| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
What do you think? Yes/No - 304/833 Written by drew22299 on Tuesday, 11th July 2006 What do you think? More services could run throug Melksham if there was two lines, with the amount of freight trains and the demand for more passenger services it seems necessary. Re: What do you think? Yes/No - 304/838 Written by Lee on Tuesday, 11th July 2006 I totally agree , Drew. The business case for doubling the Melksham line has become more compelling since Freightliner & EWS announced plans for more freight train services , which are very likely to be routed via Melksham. Assuming that our ultimate aim is a 2 - hourly clock - face service , then doubling the Melksham line would allow at least 6 paths for freight trains over a 2 - hour period , and the required 2 passenger train paths over the same 2 - hour period. Makes perfect sense to me. Freight train operating companies are becoming increasingly more willing to fund infrastructure improvements (The Woodhead Tunnel re-opening proposal is a good example) and the Future Of Transport White Paper allows for them to pay for access to "key freight routes." I would propose requiring the freight operating companies to pay for the doubling of the Melksham line , in return for three - quarters (six out of eight) of the train paths over each 2 - hourly period. However , when running freight (especially Intermodal) trains , speed & punctuality are key factors. The curve at the current Melksham station could prove a problem in this respect. As regular visitors to this site will know , 75% of the the current station site is up for sale. I would propose requiring any future buyer to pay for the re-location of Melksham station on the land previously safeguarded for it at the former GEC site. 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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