Save the Melksham Train
Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
Travel Watch South West, Taunton, 1st March - 5829/10164
Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Sunday, 17th February 2008

TravelWatch South West meeting, Taunton - see

http://www.accesssouthwest.org/index.html

Keynote speaker is Andrew Haines, CEO of First Great Western, and there will be a (limited) opportinunity to ask questions.  Event is by invite only; Nick and I going from "Save the Train".  Please let me know of any specific questions you have.

Re: Travel Watch South West, Taunton, 1st March - 5829/10381
Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Tuesday, 26th February 2008

I see that Mr Haines is very busy this week - and I applaud this. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Saturday. Previous experience tells me that any of the following may happen:

a) He may come and talk to us, and stay to listen to the other speakers through the day all of whom are also concerned with public transport in the South West like he is, and most of whom are his customers.

b) He may come and talk, but then dash off without staying to listen to what other speakers are saying.

c) He may bow out at the last minute, sending someone who works for him in his place. 

I will be impressed - REALLY impressed - if we find it's (a).  (c) will score "null points" - like trains, one off or occasional cancellations of engagements are forgiven with understanding, but I've seen a pattern from the train organisations on this.

Re: Travel Watch South West, Taunton, 1st March - 5829/10486
Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Saturday, 1st March 2008

[quote author=Graham Ellis link=topic=5829.msg10381#msg10381 date=1204035529]
I will be impressed - REALLY impressed - if we find it's (a).[/quote]

I am really impressed. It was (a). In fact it was more as Andrew Haines made mention of the TransWilts in his speech, made many positive points looking forward (I won't do him a dis-service by rushing to remember them all here tonight) and took question / discussed the matter with what seems like the sort of openness we could have done with at the start of this campaign.

Re: Travel Watch South West, Taunton, 1st March - 5829/10504
Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Sunday, 2nd March 2008



For fuller story - see
[url]http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=1916.0[/url]
and
[url]http://www.wellho.net/mouth/1560_HST-Power-Car-TravelWatch-SouthWest.html[/url]

Re: Travel Watch South West, Taunton, 1st March - 5829/10590
Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Thursday, 6th March 2008

"Just a minute" presentations - including mine - available at

http://www.accesssouthwest.org/just_a_minute_20080301_videos.html

 
link to index of articles


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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