Melksham Train Service - please support the TransWilts case for regular trains
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2012-03-25 09:01:12 - Graham Ellis
Melksham's no tiny village - it's the fourth largest town in the Wilsthire unitary area after Salisbury, Trowbridge and Chippenham - and yet it has a lousy train service with just two trains each way a day, at times which are next to useless for business visitors to the town, or for people to commute anywhere (11 hours in Swindon, or Salisbury is simply too long, as most people have an 8 hour working day). Visitors from London can catch the 17:30 train and arrive at 19:11 and stay locally, but the morning train is so early that it leaves Swindon before the first train from London gets there ... and I could carry on telling you what's wrong with the current service level and timetable.
There's currently a consultation underway asking what service should be provided for the next 15 years, and an enormous amount of background work has been done on the "TransWilts line". It points to a service that runs at least once every 2 hours as being appropriate - and that would bring a sea change to the usage, and very real benefits to Melksham as well as the other communities served. And it doesn't even need to cost any more than the current service - the infrastucture's all there in place, just the trains need to be run. The existing services should REMAIN - they would get much busier as commuters would be able to use other trains for a better length working day, and the extra services would also load very well. Theoretic studies show it. Surveys have people saying they would use it. We even had a trial service last summer that got so busy we had to stop advertising it!
The Melksham Chamber of Commerce and Industry has submitted a letter in favour of an increased service to the Department for Transport - see [here] to read a copy. That's in support of the wider TransWilts Community Rail Partnership submission that's [here].
If you would like to see an improved service, a better used existing service, a more environmentally friendly service, and a service that's a real benefit to Melksham's businesses and wider community, please write to the Department for Transport at gwconsultation@dft.gsi.gov.uk and let them know. You really could help make a difference. I would much appreciate a reference to the Chamber of Commerce input and the TransWilts Community Rail input - they're at http://www.twcrp.org.uk/DfT_GWconsultation_TransWilts.pdf
http://www.melkshamchamber.org.uk/dftcoc.pdf
as that will help us present a joined up, technically sound proposal that's case that's hard to deny.