| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Plans To Improve Goole to Leeds train service - 4916/8965 Written by nige on Saturday, 8th December 2007 Plans are progressing to improve the train service between Leeds and Goole. There is currently just 2 direct trains per day at peak times, reduced in recent years, all other trains terminate or start at Knottingley. The route between Knottingley and Goole calls at Snaith, Rawcliffe, Hensall and Goole and is very lightly used. http://www.gooletimes.net/news/4784/mp_tackles_local_rail_user_needs Re: Plans To Improve Goole to Leeds train service - 4916/8970 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Sunday, 9th December 2007 Hi, Nige .... I have often seen that line of the map, and noticed in the National Timetable (r.i.p.) th elack of service there. Your post prompted me to have a further look, and I note a train out of Goole at 07:11 in the morning and back there at 18:29 in the evening. That train then returns into Leeds and it's the full service. Some startling similarities to the "TransWilts" ... Leeds is a major commuter destination, Goole at the far end of the line does have other services and people can reach Leeds from there via a gogleg route at other times of day ... and you have an underutilised resources of a railway line between them. But there are differences too * The journey for 32 miles takes 70 minutes / 77 minutes - which is hardly fast (Transwilts - 50 minutes all the way to Westbury and that's on services that have been slowed down in recent times) * The train times at Leeds - 08:27 arrival and 17:19 departure - are sensible for a working day * I suspect (can anyone confirm?) that the catchment area for Rawcliffe, Snaith, Hensall and Whitely Bridge combined is far less that for Melksham on the TransWilts, with its population of 24,000 (Can anyone who knows the area confirm). * As I recall, there's an major roads network in the area of this line - M1, M62, A1(M) and M18 for starters - which provide alternative transport links that are not afforded to people who would like a TransWilts service but don't want to travel at quarter past six in the morning ... our A350 is pretty dire at times. It seems very sensible indeed to make use of an underuntilised resource in an area where people want to travel (do they?) and I applaud the plans to improve the service. Actually, if services such as these are to be improved it helps make the case, many fold, for a major town like Melksham on the TransWilts, doesn't it? Re: Plans To Improve Goole to Leeds train service - 4916/8986 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Monday, 10th December 2007 I was speaking on the phone yesterday afternoon to a knowledgeable person in the Leeds area. The line in question does parallel the M62 more or less, and the 4 stations served can be characterised as "village" rather than "town" at the moment but with huge potential to grow as residential areas for Leeds. 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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