Great Western Coffee Shop

I've been involved with this campaigning stuff for over a dozen years and thought I had come across most other major national campaigning groups.   The English Regional Transport Association (https://www.ertarail.co.uk) is a new one on me, though - perhaps because their flagship projects are, thus far, not in our region.

Up to 2015 it was the Bedfordshire Railway and Transport Association (I don't know for how long).

Just posted (public post) on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/12135242142/permalink/10157094366187143/


Guildford is on our 'area' ... and in general we can take part much more easily in distant meetings these days, so diary there for anyone interested.    Unclear as to whether membership is required to attend a meeting; note that there is a fee of £12 per annum to become a member. 

Unverified - "


Edit - Verified - https://ertarail.co.uk

Oh dear.....almost insignificant, now only more so (may have 1 member north of the border)

Now, now ... I sense a view coloured by history and personalities.   

Maybe history but I haven't met any personnel from that organisation to my knowledge, so definitely not the latter

A meeting of the group has popped up for 18th May, for Westbury. I am checking back on details (time and guest charge) and will add it here if the answers are appropriate

Chris - I suspect you have met at least one of their patrons with Railfuture.



Edit - 9th May 2024 - to add. One of their directors (Chris Hyomes) is also a former director of three RailFuture companies - as per Companies House search.

Meeting 14:00 at the Railway Inn, Westbury - at the top of station approach.  All welcome, no meeting fee for guests.  Pub food from 13:00 / attendees encouraged to come along and join in; pay for your own food.   BRTA's first meeting in Wiltshire (no longer a guess - confirmed by their administrator).  Invite mirrored for Coffee Shop members at http://www.passenger.chat/mirror/brta_west_202405.pdf

The agenda shows that it might be an amusing meeting to attend - To view the number of limp kites being flown and pink elephants in view.

A certain Pink Floyd album cover comes to mind with this lot.

Graham - indeed, one can see where he got all his useless ideas from!

That is your opinion, which you are free to express here, ChrisB. I [c/sh]ould not comment however ...

The projects mentioned all seem to me to be longer term aspirations. Most of them are very, very long shots with a good justification they could happen in the very very long term.   There have been "flying elephants" that have landed before - you never know.  But I do net see how the benefits will outweigh or even come close to the costs and negatives in a lot of the cases under current rules and on their list

Before (m)any of those listed, improvements we might expect to see (not a full list and vaguely in the Westbury sphere):
Capacity enhancement, Westbury station and Westbury to Chippenham
Capaciry enhancement, Castle Cary to Dorchester
Capaciry enhancement, Yeovil to Exeter
Electrification, Chippenham to Bristol Temple Meads and to Quarries
Electrification, Newbury to Taunton and Bristol Temple Meads to Bromsgrove
Saltford, Wilton Station and Stonehouse (London Road) stations
Re-opening to daily service Taunton to Minehead
Re-opening Barnstaple to Bideford
Re-opening Okehampton to Tavistock and Bere Alston

I help set up meeting in West Wilts too, and typically plan their start time to suite train arrivals.  Here is a table of arrivals for lunch a for the meeting at 2 p.m.

Arrivals (for 13:00 and for 14:00) from:
12:01 and 13:01   Cardiff, Bristol and Bath
11:52 and 13:55   London Paddington
10:53   London Waterloo
12:47   Exeter and Taunton
11:48 and 13:55   Swindon
11:07 and 13:03   Weymouth
12:12 and 13:14   Southmapton and Salisbury

Personally, I would have plumped for a 14:30 meeting start to suite the train from Cardiff (14:01), Portsmouth (14:14), Swindon (13:55), and Paddington (13:55) - you're never going to get all of them good at Westbury, arrivals from the routes via Castle Cary are poor.

Why does the link in the first post in this thread take to me to a website discussing buses in Dallas, Texas?  ???

It was linked to the .com domain and not the .co.uk domain; the link should now take you to their page.

I do test links when I add them, so I suspect they held the .com domain at one time - perhaps even as their main one, and they may well have let it expire (after all, it wasn't really right) and the folks in Dallas have picked it up.   It could also be that the folks in Dallas REALLY wanted it and made an offer that could not be refused.

At present, ertrail.co.uk leads to them ever though they have rebranded to BRITISH not ENGLISH.  brtrail.co.uk is registered by somebody, but as yet there is no server there, so I suspect the web address for the group will change and I'll need to go back to the original again  :D

Thanks grahame. I suspected 'reasons' with a 5 year old link.

I may rock up to Westbury on the 18th if I've nothing better to do that day, and if my newly arthritic (well, newly diagnosed) knee is in a better mood than currently. :)

Latest newsletter - member mirror at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/btra_57.pdf including