Save the Melksham Train
STOP PRESS - we have heard from First Great Western in the last few days, as follows:

"We had hoped that we could organise an additional service through Wiltshire serving Melksham in particular. We looked very carefully at all the options, but whilst the plan received good support, and remains something we want to do, the cost of the new service is considerable. It will not be covered by the revenue that the service will generate, and as a commercial organisation we can only therefore proceed if we can find some joint funding to offset the costs. Despite our efforts this has to not proved possible to date, and we will not be able to offer any extra services in the next timetable due out in December.

"We will continue to discuss the plans with stakeholders and will keep looking for a partner to help finance the service, but this will not be possible before the December 2009 timetable (at the earliest)."

See who has signed up to pledge support, more details of the validated service that has just had the plug pulled and some personal comment
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An appropriate train service for Wiltshire
Swindon - Chippenham - Melksham - Trowbridge - Westbury
Onward to Dilton Marsh, Warminster and Salisbury
Also onward to Frome.
 A daytime train service to return to the TransWilts line?

The five largest population centres in Wiltshire (Swindon, Salisbury, Chippenham, Trowbridge, Melksham) are connected by the TransWilts railway line, but all through trains were withdrawn last December and a skeleton service of just 2 trains a day retained on part of the line.

Strong local protest followed as traffic on the remaining trains - 06:19 and 18:42 from Swindon - dwindled to almost nothing due to the lack of connections and the lack of any realistic use of the service for round trips for shopping, work, education, medical visits, soccer or other entertainment.

The service reduction was one step too far, and there are now proposals with the DfT, fully timetabled by Network Rail, to provide a service every 2 hours through most of the day (one gap of 3 hours to provide for optimum commuter train timing). In order for the service to be introduced and the succeed, though, it needs community support - perhaps by designation as a "community rail" service or perhaps more informally.

In order to progress this, I (Graham Ellis, Save the Train) have called a meeting at Melksham - the midpoint of the Swindon to Westbury section - at 19:30 on the 5th March. ALL WELCOME - whether they represent organisations, travellers or other interested parties such as local businesses and staff. We will meet people off the 19:08 arrival from Swindon and make arrangements as necessary to help people get home afterwards.

PLEASE COME IF YOU CAN. If you can't make it that night, but would like to support up, please let me know via
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/community.html


If you want to know more, please have a look at
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/melkshamrailway/191_.html
or email me.

And PLEASE pass on this invite to other parties too. Put it up on your notice board, circulate it at work ...

Graham Ellis .... graham@wellho.net .... 01225 708225

Meeting venue:
Well House Manor, 48, Spa Road, Melksham, SN12 7NY
(5 minutes walk from the Town centre towards Devizes)

P.S. The train operator and others have already signed up to the meeting, the purpose of which is to set up a co-operative path for the venture to succeed.
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