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Get all your ducks in a row ... and they may turn into swans

Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2010-11-06 06:06:42 - Graham Ellis



What do I need to provide a train service?


  1. A Railway line in working passenger order

  2. Railway stations in working passenger order on that line

  3. A Train operator willing to provide a service

  4. A Train to provide that service

  5. Significant Passenger flows that would use the service

  6. Paths over the line at suitable times

  7. Suitable facilities at the other end of the line

  8. An economic and a financial case

  9. Proof that you have all of the above

  10. A strong group of volunteers and support from the community

  11. Support from the local authority

  12. A scheme that fits in with government plans at all levels

  13. A translation of the economic case to the financial one

  14. Publicity and Information services

  15. Perseverance and patience




After something of a hiatus caused by so much else going on, I'm getting myself a little bit of time to give to the TransWilts Community Railway line (updated page) - I was at a meeting of the Heart of Wessex Community Rail Partnership yesterday. We share the Trowbridge to Westbury section with them, and there is a practical proposition for service that run off "their" line onto "ours" - except it's not really a matter of using possessive words - it's a question of working together and ensuring that 1 + 1 = 3.

Today, I'm going to be at Radstock - attending a "What's next for Radstock" day. They have a disused railway running into the town, and a 'natural' route for a service is Radstock to Swindon, via Kilmensdon, Frome High Street, Westbury, White Horse, Trowbridge, Melksham, Chippenham, and Wootton Bassett to Swindon.

Now ... I've added five stations that don't exist at the moment to that route - Radstock, where there is no track at the moment into the town centre. Kilmersdon, where the track in there but disused, Frome High Street, where there's a line but it's open only for freight, White Horse which would be a brand new station on an existing line, and Wootton Bassett, which would be the reconstruction of a station that was demolished in the past. Optimistic? Yes - and "blue sky" thinking, but we're being asked for local transport plans up to the year 2026, and the aspiration is a good one for then. What we much not do, though, is to insist on all at once ... we should use tactics of small steps to get to the long term goals / strategies achieved.

Get all your ducks in a row ... and they may turn into swans. In the 1960s, at a time of falling rail passengers, empty roads and cheap oil, lines were being shut and ripped up; the government today is looking for savings, but it appears from the comprehensive spending review that rail is not coming out too badly. It's not time for another Beeching; Passenger loadings are increasing even during the recession - the Heart of Wessex has previously reported 172% increase over its life, and was reporting 9.3% year on year yesterday, despite the economic climate. Oil is expensive and likely to get more so, and the roads are jammed with traffic. So it makes sense to plan, longer term, for rail ... to get all your ducks in a row to do so.

Swans are big, powerful birds. But they grow from seeds - eggs - and we have some good eggs around in Wiltshire and the neighbouring parts of Somerset and BaNES that form part of the natural travel area; let's see if we can get those swans in a row.