| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
How we could be seen from outside the immediate area - 2803/6026 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Monday, 2nd July 2007 I'm crossposting this from the more general [url]http://www.firstgreatwestern.info[/url] site as it's especially relevant to the future service on our line, and it illustrates how the battle for resources could be played. It would be easy - and INCORRECT - to assume that the service we currently have is underutilised because there's no call for people to travel on the corridor. It would be easy - and INCORRECT - to assume that the current limited service runs at appropriate times for the passengers who wish to travel by train on this route. And it would be easy - and INCORRECT - to assume that we might roll over while an available train was used to strengthen a train on another line while denying us any practical rail service at all. [quote] If FGW get rid of 12 x 158s and in place get 5 x 14xs then I wouldn't be surprised if the Melksham line gets axed as these trains are needed on far busier parts of the network! Sorry to disapprove but I can see where FGW are coming from when they have little resources (although it is their fault in fairness).. If the 1/2 carriages used on the Melksham line could go elsewhere it wouild solve many problems. The ideal solution to melksham is to have a private or Open Acces operator to run it as FGW obviously are not interested. [/quote] Many thanks for posting this, as it gives me an excellent opportunity to correct one or two misconceptions, and to answer questions that others who are not familiar with the "TransWilts" line may be asking themselves too. 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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