Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2012-07-01 10:09:30 - Graham Ellis
It's been a good week for "Improving Rail Services in Wiltshire".
On Tuesday, the first steam train in about 50 years called at Melksham, taking people out for a day trip to Canterbury.
On Wednesday, the Department for Transport announced that Wiltshire Council's LSTF (Local Susutainable Transport Fund) bid had been approved with full funding.
On Thursday, we learned that fare anomolies had been corrected, reducing the price of a single peak hout ticket from Swindon to Salisbury on direct trains from £56.00 to £23.00
We won't be seeing a train each way, every two hours, from next week - but we're moving ever closer to that day. All the background work is being done to make the plan succeed, the key industry and government players are on board in support of the local communities, and there's a healthy breadth to the enthusiasm which pushes out beyond one specific interest group or individual. I'm aware that I'm in the forefront of working for services at a frequency and times that people will use but - for once - I wasn't involved at all in Tuesday's events. I just went to the station to take pictures and I'm utterly delighted at the crowds and - in the evening - seeing how much everyone had obviously enjoyed the day out.
The DfT announcement on Wednesday may look a bit dry, but its significance cannot be underestimated. The very act of applying for this funding by Wiltshire Council was significant; by doing so, they're saying "yes - we understand that rail is an integral part of the transport needs", and in their application they committed themselves, if the bid were accepted, to providing a substantial element of local funding too. That's a logical decision for many reasons, but I can recall many a past decison that has been based on politics and positions rather than logic. The Department for Transport, too, have "bought in". Only a minority of LSTF bids were approved fully funded, and I know that each was looked at carefully by a team from the DfT and from the "sustainable camp" too. Again - it's not only the money, but the buy-in ... the intent that this WILL happen ... the signup to the service.
There's more to providing the train service that people will use in their droves than just adding in trains every couple of hours each way. The fares have to be right too, and I have often quoted the single fare from Swindon to Salisbury of £56.00 which - even if trains ran every 30 minutes - would have put almost everyone off. We have just learned this week that this fare has been reduced to £23.00 - still not "cheap", but now affordable. Fares on this line / for this flow are set by First Great Western, our current train company, and this change indicates their buy in. Actually, all of the bidders for the next franchise (including First) are keen to talk and learn.
The other critical issue in getting people to use the service in their droves is to provide adequate or better facilities at the stations and in terms of access to the stations. The illustration here shows Tuesday's crowd, at around 07:30, waiting for the Canterbury train. What I've not shown you is the car parking which was full ... with cars lining the approach roads too. That's OK - just - for the occasional day but when, in a couple of years, numbers like this join commuter trains every morning it will be a different matter.
The LSTF monies provide for improvements "customer side" all the way from Salisbury to the north of the county. Taking Melksham station (purely because I know it best) as my example, I'll tell you what I look forward to. I look forward to getting onto the bus at the end of my street (I live in a cul-de-sac about a mile and a half from the station) and being dropped off at the station about 10 minues before my train is due. The bus will pick up any arrivals, and carry on past the station though the new link into Foundry Close. I'll be able to collect my advanced purchase ticket from the machine, see on the help point display that my train's on time. Timetable poster boards will clearly show my London connections, and there will be information clear to read showing which trains connect to Bath and Bristol (two common journeys from Melksham), and where to change.
In that individual passenger example, I've not gone through all the improvements. There will be additional parking; that sound peverse on a sustainable agenda, but it'll cut people's car journey lengths - often substantially as the car moves from being their longdistance travel mode into just their local connection to the train. There will be additional cycle facilities. The link through to Founry close will be open to buses, cycles and pedestrians, and anyone walking in that way will be able to pick up their newspaper and a cup of coffee at the newsagent and fast food outlet in the morning (where they already do breakfasts), and stop and shop at the supermarket on their way home in the evening. Residents of Melksham Forest will have a new, easy link to the station via that same link and the Scotland Road footbridge, bringing them within walking distance of the station. And - for out of town arrivals - there should be taxis available at the station upon arrival too. That last is a commercial decision for the taxi first in terms of hours / whether they need to be called or are just waiting, but if the service use reaches as little as a quarter of the levels per capita of the station at Chippenham, we'll be laughing.
What about a manned booking office? A cafe at the station? A longer platform? Much detail is left to be worked out, and in an era where manned booking offices are having hours reduced of being closed, that is pushing against the tide. But don't rule out some surprises / innovative approaches. And remember that technology is moving on fast and being planned for (via other DfT consultations). A longer platform *would* be useful, but isn't vital at an early stage; if platform work were to be done, I think I might recommend Royal Wootton Bassett or Staverton ahead of Melksham.
With all of these exciting positive steps, the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership now has a secretary / co-ordinator working, paid, part time for us. This will move up from ad-hoc hours into a more generous part time job. This thread is not the place for me to announce / shout this ... but I can tell you that he's a senior project manager with much experience of working with big organisations and on public sector projects, and also has much experience at co-ordinating and running special events. He live less that a mile from a TransWilts station, and in fact I first met him as we both waited on Chippenham station for the evening Westbury train (currently Saturdays only) in late 2005.
We won't be seeing a train each way, every two hours, from next week - but we're moving ever closer to that day. All the background work is being done to make the plan succeed, the key industry and government players are on board in support of the local communities, and there's a healthy breadth to the enthusiasm which pushes out beyond one specific interest group or individual. I'm aware that I'm in the forefront of working for services at a frequency and times that people will use but - for once - I wasn't involved at all in Tuesday's events. I just went to the station to take pictures and I'm utterly delighted at the crowds and - in the evening - seeing how much everyone had obviously enjoyed the day out.