Homes:
Potential funding sources for Phase One:
- The DfT's National Stations Improvement Programme. Although they would prefer a match funding formula, they will consider fully funding schemes that meet the criteria, which Phase One does. See link below.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/speechesstatements/speeches/nsi - WCC/FGW partnership funding. An appropriate model for this would be the one currently in operation in Oxfordshire:
To give you an idea of costs for Phase One, recent improvements at St Albans Abbey station included a new ticket vending machine, CCTV, new information display signs and a newly built waiting shelter. Passengers were previously forced to negotiate muddy tracks to get to the station, but thanks to Groundwork Hertfordshire, a new pavement has been installed.
Train operating company London Midland funded £40,000 and Hertfordshire County Council's Passenger Transport Unit provided £150,000. The Community Rail Partnership funded the further £35,000 for the new pavement, mosaics and landscaping.
Phase Two of our Melksham station improvement proposals is currently in the final stages of development. Here is a sneak preview of what to expect:
OVERALL INDICATIVE TIMELINE
May 2009 - 5-year service funding plan agreed between DfT, FGW and Wiltshire Council. BRB agree to safeguard their land at the station site for rail/public transport use for the duration of the plan.
December 2009 - 6 round trips a day Salisbury-Swindon service begins (link below.)
http://www.transwilts.org.uk/tp.htmlMay 2011 - Construction of new platform at Chippenham begins.
Autumn 2011 - Construction of Phase One of Melksham station improvements begins.
December 2011 - Construction of new platform at Chippenham completed. Construction of Phase One of Melksham station improvemnts completed. Hourly Salisbury-Chippenham service begins (indicative timetable link below.)
http://www.raildocuments.org.uk/gwfuture/salischipptt2.xlsJanuary 2014 - Planning permission granted by Wiltshire Council for Phase Two of Melksham station improvements.
March 2014 - Construction of Phase Two of Melksham station improvements begins.
December 2014 - Construction of Phase Two of Melksham station improvements completed. DfT take on responsibility for funding hourly Salisbury-Chippenham service, via the franchise agreement.
Each stage of the overall plan would aim to provide justification (in the form of increased patronage and progressive station improvements) for the next.
Concept - Graham Ellis, Lee Fletcher and Phil McMullen.
Source Photos - Graham Ellis.
Artist Impressions - Phil McMullen.
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