Some musings ... and some thoughts as to what's best to request / push for, for our train service, even at this time.  Little point when things are being rejigged to be luddites and stick with status quo - let's ask for the appropriate option!

In the Netherlands, in the London suburbs, you'll go to the station for "The :03" or "The :33" - I remember from my days at Petts Wood - and you'll know the timeable by heart very quickly.

On less frequent lines, you may know that the service runs at 20 past the even hour, or that it's always at 10 minutes to - 10 to 7, 10 to 9, 10 to 12, 10 to 4 and 10 to 6.

Or you may know that you have trains at 05:52, 07:45, 13:35, 17:02 and 21:33 ... which I don't feel is memorable and is prople can't remember when a train is running, they're hardly likely to catch it.

There ARE negatives against a regular interval service - if a connection misses, it misses EVERY hour.  From Petts Wood - want to change at Bromley for Catford and there was always a 20 minute wait!  But on the more frequent service - hey - it was ONLY 20 minutes.

And at certain times of day ... the time "in the hour" will be the wrong time.  There was a significant drop in passengers boarding the (safe) commuter train when it moved back from 08:05 to 07:45 - as an ex-user, now on the road, told me "I used to have half an hour to wait to get into my Swindon office at it was OK. The new 50 minutes is just too long".  Yet hang on ... if the 07:45 was pulled back to 07:30, there should be another train along at 08:30. And I make that a wait of just five minutes for the office to open.

What would work for Melksham?

Amazingly, even from a practical viewpoint a regular interval service!   Traffic would be boosted right up (the more I learn and the more I read, the more I'm convinced about the market!) and regular interval would slot RIGHT IN with the regular interval services from London to Bristol at Chippenham, and from Cardiff to Portmouth at Trowbridge and Westbury.  It would even fit in nicely with the new hourly London to Westbury (extended Bedwyn train) that the First Group has told us they'll be providing. 

The timetabling folks would have just an hourly pattern to plan, and not just a few oddball services passing through.

Spoke to another colleague at work last week.  He has only even used Melksham station once, but says he would do more often if there is a more frequent service and he says he know of about a dozen others who would as well (he could give me names if I wish)