| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
South Wiltshire Agenda 21 and support for Save the Train - 5544/9820 Written by courgettelawn on Friday, 1st February 2008 Yesterday I attended the Forum meeting and AGM of South Wiltshire Agenda 21. A local group promoting all things sustainable. Cllr Paul Sample (Leader of Salisbury DC) also attended the meeting. Transport was seen as a big issue for south Wiltshire but I found it the subject that people could get their head around least. I introduced to the meeting the STT campaign and put out a plea for support. I am sure the phone will begin ringing any minute and my inbox will be full of emails. On a more serious note I am thinking about how appeal can be broadened to attract people to support rail improvements even if they don't necessarily have to use it everyday. With the unitary decision just around the corner (Cllr Sample was all but convinced the legal appeal would not prevent the abolition in 2009) now is the time to get the soon-to-be-abolished districts on side with our campaign. The wranglings over the merger sound painful but here is a chance to get local councillors to press home the point that Wiltshire will not work if public transport is not significantly improved. And I think they would (at the very least) listen. SW Agenda 21 also have the ear of the council and I feel strongly that the group should support transport improvements as a priority. With impending unitary status for the council there is also a debate if the group should widen its remit to the whole of the county. If you are interested, let me know. Re: South Wiltshire Agenda 21 and support for Save the Train - 5544/9918 Written by tramway on Wednesday, 6th February 2008 I had completely forgotten about Agenda 21, this should be one of the main routes into ensuring Wiltshire addresses sustainable development and be promoting public transport. They don Re: South Wiltshire Agenda 21 and support for Save the Train - 5544/10059 Written by courgettelawn on Wednesday, 13th February 2008 Yes it is time to join up all our campaigns and speak with a louder voice. I have also put forward the Save the Train campaign as one to actively support to the Salisbury Campaign for Better Transport. They meet today though I am unable to attend but have given representations to an Agenda 21 colleague. 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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