| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Wilts Somerset and Weymouth Railway - 5588/9874 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Monday, 4th February 2008 The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway was opened in 1848 from Thingley Junction on the Great Western Main Line and ran via Melksham and Trowbridge to Westbury. It was extended to Frome in 1850. In 1857 the main line was completed to Weymouth. Main Line: Chippenham * Lacock Halt * Beanacre Halt Melksham * Broughton Gifford Halt * Holt * Staverton Halt Trowbridge Westbury Frome * Witham Bruton Castle Cary * Sparkford * Marston Yeovil Pen Mill Thornford Yetminster Chetnole Halt * Evershot * Cattistock Maiden Newton * Grimstone and Frampton * Bradford Peverell and Stratton Halt Dorchester * Monkton and Carne Halt * Upwey Wishing Well Halt Upwey (Junction) * Radipole Halt Weymouth Stations marked "*" are no longer open for passenger traffic, and services at Melksham are limited to a service of just two trains each way each day. Chippenham, Trowbridge and Melksham are the three largest towns, population wise, in the Wiltshire County Council area. Only the city of Salisbury is larger within this area. Current train services leave Swindon (the next station towards London from Chippenham) at 06:18 and 18:45 on Monday through Friday for Westbury, where a change is required for onward travel to Weymouth. Eight onward services a day run on to Weymouth, but they are NOT timed to connect with the train sfrom Swindon. 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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