| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Cuts elsewhere, and deeper cuts to come later? - 188/456 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Monday, 13th March 2006 From Bedwyn to St Ives, there's protest meeting going on talking about "what can we do to save our train service" ... I was up in Bedwyn yesterday at a public meeting organised by the locals and attended by Michael Anrcam, the MP who lives just up the line from them at Pewsey. They're concerned at the cut from a train every 2 hours to one every hour during the day, a later first off-peak service, and a gap during the evening. And they're frustrated because a lot of trains that use to terminate there will now be passing through non-stop on their way to Pewsey and Westbury. They only learnt about the changes in December, and feel left out of the consultation that happened last April .... I totally agree with them that the cuts will have a dramatic effect on their transport infrastructure. Already, they have ominous signs that the shuttle bus to and from Marlborough that connects with the train may, at the least, be run with a reduced frequency and less support from county. And people who now have a convenient train available when they finish work will find themselves with up to an hour to wait; double that if they're unfortunate enough to have "their" train cancelled at both ends of the day and that's two hours a day and probably points to other arrangements being made, such as the purchase of a car. I have to say ... these cuts look a lot more shallow than those that are facing Melksham. With the 13:35 to Swindon and the 17:02 to Swindon gone, the first train after lunch will be at 19:28 and that will equally yet more so drive people away from the trains. I saw Melksham station listed a the 5th most threatened with total closure in the South of the UK yesterday - alongside the likes of Three Oaks and Doleham (both on the Hastings to Ashford line), and local stations on the Exeter to Barnstaple service. Both Dean and Dilton Marsh in Wiltshire (and on our Swindon to Southampton service) also made the list, though further down) and I notice that the very last painiong was Kinbury and Bedwyn ... Truely, we live in interesting times. Re: Cuts elsewhere, and deeper cuts to come later? - 188/457 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Monday, 13th March 2006 Should have added a link to the red and amber lists: Red list Amber list Said to be under threat in Wilthsire - - Melksham - Bedwyn - Dilton Marsh - Dean - link to index of articles |
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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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