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Integrated public Transport - what could be done for Melksham

Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2009-12-01 19:13:45 - Graham Ellis

Connections between trains and buses at Melksham station do not exist at present - each mode of transport carefully ignores the other even though most of the services are provided by the same public transport provider. The 271/272/273 to Bath stops near Avonside, then runs non-stop past the station to Roundstone / Shurnhold, and the 234 runs from Avonside to Aldi / McDonalds - close to (as the crow flies) the station - but then this is a service for people (who have to take a great way round) not crows.

I have taken a brief look at how connections could be made at the station, using existing train times and bus times with some adjustments - from 5 to 15 minutes. Here's what a practical scheme to allow car-free commuting from Semington, Berryfields, Bowerhill, The Spa, Snowberry Lane, Queesnway, Blackmore Road, Melksham Forest, and Melksham Town Centre to Chippenham and Swindon would look like

Read down on the left for services FROM Melksham and up on the right for services TO Melksham



06:4619:01Devizes Road, Falcon Road, Bowerhill19:32
06:4819:03Bowerhill, Mitchell Drive19:30
06:5019:05The Spa / Snowberry Lane19:28
06:5219:07Blackmore Road19:26
06:5419:09Melksham Forest, St Andrews Church19:24
06:5719:12Pig and Whistle19:21
07:0219:17Melksham Market Place19:18
07:0619:22Melksham Station19:15
BusBus-Bus
TrainTrain-Train
07:1719:47Melksham19:11
07:2719:57Chippenham19:01
07:4820:20Swindon18:45




07:00Semington, Somerset Arms19:26
07:02Berryfields Corner19:24
07:05Melksham Market Place19:21
07:09Melksham Station19:17
Bus-Bus
Train-Train
07:17Melksham19:11
07:27Chippenham19:01
07:48Swindon18:45


Serving the villages to the North West of Melksham, although they are close to the railway, is more tricky as there isn't a bus into Melksham until well after the train has left, and the last return to Holt has gone. However, if Frome Minibus service X96 to operate 45 minutes earlier (morning) and 60 minutes later (evening). Then it's Holt 06:53, Broughton Gifford, Atworth, Whitley, Melksham Station at 07:10 and Market Place 07:15. Evening - Melksham Station at 19:18 then Broughton Gifford, Holt (at 19:30). The 19:22 bus to Bath would serve Whitley and Atworth.

You're looking at 45 to 55 minutes from your door to the centre of Swindon ... and with further train services at appropriate times, the pattern for the various parts of Melksham could be duplicated / provided on similar timing, but using additional services that run during the peak hours and daytime such as town service No. 14 and the 237.

There's a real practical opportunity here to provide a very useful service. And add in a few more trains and their connections and you'll meet a wide range of travel requirements too. I could do a similar study for shopping trips to Chippenham / Swindon / Reading / London on a Saturday ...