Save the Melksham Train
Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/228
Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Thursday, 5th January 2006

I note under the new Greater Western Franchise that Frome is to get a daily through service to London.

Frome has a population very similar to Melksham's .... perhaps that through train should come through Melksham and service both??

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/229
Written by Nick Field on Thursday, 5th January 2006

That would be an excellent idea!

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/275
Written by Sion Bretton on Tuesday, 17th January 2006

I understand someone high up in First Group lives in Frome.
Is this true?
Interesting if it is true.

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/278
Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Tuesday, 17th January 2006

[quote author=Sion Bretton link=topic=107.msg275#msg275 date=1137529760]
I understand someone high up in First Group lives in Frome.
Is this true?
Interesting if it is true.
[/quote]

I had heard that too.  Of course it could just be a co-incidence ...

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/2736
Written by bubblecat on Thursday, 4th January 2007

Well if they do - could they get the other services working?

All jokes aside - the service runs at 6 in the morning, exactly how many people need this service compared to the hundreds along the line that have had the 7.20am to Bristol cancelled just as this new service to London started?

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/2739
Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Friday, 5th January 2007

I suspect that the extra income generated for First is pretty good from the new service (or will be) - a few people who make long journeys at over 50p per mile equates to a lot of people who make much shorter journeys at 20p per mile, and if the train set is otherwise unused at 06:00, then it's getting them more moneys from a resource that would be otherwise idle at the time.

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/2741
Written by Nick Field on Friday, 5th January 2007

Out of interest does anyone know if the Frome - Paddington service worked by HST sets?  I have heard that Alison Forster lives in Vobster, a few miles from Frome.  Let me emphasise that I am not suggesting this is the reason why this service was introduced  :)



Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/3002
Written by Ruthg on Saturday, 13th January 2007

The train leaving Frome at 06.29 to London and arriving back at 19.55 is an Adelante, which I have used to get to Westbury and back. It was late leaving Frome on Thursday by about 20 minutes as the driver had to take a break and as a consequence made the 06.47 and 06.52 out of Frome late as well, rather than miss my connection at Westbury for Swindon I decided to take this train, there were people on it already but I have heard by someone who went up to London on it, it was packed by the time it got to Twyford. But I would still prefer to have a better local service and most people I've spoken to in Frome agree, even people who go up to London, due to the expense of the ticket required.

if I do manage to get this service again, I will keep my eyes open for chief executives who might be using it. ;)

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/3005
Written by Sion Bretton on Sunday, 14th January 2007

Ruth look in First class  ;D

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/3123
Written by saabing on Wednesday, 17th January 2007

Well if they do I am going First Class :)

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/3690
Written by James on Saturday, 3rd February 2007

The Frome - London had 4 people on it when I "bahsed" it back in December

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/3715
Written by Graz on Saturday, 3rd February 2007

[quote author=James link=topic=107.msg3690#msg3690 date=1170483044]
The Frome - London had 4 people on it when I "bahsed" it back in December
[/quote]
Not all the way I hope! I think as people get use to this service, numbers should increase.

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/3735
Written by James on Sunday, 4th February 2007

[quote author=Graz link=topic=107.msg3715#msg3715 date=1170542246]
[quote author=James link=topic=107.msg3690#msg3690 date=1170483044]
The Frome - London had 4 people on it when I "bahsed" it back in December
[/quote]
Not all the way I hope! I think as people get use to this service, numbers should increase.
[/quote]

Nope, from Westbury, there were reservations from London to Bedwyn though, so could be a quite busy service

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/4181
Written by sheptonmalletmatad on Tuesday, 6th March 2007

The morning Frome service runs empty all the way down from Paddington.

Excellent use of resources?

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/4186
Written by Fat Cat on Wednesday, 7th March 2007

The Frome to London service is full when it leaves Newbury, so much so that it is being extended to 10 coaches from 26 March - this will allow passengers at Thatcham and Theale to have a fighting chance of getting a seat. As for Reading, it is squeeze room only. It is primarily a commuter service for the Kennet Valley. The question is why run it from Frome, when from talking to other passengers it picks up most of its passengers from Bedwyn onwards. I'm not saying it is a bad thing to run it from Frome, but interesting that that station is picked over others? To divert it away from the Kennet Valley Line would cause carnage on the remaining trains running to Reading and London. The whole timetable debacle has squeezed capacity over all commuter routes.

As for the return journey, it is a commuter service so chances are it will run empty after 9am.

Re Newbury services in general, these links may be interesting:

http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=3897
http://www.vaizey.com/type2show.asp?ref=255&ID=59

So far no further information has been forthcoming.


Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/4604
Written by amitc on Monday, 2nd April 2007

[quote author=Nick Field link=topic=107.msg2741#msg2741 date=1167987832]
Out of interest does anyone know if the Frome - Paddington service worked by HST sets?

Re: Frome gets a daily through train to London - 107/4845
Written by amitc on Tuesday, 17th April 2007

Please note that it's possible to save

 
link to index of articles


Save the Train was the campaign to bring an approriate train service back to and through Melksham.

Most big contributors are still around writing at the Coffee shop forum where new members are very welcome.

The train has been saved - sort of - we have stepped back up from an unusable service to a poorish one but it's doing very well. We did that through setting up the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership. That fulfilled its early objectives; it has been taken over by local and regional government types who are now doing medium and long term work. The team from this forun can also be found at the Melksham Rail User Group (which was the Melksham Rail Development Group at the time these articles were written and we had no users.

We mustn't loose sight, though, that the train service remains poor and needs our community support in marketing and campaigning to keep it going in a positive direction ... and all the more so when we're expecting to find a different normallity once we get out of the Coronavirus Pandemic and head for zero carbon via the climate crisis. Yes, it's saved ... it's now a key community facility ... the need for enhancement and the strong and near-universal local support remain, and the rail industry and goverment remain slow to move and provide the enhancements even to level us up with other towns. Please support the Melksham Rail User Group - now very much in partnership rather than protest with the rail industry and local government, including GWR, TransWilts and unitary and town councils. And please use the trains and buses, and cycle and walk when you can.

-- Graham Ellis, (webmaster), February 2021


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